Second paragraph of third story (“A Bit of Our Harlem”):

The boy approached the table where the girl sat with the air of a homeless dog who hopes that he has found a friend.

Collection of the short stories written by Hurston in the 1920s and 1930s, all about the contemporary experience of black Americans, mostly set either in Harlem or in Eatonville, Florida, her home town. Several of these stories were unpublished in her lifetime, perhaps intentionally so; they are good honest reportage of her people's life, some better than others. There's a lot of marital infidelity, a lot of smart children; they all worked well enough for me apart from the biblical pastiches which are anyway mercifully short. Published only last year. You can get it here.

This was my top unread book by a writer of colour. Next on that list is A Hero Born, by Jin Yong.