What does the image of Zora Neale Hurston engraved on both Nella's and Hazel's coffee mugs represent in the novel, The Other Black Girl?

The image of Zora Neale Hurston engraved on both Nella's and Hazel's coffee mugs is a symbol both of their solidarity as Black women and of the threat that Nella perceives to her identity once Hazel joins the office. Zora Neale Hurston, a prominent Black writer, initially functions as a sign to Nella that she has found a new ally in the office. But her fears that Hazel's mug is more elegant or aesthetically appealing than hers speaks to the competitive relationship that quickly forms between the women.