Their white neighbors tried their best to make them move . A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (2004, Mass Market, Reprint) $0.99 + $5.65 shipping. This article is about the top 10 interesting facts about Lorraine Hansberry. After two years, she left college for New York to serve as a writer and editor of Paul Robesons left-wing newspaper Freedom. It is the opening scene . Previously, she worked as an intern at the UN Refugee Agency and Harvard Common Press. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life Fact 3: Lorraine was a talented visual artist. Image by Columbia Pictures from Wikimedia. Hansberry was a closeted lesbian. He even took his battle against racially restrictive housing covenants to the Supreme Court, winning a major victory in the landmark case Hansberry v. Lee. Hansberry originally wanted to be an artist when she attended the University of Wisconsin, but soon changed her focus to study drama and stage design. Young, gifted and black We must begin to tell our young Theres a world waiting for you This is a quest that's just begun. In one of her stories, The Anticipation of Eve, Lorraine describes the moment the protagonist Rita is about to see her lover Eve with lush, tender language: I could think only of flowers growing lovely and wild somewhere by the highways, of every lovely melody I had ever heard. Fact 9: This isnt a major life milestone of Lorraines, but its too fascinating not to include it!) Hansberry was born May 19, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of four children. After the writers demise in 1965, her ex-husband, Nimroff, adapted a collection of her writings and interviews in To Be Young, Gifted and Black, which opened off at Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre and ran for a period of eight months. She attended the University of Wisconsin in 194850 and then briefly the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Roosevelt University (Chicago). She later joined Englewood High School. She extended her hand. In 2013, more than twenty years after Nemiroff's death, the new executor released the restricted material to scholar Kevin J. Mumford. Hansberry traveled to Georgia to cover the case of Willie McGee, and was inspired to write the poem "Lynchsong" about his case. The latter's legal efforts to force the Hansberry family out culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hansberry v. Lee, 311 U.S. 32 (1940). 2. Hansberry may not have finished college, but she went on to make significant contributions to American culture and society through her art and activism. When the play opens, the Youngers are about to receive an insurance check for $10,000. Before her marriage, she had written in her personal notebooks about her attraction to women. She attended the University of WisconsinMadison, where she immediately became politically active with the Communist Party USA and integrated a dormitory. Before her death, she built a circle of gay and lesbian friends, took several lovers, vacationed in Provincetown (where she enjoyed, in her words, "a gathering of the clan"), and subscribed to several homophile magazines. In 1958 she raised funds to produce her play A Raisin in the Sun, which opened in March 1959 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway, meeting with great success. Hansberry received many awards for her work, including a New York Critics' Circle Award, an award at the Cannes Film Festival. Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) Hansberry was an activist and playwright best known for her groundbreaking play "A Raisin in the Sun," about a struggling Black family on Chicago's South Side. Du Bois, whose office was in the same building, and other Black Pan-Africanists. She was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play, among the four Tony Awards that the play was nominated for in 1960. In response to the independence of Ghana, led by Kwame Nkrumah, Hansberry wrote: "The promise of the future of Ghana is that of all the colored peoples of the world; it is the promise of freedom. She expressed a desire for a future in which "Nobody fights. Even though her disease brought her career to an abrupt halt, Lorraine Hansberry continues to be remembered through the paintings and writings which she worked on in the early years of her career. Holiday House, 1998. This penetrating psychological study of a working-class black family on the south side of Chicago in the late 1940s reflected Hansberry's own experiences of racial harassment after her prosperous family moved into a white neighbourhood. Louis Sachar. It appeared in book form the following year under the title To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words. Lorraine Hansberry wrote the plays A Raisin in the Sun (1959) and The Sign in Sidney Brusteins Window(1964). Lorraine died at age thirty-four from pancreatic cancer. Lorraine herself became involved in the civil rights movement at a young age, participating in protests and joining organizations like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 2008, the production was adapted for television with the same cast, winning two NAACP Image Awards. May 19, 1930 Lorraine Vivian Hansberry is born to Carl Augustus Hansberry, Sr. and Nannie Louise Hansberry in Chicago, Illinois. A penetrating psychological study of the personalities and emotional conflicts within a working-class black family in Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun was directed by actor Lloyd Richards, the first African American to direct a play on Broadway since 1907. It ran for 101 performances on Broadway and closed the night she died. The local Chicago government was willing to eject the Hansberrys from their new home but Lorraine's father, Carl Hansberry, took their case to court. Hansberry joined CORE in the late 1950s and became involved in various civil rights campaigns, including the fight against housing discrimination in Chicago. . Lorraine Hansberry was an American playwright whoseA Raisin in the Sun(1959) was the firstdramaby anAfrican American woman to be produced on Broadway. At the Lorraine Hansberry Literary Trust, which represents and oversees the late writer's literary work, there's a guiding mantra: "Lorraine Is Of The Future." Rachel Brosnahan and Oscar . Hansberry's funeral was held in Harlem on January 15, 1965. Lorraine Hansberry was born at Provident Hospital on the South Side of Chicago on May 19, 1930. Hansberry was appalled by the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which took place while she was in high school. Picture 1 of 1. Born on the 19 th of May in 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, Lorraine Hansberry was a bright daughter of Carl Augustus Hansberry, a political activist, while her mother, Nannie Louise, was a schoolteacher. Performers in this pageant included Paul Robeson, his longtime accompanist Lawrence Brown, the multi-discipline artist Asadata Dafora, and numerous others. Hansberry was born into a Black family and grew up when the civil rights movement could use all the voices it could get. After moving to New York City, she held various minor jobs and studied at the New School for Social Research while refining her writing skills. Lorraine believed that the artists voice in whatever medium was to be as an agent for social change. Lorraine Hansberry is often viewed as a visionary because of her ability to predict many of the relevant issues to the African-American community today. Lorraine Hansberry, (born May 19, 1930, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.died January 12, 1965, New York, New York), American playwright whose A Raisin in the Sun (1959) was the first drama by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. and then "L.N." Hansberrys uncle, William Leo Hansberry, founded the Howard University African Civilization section of the history department, her cousin Shauneille Perry is an actress and playwright, and her younger relatives, Taye Hansberry is an actress and Aldridge Hansberry is a composer and flutist. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honour in the United States, awarded by the President to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the security or national interests of the country, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavours. Near the end of her life, she declared herself "committed [to] this homosexuality thing" and vowing to "create my lifenot just accept it". Fast Facts: Lorraine Hansberry In April 1960, she wrote a fascinating list of what she liked and hated. If people know anything about Lorraine (Perry refers to her as Lorraine throughout the book, explaining why she does so), theyll recall she was the author of A Raisin in the Sun, an award-winning play about a family dealing with issues of race, class, education, and identity in Chicago. She admonished the Kennedy administration to be more active in addressing the problem of segregation in the community. Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 - January 12, 1965) was a playwright and writer. 1937 Carl moves his family to a home in the Woodlawn. September 27, 2022. Both of these talented writers wanted to incorporate themes of race and sexual identity into their stage work, something that was considered quite radical at the time. Baldwin remembers: Her face changed and changed, the way Sojourner Truth's face must have changed and changed . This money comes from the deceased Mr. Younger's life insurance policy. Thank you for this detailed and well-written article about an amazing young woman! . The Hansberry family had many friends and relatives that were involved in the arts. The song has also famously been recorded by artists including Aretha Franklin and Donny Hathaway. Lorraine identified as an American radical and believed that extreme change was necessary to fight against racism and injustice internationally. Now More Than Ever, Nine Radical and Radiant Facts You Should Know About Lorraine Hansberry, When Colin Kaepernick Took the Risk to Take a Knee, Coming Home to the Motherland and Coming Out: A Cup Of Water Under My Bed Gets Translated to Spanish, Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry, Ring In the Zinntennial! Simone wrote the song with the poet Weldon Irvine and told him that she wanted lyrics that would "make black children all over the world feel good about themselves forever." Lee, 311 U.S. 32 (1940), to which the playwright Lorraine Hansberry's father was a party, when he fought to have his day in court despite the fact that a previous class action about racially motivated restrictive covenants, Burke v. Kleiman, 277 Ill. App. Her best-known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights the lives of black Americans in Chicago living under racial segregation. In 1989, he became s a full writer. Her cousin is the flutist, percussionist, and composer Aldridge Hansberry. Here are five important facts about her that you most likely didnt know. Hansberry died of pancreatic cancer on January 12, 1965, aged 34. She was also the youngest playwright and the first Black winner of the prestigious Drama Critics Circle Awardfor Best Play. Her best-known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights the lives of black Americans in Chicago living under racial segregation. At the newspaper, she worked as a "subscription clerk, receptionist, typist, and editorial assistant" besides writing news articles and editorials. She was passionate about the causes and people that she stood in support of. 190-71 111th Ave , Saint Albans, NY 11412 is a single-family home listed for-sale at $799,000. Her father, Carl Hansberry was an activist who fought against racial discrimination in housing. She held out some hope for male allies of women, writing in an unpublished essay: "If by some miracle women should not ever utter a single protest against their condition there would still exist among men those who could not endure in peace until her liberation had been achieved.". Du Bois, who served as one of her mentors. Her grandniece is the actress Taye Hansberry. It aired recently on PBS and if you didnt catch it, you can find out more. Her most famous play, A Raisin in the Sun, is an exploration of the challenges faced by a black family in Chicago as they struggle to achieve the American Dream in the face of systemic racism and poverty. Lorraine Hansberry became involved in the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 and joined people like Lena Horne and James Baldwin to test Robert Kennedy's position on civil rights. . Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in a family that was deeply involved in the civil rights movement. He then spent several years travelling and studying in Africa, including Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine died at a young age of 34 from cancer. She became close friends with James Baldwin and Nina Simone. In 2013, Hansberry was also inducted into the Legacy Walk, making her the first Chicago-native to receive the honour, along with a position in the American Theatre Hall of Fame in the same year. The production won Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play for Rashad and Best Featured Actress in a Play for McDonald, and received a nomination for Best Revival of a Play. Some books that he created include Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger (1995), Sideways . She was the daughter of a real estate entrepreneur, Carl Hansberry, and schoolteacher, Nannie Hansberry, as well as the niece of Pan-Africanist scholar and college professor Leo Hansberry. The granddaughter of a slave and the niece of a prominent African-American professor, Hansberry grew up with a keen awareness of African-American history and the ongoing struggle for civil rights. . Gift of Kayla Deigh Owens, Playbill used by permission. In 2010, Hansberry was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. Her favorite topics are psychology, sociology, anthropology, history and religion. Du Bois and Paul Robeson. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. Corrections? The Hansberry's were routinely visited by prominent black people, including sociology professor W. E. B. The familys home was frequently visited by prominent African American leaders, such as W.E.B. The production also led Hansberry to become the first black playwright and the youngest American to win a New York Critics Circle Award. In the book, readers get bits and pieces of Perry, too, as she describes her journey with Lorraine, detailing her thoughts as both an admirer, and a biographer. Here are nine radical and radiant facts from Looking for Lorraine to introduce you to one of the most gifted, charismatic, yet least understood, Black artists. And I am glad she was not smiling at me. Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 - January 12, 1965) was an African-American playwright and writer. . Type of work Play. Written when she was just twenty-eight, Lorraine Hansberry's landmark A Raisin in the Sun is listed . The award is given for excellence in the field of theatre, with categories including Best Play, Best Musical, Best Foreign Play, and Best Revival. 5 Things You Didnt Know, Godzilla is Officially on Twitter and Instagram Now, 10 Things You Didnt Know about Lovell Adams-Gray, Why General Grievous Should Get His Own Solo Movie, 10 Things You Didnt Know about Greg Lawson, Pearl Jam Gearing up For Big Tour and Announces New Album, 10 Things You Didnt Know about Tom Llamas, A Janet Jackson Biopic Might Be in the Works, 10 Things You Didnt Know about James Monroe Iglehart, 10 Things You Didnt Know About James Arthur, Marvels Touching Stan Lee Tribute on the One Year Anniversary of His Death, Five Things You Didnt Know about Michelle Dockery, The Reason Why Curly was Replaced by Shemp in the Three Stooges, Five Things You Didnt Know about Elise LeGrow, Five Things you Didnt Know about Seeta Indrani. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Hansberry in the biographical dictionary 100 Greatest African Americans. All rights reserved, Playbill Inc. National Museum of African American History & Culture. . Drake Facts. Lorraine Hansberry The Member of the Wedding The Metamorphosis The Natural The Plague The Plot Against America The Portrait of a Lady The Power of Sympathy The Red Badge of Courage The Road The Road from Coorain The Sound and the Fury The Stone Angel The Stranger The Sun Also Rises The Temple of My Familiar The Three Musketeers She was 34 years old when she died after a two-year fight with pancreatic cancer. Race & Ethnicity in America Updates? Hansberry wrote The Crystal Stair, a play about a struggling Black family in Chicago, which was later renamed A Raisin in the Sun. Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930. The fascinating facts about Lorraine Hansberry following illustrate her development as a Black woman, activist, and writer. Publisher Random House. James Baldwin wrote the introduction to Hansberrys biography, Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life. The title of the play was taken from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes: "What happens to a dream deferred? Hansberry's evolving politics were groundbreaking, and many questions remain about how they impacted her workboth plays she wrote after Raisin included gay charactersand how her ideas . . She wrote about her experiences as a lesbian in her unpublished journals and letters. These were important voices for the movement to bring equality for all people as a basic right of all within the United States. A selection of her writings was produced on Broadway asTo Be Young, Gifted, and Black(1969; book 1970). Omissions? Imani Perrys Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry is a watershed biography of the award-winning playwright, activist, and artist Lorraine Hansberry. In 2013, Hansberry was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display that celebrates LGBT history and people. Commissioned by NBC in 1960 to create a television program about slavery, Hansberry wrote The Drinking Gourd. The American dream means something different to each character in A Raisin in the Sun. Conversations with Lorraine Hansberry - Mollie Godfrey 2021-01-15 Lorraine was taught: "Above all, there were two things which were never to be betrayed: the family and the race.". When she was young, her family famously fought against racial segregation, attempting to buy a home that was covered by a racially restrictive covenantultimately leading to the Supreme Court case Hansberry v. Lee. To Be Young, Gifted and Black How could we improve it? She was born to Carl Augustus Hansberry and Nonnie Louise. It was at one of these demonstrations that Hansberry met her husband and closest friend, Robert Nemiroff. $3.52. $5.42. Since its original production, A Raisin in the Sun has been revived on Broadway several times, most recently in 2014 with Denzel Washington as Walter Lee Younger. Hansberry was the godmother to Nina Simone's daughter Lisa. The restrictive covenant was ruled contestable, though not inherently invalid; these covenants were eventually ruled unconstitutional in Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (1948). Oh, what a lovely precious dream Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) was a playwright, writer, and activist. Her promising career was cut short by her early death frompancreatic cancer. The moving story of the life of the woman behind A Raisin in the Sun, the most widely anthologized, read, and performed play of the American stage, by the New York Times bestselling author of Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. The original Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun was directed by Lloyd Richards and starred Sidney Poitier as Walter Lee Younger, the head of the household. Image by Unknown Author from Wikimedia. Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930. Leo Hansberry was a prominent figure in the Pan-Africanist movement, and he founded the African Civilization section at Howard University, where he was a professor of African history. . Tell us what's wrong with this post? Du Bois , poet Langston Hughes, singer, actor, and political activist Paul Robeson, musician Duke Ellington, and Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens. She underwent two operations, on June 24 and August 2. It seems, in fact, that, as with her dear friend the author James Baldwin, Hansberry is having a curiously vibrant renaissance some 54 years after her death, at the age of thirty-four from pancreatic cancer, on January 12, 1965. On March 11, 1959, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway and changed the face of American theater forever.