Overview

When Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun debuted on Broadway in 1959, it was a historical moment. Hansberry became the first African-American woman to have a play performed on Broadway and white audiences were introduced to the racism, sexism and alienation present in African-American communities throughout the United States.

Achievements

• First African-American woman to have a play performed on Broadway.
  

• First African-American playwright and youngest American to win a New York Critics’ Circle Award.  
  
• Inspired songstress Nina Simone to write and perform the song “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.”
  
• Posthumously inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2013.
  

 

Early Life and Education

Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was born on May 19, 1930, in Chicago. Her father, Carl Augustus Hansberry, was a successful real estate broker and her mother, Nannie Louise, was a school teacher.

The Hansberry’s were involved in various civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and the Urban League.

In 1938, the Hansberry family purchased a home in a white neighborhood. The family was attacked by their neighbors and eventually, a court battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court ensued. The case, Hansberry v. Leemade restrictive covenants illegal. This event would become the inspiration for Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun.

Hansberry attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and became politically active on campus.

In 1950, Hansberry left school and ventured to New York City where she would work as a writer and complete her education at The New School.

Life as a Writer

Settling in Harlem, Hansberry became active in local civil rights struggles and worked for Freedom, an African-American newspaper. Serving first as a writer and then as associate editor from 1950 to 1953, Hansberry traveled throughout the United States to cover events such as the Sojourner’s for Truth and Justice convention and the court case of Willie McGee. Hansberry also reported on issues of global concern in the African-American community including the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya and a peace conference held in Uruguay.  

Hansberry wrote fiction--plays, poetry and short stories--while working as a journalist and in 1956, she decided to dedicate her life to writing fiction.

However, when the opportunity to write for The Ladder about lesbianism, homophobia and feminism arose, Hansberry took the chance. While Hansberry’s sexual preference as a lesbian was revealed in many of the letters contributed to the publication, she published under her initials, L.H.

It was during Hansberry’s tenure at The Ladder  that shewrote a play entitled, The Crystal Stair. Centered around an African-American family in Chicago, the play would later morph into A Raisin in the Sun. Named after a line in Langston Hughes’ poem, A Dream Deferred, the play would reveal the struggles African-Americans faced as they attempted to achieve the American Dream.

The Success of A Raisin in the Sun

When A Raisin in the Sun opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on March 11, 1959, Hansberry became the first African-American woman to have a play performed on Broadway.

With 530 performances, the play was considered a success. The New York Times wrote in its review that the play, “changed American theater forever.”

Hansberry was the first African-American playwright and also the youngest to win a New York Critics’ Circle award for the play. In 1960 the play was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Play, Best Actor in Play, Best Actress in a Play, and Best Direction of a Play.

By 1961, the film adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun hit the big screen. The film version starred Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee.

The theatrical production was translated into 35 languages and performed internationally.

More Projects

As the Civil Rights Movement picked up steam in the United States, Hansberry joined with other performers such as Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne and James Baldwin to meet with Robert Kennedy concerning his civil and social injustice in the United States.

In 1963, Hansberry’s second play, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window opened on Broadway.

Personal Life

Hansberry married songwriter Robert Nemiroff in 1953. Although the couple divorced in 1962, they continued their professional relationship.

Death and Legacy

In 1964, Hansberry was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She died on January 12, 1965 in New York City.

Following her death, Nemiroff published a collection of her essays, interviews and other writings into To Be Young, Gifted and Black. The play ran for eight months at the off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre.

 A Raisin in the Sun continues to be an award-winning play and is considered an American classic. In 1989 and 2008, television adaptations of the play were nominated for an Emmy. In 2004, the play was revived on Broadway and won several Tony Awards.