With her magnificent masterpiece "A Raisin in the Sun," American playwright Lorraine Hansberry challenged the deeply rooted racial and social biases of her time. Because of her extraordinary gifts and unwavering commitment to social and political causes, she became a leading light of the American theatre and the Civil Rights Movement.

Childhood and Adolescence

Lorraine Hansberry was born on May 19, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, to a financially secure and politically active middle class family. Her parents, Carl Augustus and Nannie Perry Hansberry, were also educators. Carl was a prosperous real estate broker. Both of Lorraine's parents were activists in the civil rights movement, and their involvement had a profound impact on their daughter's understanding of and outlook on racism.

The Birth of a Radical Speakout

The radical black newspaper "Freedom," founded by Paul Robeson, hired Hansberry when she graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and moved to New York. Her time as a journalist gave her a voice to speak out against injustice, which informed her later innovative theater work.

The Broadway Lighthouse That Is "A Raisin in the Sun"

When "A Raisin in the Sun" premiered on Broadway in 1959, written by Lorraine Hansberry, it was the first time a play penned by a black woman had been performed on this illustrious theater. The poem "Harlem," written by Langston Hughes, provides the play's inspiration for its title line: "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it lose moisture like a raisin in the sun?

Intricately, "A Raisin in the Sun" delves into the hopes and disappointments of a black family waiting for an insurance claim after the death of the family patriarch in a tight Chicago tenement. Playgoers were given an unfiltered look at the lives of African Americans in a time when such an examination was rarely seen on Broadway's primarily white stages.

Cultural Influence and Posterity

The play became an instant hit, leading to multiple revivals, a movie, and a musical version. Inspiring audiences with its compelling dialogue and deeply personal plot, it was praised for its genuine portrayal of the black American experience.

A landmark in American theater history, Hansberry's play paved the way for subsequent works by black playwrights and artists. Her unique delivery was a rallying cry for social justice, demonstrating the theater's potential as a forceful forum for tackling social issues.

Even though she passed away at the young age of 34 from pancreatic cancer in 1965, her influence is still felt across the American cultural community. A posthumous adaptation of Hansberry's uncompleted plays and writings by her ex-husband Robert Nemiroff resulted in the critically praised production "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black," further solidifying Hansberry's status as a legendary figure in American theater and the civil rights struggle.