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. She extended her hand. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Free shipping. She was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play, among the four Tony Awards that the play was nominated for in 1960. . This page was last modified on 24 February 2023, at 15:15. In April 1960, she wrote a fascinating list of what she liked and hated. | 10 Best Books to Read About African History. Whether you want to learn the history of a city, or you simply need a recommendation for your next meal, Discover Walks Team offers an ever-growing travel encyclopaedia. Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930. These were important voices for the movement to bring equality for all people as a basic right of all within the United States. How would you rate this article? She was a member of the National Organization for Women and wrote about womens issues in her personal journals and in her writing. The Lorraine Hansberry residence, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2021, is nationally significant for its association with the pioneering Black lesbian playwright, writer, and activist, Lorraine Hansberry. Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 January 12, 1965) was a playwright and writer. All rights reserved, Playbill Inc. National Museum of African American History & Culture. . Bottom Row (left to right): T. S. Eliot; Lorraine Hansberry; Martin Buber; Otto Neurath. Follow her on Twitter at@emilykpowers. The play was the first one to be produced on Broadway by an African-American woman and won an award at the Cannes Film Festival when its motion picture came out. Her father was brave and daring enough to move his family into an all white neighborhood during tumultuous times. . It won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the film version of 1961 received a special award at the Cannes festival. Lincoln University's first-year female dormitory is named Lorraine Hansberry Hall. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life Hansberry wrote The Crystal Stair, a play about a struggling Black family in Chicago, which was later renamed A Raisin in the Sun. It was at one of these demonstrations that Hansberry met her husband and closest friend, Robert Nemiroff. Du Bois, the Civil Rights activist, author, sociologist, and historian, and Paul Robeson, the musician and actor, were friends of the Hansberry family. James Baldwin wrote the introduction to Hansberrys biography, To Be Young, Gifted, and Black with an endearing letter to Hansberry titled Sweet Lorraine.. The paper published articles about feminist movements, global anti-colonialist struggles, and domestic activism against Jim Crow laws. Emily Powersjoined Beacon in 2016 after three years at Cornell University Press. Hansberry died of pancreatic cancer on January 12, 1965, aged 34. Fast Facts: Lorraine Hansberry Both Hansberry's were active in the Chicago Republican Party. Download Our Free Black Liberation eBook Bundle! In 1960, during Delta Sigma Theta's 26th national convention in Chicago, Hansberry was made an honorary member. Free shipping. Lorraine Hansberry (May 19, 1930-January 12, 1965) was a playwright, essayist, and civil rights activist. Lorraine was graceful, poised, and elegant (journalists and critics always also seemed to mention her petite frame or collegiate style), but could be icy and confrontational when the situation demandedand sometimes it was demanded. One of her first reports covered the Sojourners for Truth and Justice convened in Washington, D.C., by Mary Church Terrell. Her own familys landmark court case against discriminatory real estate covenants in Chicago would serve as inspiration for her seminal Broadway play, A Raisin in the Sun. The song has also famously been recorded by artists including Aretha Franklin and Donny Hathaway. There's something of an inside joke tucked into Lorraine Hansberry's rarely-produced second Broadway play, which director Anne Kauffman has brought to life in a starry revival at BAM. Lorraine's father, Carl Augustus Hansberry, was a real-estate speculator and a proud race man. Lorraines goal was to change society for the better. He looked insulted--seemed to feel that he had been wasting his time . However, Hansberry only attended university for two years before dropping out and moving to New York City where she went to the New School for Social Research. Hansberry was a contributor to The Ladder, a predominantly lesbian publication, where she wrote about homophobia and feminism. . April 14, 2021. Lorraine Hansberry Elementary School was located in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. At the same time, she said, "some of the first people who have died so far in this struggle have been white men.". This article is about the top 10 interesting facts about Lorraine Hansberry. In 2013, Nemiroff's daughter released the restricted materials to Kevin J. Mumford, who explored Hansberry's self-identification in subsequent work. Her favorite topics are psychology, sociology, anthropology, history and religion. She attended the University of Wisconsin in 194850 and then briefly the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Roosevelt University (Chicago). The play was later renamed A Raisin in the Sun and was a great success at the Ethel Ballymore Theatre, having a total of 530 performances. Goodbye, Mr. Attorney General, she said, and turned and walked out of the room. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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 2017, Hansberry was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Lorraine Hansberry was born on May 19, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. We followed her. (James Baldwin, The Cross of Redemption). Louis Sachar Facts 8: Sideways Stories from Wayside School. She was born on May 19, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois. Lorraines papers, including her letters and unpublished works, were private for years, with the public hearing only whispers or half-formed truths about some of the most significant aspects of Lorraines identity: her sexuality and her radical political leanings. Her best-known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights the lives of black Americans in Chicago living under racial segregation. Lorraine surrounded herself with many people who were important to the civil rights movement, as well as people who held a measure of influence and celebrity status in the world. . . Lorraine Hansberry attended theUniversity of Wisconsinin 194850 and then briefly the School of theArt Institute of ChicagoandRoosevelt University(Chicago). I could think only of beauty, isolated and misunderstood but beauty still . She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. . To be young, gifted and black Lorraine Hansberry's ex-husband and dear friend, the songwriter and poet Robert Nemiroff, became her literary executor after her death in 1965. Lorraine Hansberry, likely at a welcoming event for the African-American Students Foundation in 1959. 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. Lorraine Hansberry: Lorraine Hansberry was a gifted playwright and creator of the award-winning play A Raisin in the Sun. 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." As the first-ever black woman to author a play performed on. Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in a family that was deeply involved in the civil rights movement. It was previously ruled that African Americans were not allowed to purchase property in the Washington Park subdivision in Chicago, Illinois. However, in 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her contributions to the arts and the civil rights movement. The Hansberrys were a proud middle class family, who valued social and political involvement. May 19, 1930 Lorraine Vivian Hansberry is born to Carl Augustus Hansberry, Sr. and Nannie Louise Hansberry in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents both engaged in the fight against racial discrimination and segregration. Hansberry was born May 19, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of four children. View more property details, sales history and Zestimate data on Zillow. Kicks. Lorraine believed that the artists voice in whatever medium was to be as an agent for social change. . For some facts about W.E.B Du Bois CLICK HERE, Theatrical release poster for the 1961 film. Lorraine Hansberry, a celebrated African American playwright and writer, was not openly gay during her lifetime. The sq. I saw it on Broadway, its an excellent play and homage to Lorraine Hansberry! 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. Beacon Press. The granddaughter of a freed enslaved person, and the youngest by seven years of four children, Lorraine Vivian Hansberry 3rd was born on May 19, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois. Hansberry wrote two screenplays of Raisin, both of which were rejected as controversial by Columbia Pictures. She came from a well-established family where both her parents had successful careers.. [1] She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Sadly, she passed away from pancreatic cancer on January 12, 1965. She worked on Henry A. Wallace's Progressive Party presidential campaign in 1948, despite her mother's disapproval. 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. On the night before their wedding in 1953, Nemiroff and Hansberry protested against the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in New York City. For their magazine, the Ladder, Hansberry contributed articles which talked of feminism and homophobia, revealing her homosexual nature. This experience is reflected in Raisin in how unwelcoming the white community was to the Younger family in Clybourne Park. Image by Friedman-Abeles from Wikimedia. Born Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, May 19, 1930, in Chicago, IL; died of cancer, January 12, 1965; daughter of Carl Augustus (a real estate entrepreneur) and Nannie (Perry) Hansberry; married Robert Nemiroff, June 20, 1953 (divorced March 10, 1964). Language English. Hansberry and Simone had been friends and shared a bond over their interests in social justice and radical politics. Lorraine Hansberry was an avid civil rights activist because she understood clearly, that people need a champion in this life. In 1938, the family moved to a white neighborhood and was violently attacked by its inhabitants but the former refused to vacate the area until ordered to do so by the Supreme Court where the case was addressed as Hansberry v. Lee. The Hansberry family had many friends and relatives that were involved in the arts. Lorraine identified as an American radical and believed that extreme change was necessary to fight against racism and injustice internationally. Biography & MemoirDisability 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! Lorraine Hansberry. Though A Raisin in the Sun is the crown jewel in Hansberrys legacy, she was also known for the playsThe Sign in Sidney Brusteins Windowand Les Blancs. The group told Kennedy that the federal government was not doing enough to protect the civil rights of African Americans, but the attorney general didnt agree. Literature & the Arts Additionally, Hansberry was known to be a champion of civil rights and social justice, and she was involved in several LGBTQ+ organizations and causes during her lifetime. In 1969, four years after Lorraine Hansberrys death, Nina Simone wrote a song titled Young, Gifted, and Black after being inspired by a talk that Hansberry delivered to college students. In 2004, A Raisin in the Sun was revived on Broadway in a production starring Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Phylicia Rashad, and Audra McDonald, and directed by Kenny Leon. It is the opening scene . Lorraine Hansberry (1930 - 1965) was an American playwright and author best known for A Raisin in the Sun, a 1959 play influenced by her background and upbringing in Chicago. In 1952, Hansberry attended a peace conference in Montevideo, Uruguay, in place of Robeson, who had been denied travel rights by the State Department. Her father, Carl Hansberry was an activist who fought against racial discrimination in housing. The statue will be sent on a tour of major US cities. Hansberry was a critic of existentialism, which she considered too distant from the world's economic and geopolitical realities. The title of the play was taken from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes: "What happens to a dream deferred? "An Interview with Lorraine . She wrote in support of the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya, criticizing the mainstream press for its biased coverage. Faced . 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. She is remembered for her first play, A Raisin in the Sun, which opened on Broadway in 1959, just six years before her death - and sometimes for her memoir, which was the inspiration for Nina Simone . It was, in fact, a requirement for human decency (150). Hansberrys father died in 1946 when she was only fifteen years old. 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. Updates? The African-American historian and scholar who is best known for his research on African history and culture. At first Sideways Stories from Wayside School was not a popular book in US. After two years, she left college for New York to serve as a writer and editor of Paul Robesons left-wing newspaper Freedom. When Lorraine was seven years old, the family bought a house in a mostly white neighborhood. A satire involving miscegenation, the $400,000 production was co-produced by her husband Robert Nemiroff. Lorraine Hansberry was the niece of Leo Hansberry, who was a Pan-Africanist scholar and college professor. Thanks for reading! She is a tremendously important historical figure and through the documentary, Strain and her crew are making the public aware of just who Lorraine Hansberry was, what she stood for, and why her radical work is so important to the world today. . They must harass, debate, petition, give money to court struggles, sit-in, lie-down, strike, boycott, sing hymns, pray on stepsand shoot from their windows when the racists come cruising through their communities. Copyright 2016 FamousAfricanAmericans.org, Museum Dedicated to African American History and Culture is Set to Open in 2016, Scholarships for African Americans Black Scholarships, Top 10 Most Famous Black Actors of All Time. Science & Medicine . She used her writing to redefine difference. This made her the first Chicago native to be honored along the North Halsted corridor. Lorraine Hansberry was born in 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, into a family of civil rights activists. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Discuss these differences and how they conflict with one another. In 1938, her father bought a house in the Washington Park Subdivision of the South Side of Chicago, incurring the wrath of some of their white neighbors. 2. In fact, she is considered to be one of the greatest female, and African-American playwrights in all of the history of Broadway. Lorraine Hansberry (1930 1965) was an American playwright and author best known for A Raisin in the Sun, a 1959 play influenced by her background and upbringing in Chicago. There are a million boys and girls In 2013, more than twenty years after Nemiroff's death, the new executor released the restricted material to scholar Kevin J. Mumford. Princeton Professor Imani Perry, author of Looking for Lorraine, wrote that she was a feminist before the feminist movement. 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. Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was born in Chicago on May 19, 1930, the youngest of four children born to Carl Augustus Hansberry, a prominent real estate broker, and his wife, Nannie Louise Hansberry, a schoolteacher and ward committeewoman. We would like, said Lorraine, from you, a moral commitment. He did not turn from her as he had turned away from Jerome. . Environment & Conservation 519 (1934), had been similar to his situation. Book Recommendation: 10 Best Books to Read About African History. Hansberry was born into a Black family and grew up when the civil rights movement could use all the voices it could get. Hansberry, an outspoken Communist, was committed to racial equity and participated in civil rights demonstrations. In 1989, he became s a full writer. In 1950, Hansberry decided to leave Madison and pursue her career as a writer in New York City, where she attended The New School. Fact 3: Lorraine was a talented visual artist. also named Lorraine Hansberry the Godmother of her daughter, Lisa Simone. . Hansberrys work broke barriers and paved the way for more diverse voices to be heard on the Broadway stage. Check another American writer in Lorraine Hansberry facts. Her father, Carl Hansberry, was a successful real estate broker and a prominent figure in the African American community, who fought against racial segregation and discrimination. . Lorraine Hansberry was born at Provident Hospital on the South Side of Chicago on May 19, 1930. Lorraine Hansberrys father, Carl Augustus Hansberry, was involved in the Supreme Court case. A studio recording by Simone was released as a single and the first live recording on October 26, 1969, was captured on Black Gold (1970). Lorraine Hansberry Speaks! The success of the hit pop song "Cindy, Oh Cindy", co-authored by Nemiroff, enabled Hansberry to start writing full-time. That was what formed their bond at the time when Lorraine was developing her own Black, feminist, and queer politics. Written and completed in 1957, A Raisin in the Sun opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on March 11, 1959, becoming the first play by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway. . 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. Du Bois , poet Langston Hughes, singer, actor, and political activist Paul Robeson, musician Duke Ellington, and Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens. Hansberry joined CORE in the late 1950s and became involved in various civil rights campaigns, including the fight against housing discrimination in Chicago. She continued to write plays, short stories, and articles in addition to delivering speeches regarding race relations in the United States. Not only did she have a play, but her drama, A. Happy travels! The fascinating facts about Lorraine Hansberry following illustrate her development as a Black woman, activist, and writer. This gave her a platform for sharing her views. Additionally, she wrote scripts at Freedom. Upon his ex-wife's death, Robert Nemiroff donated all of Hansberry's personal and professional effects to the New York Public Library. The New York Drama Critics Circle Award (NYDCC) is an annual award given by an organization composed of theatre critics who review plays and musicals in New York City. $5.42. Hansberry attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison in the late 1940s, but she left before completing her degree. A Raisin in the Sun, her most famous work, debuted on Broadway in 1959 and was the first play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway. . He then spent several years travelling and studying in Africa, including Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. It was always, Marx, Lenin and revolutionreal girls talk.. When Irvine read the lyrics after it was finished, he thought, "I didn't write this. Lorraines experiences growing up in this environment informed her writing, which often dealt with issues of race, class, and identity. She is best known for writing "A Raisin in the Sun," the first play by a Black woman produced on Broadway. The title of the song comes from a speech she gave to young people. 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. She also enjoys creative writing, content writing on nearly any topic, because as a lifelong learner, she loves research. 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 Hansberry agreed to speak to the winners of a creative writing conference on May 1, 1964: "Though it is a thrilling and marvelous thing to be merely young and gifted in such times, it is doubly so, doubly dynamic to be young, gifted and black.". Lorraine Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois, on May 19, 1930. Required fields are marked *. Her best-known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights the lives of black Americans in Chicago living under racial segregation. Who are young, gifted and black Holiday House, 1998. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Hansberry in the biographical dictionary 100 Greatest African Americans. She moved to New York City and became involved in the arts scene, working as a writer and editor for various publications. James Baldwin wrote the introduction to Hansberrys biography, Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life. Corrections? Fifteen years before Lorraine was unsealed, Harris meticulously and accurately charted Hansberry's queer life; she did not rely on institutions, but New York City dykes. 236 pp. Lorraine Hansberry was deeply influenced by her uncles activism and scholarship, and her work often reflected her own commitment to social justice and civil rights for African Americans. If the name Lorraine Hansberry doesnt ring a bell, we have some interesting information that may just give you an aha moment. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. In 1957, around the time she separated from Nemiroff, Hansberry contacted the Daughters of Bilitis, the San Francisco-based lesbian rights organization, contributing two letters to their magazine, The Ladder, both of which were published under her initials, first "L.H.N." The play was a critical and commercial success. Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 - January 12, 1965) was a playwright and writer. 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). Later, Hansberry would maintain her own close bonds with Du Bois, Robeson, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin. Fact 2: Lorraine was raised in the South Side of Chicago. She admonished the Kennedy administration to be more active in addressing the problem of segregation in the community. Image by Columbia Pictures from Wikimedia. The 15th was also Dr. King's birthday. Fact 1: The one fact you might already know! After she moved to New York City, Hansberry worked at the Pan-Africanist newspaper Freedom, where she worked with other intellectuals such as Paul Robeson and W. E. B. She was also an active participant in the civil rights movement, and her writings and speeches inspired many people to take action against racial inequality and injustice. She was an American writer, who stood the literary world on its head with her prolific enigmatic and radical writing. A Raisin in the Sun portrays a few weeks in the life of the Youngers, a Black family living on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s. In 2010, Hansberry was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. Lorraine Hansberry Biography. She later joined Englewood High School. On June 20, 1953, Hansberry married Robert Nemiroff, a Jewish publisher, songwriter, and political activist. Posted at 04:07 PM in Beacon Staff, Biography and Memoir, Emily Powers, Imani Perry, Literature and the Arts, Looking for Lorraine, Queer Perspectives, Race and Ethnicity in America | Permalink American Society Date of first publication 1959. In Perrys words, this moment captures the tension . In 1961, the play was made into a movie. Book Details. 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. Her other works include the plays The Sign in Sidney Brusteins Window and Les Blancs, as well as several essays and articles on civil rights and social justice issues. When the play opens, the Youngers are about to receive an insurance check for $10,000. 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. In 1969, Nina Simone first released a song about Hansberry called "To Be Young, Gifted and Black." In April 1959, as a sign of her sudden fame just one month after A Raisin in the Sun premiered on Broadway, photographer David Attie did an extensive photo-shoot of Hansberry for Vogue magazine, in the apartment at 337 Bleecker Street where she had written Raisin, which produced many of the best-known images of her today. Lorraine Hansberry, child of a cultured, middle-class black family but early exposed to the poverty and discrimination suffered by most blacks in America, fought passionately against racism in her writings and throughout her life.