Lorraine Hansberry

Born:	May 19, 1930(1930-05-19) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died:	January 12, 1965 (aged 34) New York, New York, U.S.
Occupation:	playwright, author
Nationality:	United States

Lorraine Hansberry (May 19, 1930 - January 12, 1965) was an American playwright and litigant in the United States Supreme Court case, Hansberry v. Lee. a picture of Lorraine Hansberry File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... This article is about the state. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... This article is about work. ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... For other uses, see Author (disambiguation). ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the... Hansberry v. ...

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Hansberry was the youngest of four children of Carl Augustus Hansberry (a prominent real estate broker) and Nannie Perry Hansberry. She grew up on the south side of Chicago in the Woodlawn neighborhood. Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... Carl Augustus Hansberry (April 30, 1895—March 7, 1946) was a prominent real estate broker, inventor and political activist. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... Woodlawn, located in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, USA, is one of 77 well defined Chicago community areas. ...

The family then moved into an all-white neighborhood, where they faced racial discrimination. Hansberry attended a predominantly white public school while her parents fought against segregation. Hansberry's father engaged in a legal battle against a racially restrictive covenant that attempted to prohibit African-American families from buying homes in the area. The legal struggle over their move led to the landmark Supreme Court case of Hansberry v. Lee, 311 U.S. 32 (1940). Though victors in the Supreme Court, Hansberry's family was subjected to what Hansberry would later describe as a "hellishily hostile white neighborhood." This experience later inspired her to write her most famous work, A Raisin in the Sun. Languages Predominantly American English Religions Protestantism (chiefly Baptist and Methodist); Roman Catholicism; Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the... For the peoples actually from the Caucasus, see Peoples of the Caucasus. ... A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. ...

Hansberry attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked on the staff of Freedom magazine. It was at that time she wrote A Raisin in the Sun. The play was a huge success. It was the first play written by an African-American woman and produced on Broadway. It also received the New York Drama Critics Award making Hansberry the youngest and first African American to receive the Award. University of Wisconsin redirects here. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ...

She married Robert Nemiroff, a Jewish literature student and songwriter, in 1953. They separated in 1957 and divorced in 1964. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Although Hansberry never openly declared her sexual identity, she wrote significant, pseudoanonymous letters to The Ladder, one of the first lesbian publications in the United States that was published by The Daughters of Bilitis.^{[1] [2]} The Ladder. ... The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) was formed in San Francisco, California in 1955 by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon along with six other women. ...

She died of pancreatic cancer on January 12, 1965 at the age of 34. Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor within the pancreatic gland. ...

Other works

The Sign in Sid Brustein's Window ran for 101 performances on Broadway and closed the night she died. Her ex-husband Nemiroff became the literary executor for several of her unfinished works. Notably, he adapted many of her writings into the play, To Be Young, Gifted and Black, which was the longest-running Off-Broadway play of the 1968-1969 season. It appeared in book form the following year under the title, bam mam d and Black: Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway, productions. ...

She left behind an unfinished novel and three unfinished plays, the content matter dealing with many types of emotions.

Legacy

After her success with A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry became the foremother of African-American drama and many who followed felt a great debt to her vision. She also contributed to the understanding of abortions, discrimination, and Africa. In San Francisco, The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, which specializes in original stagings and revivals of African-American theatre, is named in honor of Lorraine Hansberry. Singer and pianist Nina Simone, who was a close friend of Hansberry, used the title of her unfinished play to write a civil rights song: "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" together with Weldon Irvine. The single reached the top 10 of the R&B charts.^[3] A studio recording was released as a single and the first live recording on October 26, 1969 was captured on Black Gold (1970). Simone introduces the song with a speech in which she tells how much she misses Hansberry, but also saying that she is still among us. This box:      Most broadly, discrimination is the discernment of qualities and rejection of subjects with undesirable qualities. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... San Francisco redirects here. ... Eunice Kathleen Waymon, better known by her stage name Nina Simone (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger and civil rights activist. ... To Be Young, Gifted and Black is a song by Nina Simone with lyrics by Weldon Irvine. ... Weldon Irvine (October 27, 1943 - April 9, 2002), also known as Master Wel, was an African American composer, playwright, poet, and pianist. ... Black Gold is a live album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone (1933-2003) recorded in 1969 at the Philharmonic Hall, New York. ...

Her Works

• A Raisin in the Sun (1959)
• A Raisin in the Sun (film), screenplay (1961)
• On Summer (Essay) (----)
• The Drinking Gourd (1960)
• The Movement: Documentary of a Struggle for Equality (1964)
• The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (1965)
• To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words (1969)
• Les Blancs: The Collected Last Plays / by Lorraine Hansberry Edited by Robert Nemiroff (1994)

A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. ... A Raisin in the Sun is a 1961 feature film starring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Roy Glenn and Claudia McNeil. ...

Trivia

She is the niece of scholar and university professor William Leo Hansberry. William Leo Hansberry (February 25, 1894—November 3, 1965) was a prominent scholar and lecturer. ...

She is the first cousin of stage director and playwright Shaunielle Perry. Shaunielle and Lorraine were very close, Perry's eldest child was named after her. Shaunielle Perry (July 1929 –) is an American stage director and playwright. ...

Grand aunt of actress Taye Hansberry, granddaughter of her sister Mamie Hansberry.

Bibliography

• James, Rosetta. Cliff Notes on Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Lincoln, Nebraska: Cliff Notes Inc, 1992
• Lorraine Hansberry (1930 - 1965) ” http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/corhans.htm 2003

References

1. GLAAD: Creating Role Models
2. Hansberry, Lorraine
3. The Nina Simon Web: To Be Young, Gifted And Black (1969)

See also

• African American literature

The Color Purple by Alice Walker African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Lorraine Hansberry

• Biography
• PAL: Perspectives in American Literature
• Voices from the Gaps: Women Writers of Color - Lorraine Hansberry
• Lorraine Hansberry's Gravesite