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The Birth of Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois. She was the youngest of three children and born to Nannie Perry Hansberry and Carl Augustus Hansberry. -
Lorraine's Parents
One of the earliest banks in Chicago representing African Americans was established by her father, Carl, who also established and successfully operated a real estate company. Her mother, Nannie was also a Schoolteacher. -
Hansberry's Siblings
Lorraine Hansberry had three siblings. She was born the youngest of four children to Carl Augustus Hansberry and Nannie Louise Hansberry. Her oldest brother, Carl Agustus Hansberry Jr., was born in 1920, followed soon after by her brother Perry Holloway Hansberry in 1921. Her sister, Mamie Louise Hansberry, was born in 1923. -
Hansberry v. Lee
In a predominantly white community, Hansberry's parents faced challenges. A mob formed outside the house as their new white neighbors did not appreciate the change. Her parents filed a lawsuit when the community pushed the Hansberrys to vacate their home. All the way to the Supreme Court, they took their case.This lawsuit contributed to the nationwide ban on legal housing discrimination. -
Lorraine Graduates HS and Finds Her Passions
Hansberry attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison after graduating from Englewood High School in 1948. Hansberry developed an interest in politics, theater, and the worldwide anti-colonial struggle while she was a student. -
Lorraine and Robert Get Married
During a protest against racial discrimination at New York University, Hansberry met Robert Nemiroff on the picket line. Nemiroff, a white, Jewish writer, shared many of Hansberry’s political views. Shortly after meeting, the two married at the Hansberry’s home in Chicago. When Hansberry married, interracial marriage was still illegal in many states. -
Hansberry Creates "A Raisin In The Sun"
She began composing a play as a result of her passion of theater and her early years. She changed the book's name from The Crystal Stair to A Raisin in the Sun, a line from Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem: A Dream Deferred." Raisin was inspired by the experiences of working-class African Americans who attended South Side schools with Hansberry and rented homes from her father. -
Hansberry Wins a Circle Award
The first Black American to win the Drama Desk Award and the youngest person to receive the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play -
Hansberry on Vogue Magazine
In the apartment at 337 Bleecker Street where Hansberry had written Raisin, photographer David Attie conducted a lengthy picture session of the author for Vogue. -
"A Raisin in the Sun" Goes To Broadway
Opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York! It vividly depicts an African-American family's struggles to break free from the confines of segregation on the city's South Side and is both emotionally potent and intellectually intriguing. -
"A Raisin in the Sun" Turns Into A Movie
The 1961 American drama film A Raisin in the Sun, starring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Roy Glenn, and Louis Gossett Jr., was directed by Daniel Petrie. -
Hansberry and Nemiroff Divorce
Hansberry and Nemiroff ended their romantic relationship after nine years, but he remained her best friend and closest confidant for the rest of her life. Despite her marriage to a man, Hansberry identified as a lesbian but she was not “out” in the traditional sense, as homosexuality was illegal in New York City at the time. -
Hansberry Creates "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window
The second and final produced play by A Raisin in the Sun author Lorraine Hansberry is titled The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. In the play, Sidney hangs a political sign calling for the abolition of bossism from the window of his Greenwich Village apartment. The sign sets off a series of events. His marital and personal ties fall apart, and he is forced to confront issues with Bohemian culture, Judaism, racism, homosexuality, governmental corruption, interracial love, and prostitution. -
Lorraine Hansberry Dies
In 1965, while her play The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window was performing on Broadway, she passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 34. -
"Raisin" The Musical is Made
A Raisin in the Sun was the inspiration for the Broadway musical Raisin, which debuted in 1973. Judd Woldin composed the score, Robert Brittan wrote the lyrics, and Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg wrote the book. The production ran for more than two years and was named Best Musical at the Tony Awards. -
"A Raisin in the Sun" Revival
A Raisin in the Sun was brought back to Broadway in 2004 in a production that was directed by Kenny Leon and starred Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Phylicia Rashad, and Audra McDonald. -
"A Raisin in the Sun" Turns Into a TV Show
A family of African Americans strives for a better way of life despite facing challenges such as racism, poverty, and internal conflict. based on Lorraine Hansberry's play. -
Another Revival! With Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington starred in a new Broadway revival of the play in 2014 under the direction of Kenny Leon; -
"A Raisin in the Sun" Wins Some Tony Awards
The play received a nomination for Best Revival of a Play and won Tony Awards for Rashad as Best Actress in a Play and McDonald as Best Featured Actress in a Play.
For Best Revival of a Play, Best Featured Actress in a Play for Sophie Okonedo, and Best Direction of a Play in 2014, it took home three Tony Awards. -
Lorraine Writes a Biography
Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry is about an insightful depiction of one of the most talented and dynamic Black philosophers and artists of the 20th century. Written by, Imani Perry. -
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