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The Birth of Lorraine Hansberry
Black lesbian and bisexual woman writer and activist for equal rights for blacks, Lorraine Hansberry, was born at Provident Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Nannie Perry Hansberry and Carl Augustus Hansberry (founder of Lake Street Bank and one of the first banks for blacks in Chicago) and also the youngest of four. https://www.chipublib.org/lorraine-hansberry-biography/ -
Angry White Neighbors
Lorraine and her family moved to a white neighborhood in the predominantly white Washington Park subdivision of the Woodlawn section of Chicago's south side. They were violently attacked by their neighbors but refused to move until a court ordered them to do so.
https://www.biography.com/writer/lorraine-hansberry
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/how-lorraine-hansberry-defined-what-it-meant-to-be-young-gifted-and-black -
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World War II
World War II began on September 1, 1939, when France and Britain declared war on Germany two days after Hitler had invaded Poland from the west. President Truman announced Japan's surrender and the end of World War II in 1945. On September 2, 1945, formal surrender documents were signed aboard the USS Missouri, declaring that day as the official Victory over Japan. -
Englewood High School in Chicago
Lorraine graduated from Englewood High school in Chicago, where she first became interested in theater. https://www.chipublib.org/lorraine-hansberry-biography/ -
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University of Wisconsin
Lorraine broke her family's tradition of enrolling in Southern Black colleges and attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison instead where she changed her major from painting to writing. After two years she decided to drop out and move to New York City before completing her degree. https://www.biography.com/writer/lorraine-hansberry -
New York
Lorraine moved to New York where she attended the New School for Social Research and worked for Paul Robeson's progressive Black newspaper, Freedom, as a writer and associate editor. She also worked part-time as a waitress and cashier, and wrote in her spare time.
https://www.biography.com/writer/lorraine-hansberry -
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Lorraine's Marriage
Lorraine married Robert B. Nemiroff, a Jewish songwriter, on June 20, 1953 at the Hansberrys' home in Chicago and moved to 337 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. They later separated in 1957, around the time she would also publish several anonymous letters in "The Ladder" revealing her struggles as a closeted lesbian.
https://untappedcities.com/2017/10/19/historic-plaque-marks-the-nyc-home-of-playwright-lorraine-hansberry/ -
Daughter of Bilitis
Lorraine joined the Daughters of Bilitis and contributed letters about feminism and homophobia to their magazine, The Ladder, where her lesbian identity was exposed in the articles, but wrote under her initials, L.H., for fear of discrimination.
https://www.biography.com/writer/lorraine-hansberry -
Awards
In 1959, she became the first Black playwrite and youngest American to receive the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play and the first Black American to win the Drama Desk award for her play "A Raisin in the Sun".
https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/lorraine-hansberry/ -
A Raisin in the Sun
"A Raisin in the Sun" was the first play Lorraine had written and the first play written by and African American to be produced on Broadway. This play is based on struggling black family trying to move beyond segregation and disenfranchisement in 1950's and was inspired from her years growing up in the segregated South Side of Chicago. It opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on March 11, 1959 and had a run of 530 performances. https://www.biography.com/writer/lorraine-hansberry -
112 Waverly Place
After her separation from Robert Nemiroff, she bought the building at 112 Waverly Place with earnings from "A Raisin in the Sun" where she also began her relationship with one of the building tenants, Dorothy Secules, who then became Lorraine's longest lesbian relationship.
https://makinggayhistory.com/podcast/lorraine-hansberry/ -
Film Versions
Her play "A Raisin in the Sun" was made into a film, starring Sidney Poitier, and also received an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
https://www.biography.com/writer/lorraine-hansberry -
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John F Kennedy
In 1961 John F. Kennedy became the 35th President of the U.S. and also the youngest man to be elected into the office at only 43 years old. On November 22, 1963, John was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, which also made him the youngest president to die.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/john-f-kennedy/ -
Divorce
Even though they separated in 1957, it wasn't until 1962 when they actually divorced -
Diagnosed With Cancer
In 1963, the same year "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window" opened, 32 year old Lorraine was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was in and out of hospitals for the remainder of her life.
Being Diagnosed with cancer was something hard for her to process especially at a young age https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/how-lorraine-hansberry-defined-what-it-meant-to-be-young-gifted-and-black -
Civil Rights Movement
Lorraine became an activist during the Civil Rights Movement. During this movement, Hansberry along with other influential people, including Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne and James Baldwin, met with then attorney general Robert Kennedy to test his position on civil rights. https://www.biography.com/writer/lorraine-hansberry -
The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window
"The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window" was the second and last staged play Lorraine wrote and produced in 1963 and ran on Broadway for 101 performances. This play was closed on January 12, 1965, the day Lorraine died of cancer.
https://www.chipublib.org/lorraine-hansberry-biography/ -
The Town Hall
Lorraine gave a famous speech at "The Black Revolution and the White Backlash" Forum at The Town Hall (123 West 43rf Street), which was being sponsored by The Association of Artists for Freedom and was also celebrated for her book "The Movement: Documentary of a Struggle for Equality".
https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/lorraine-hansberry-residence/ -
The Death of Lorrain Hanberry
Lorraine Hansberry died of Pancreatic Cancer at age 34. Her memorial service was held 3 days after her death at the Church of the Master in Harlem. Over 600 people attended her memorial, including Malcolm X, Ossie Davis, Diana Sands, and Sammy Davis. Although James Baldwin was not able to attend, he did send his condolences saying, "I think we must resolve not to fail her, for she certainly did not fail us." -
PBS
PBS premiered "A Raisin in the Sun" which was directed by Bill Duke and was produced by Chis Schultz for American Playhouse in honor of the play's 25th anniversary. Danny Glover and Esther Rolle star in this television film.
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/lorraine-hansberry-sighted-eyes-feeling-heart-timeline/9879/ -
Revival of "A Raisin in the Sun"
Kenny Leon directed the revival of "A Raisin in the Sun" which opened on Broadway at the Royale Theater. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan star participated in the revival.
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/lorraine-hansberry-sighted-eyes-feeling-heart-timeline/9879/