Backstory Your Guide to Timeline Productions
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BACKSTORY YOUR GUIDE TO TIMELINE PRODUCTIONS BY LORRAINE HANSBERRY directed by Ron OJ Parson YESTERDAY’S STORIES. TODAY’S TOPICS. From Artistic Director PJ Powers Hansberry v. Lee A Timeline of the a message the history Harlem Renaissance and Civil Rights from 1900 to 1955 play ever set in Chicago—has career achievement. But they n 1937, Lorraine Hansberry’s sold to black families. Lee felt as much to say now as it did all see their dreams as unnat- Ifather decided to purchase a Hansberry had purchased the 1900 U.S. census records a then. While Hansberry wrote tainable if they remain where new family home in Washing- property in violation of the total population of 76,994,575, during a time that feels distant they currently dwell. ton Park, Chicago. A scholar Property Owners Associa- including a black population of (preceding the Civil Rights 8,833,944 (11.6%). So, why this play again? A and successful business man, tion’s agreement and sued for movement), Chicago was then Carl was an active member $100,000. She won her case “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” elcome to TimeLine’s Raisin in the Sun is about our and is now a tale of two cities, of the Chicago chapter of the at the Illinois Supreme Court. composed by James Weldon 17th season and community and the ever-shift- W splintered into neighborhoods NAACP and socialized with The case then went to the Johnson and J. Rosamond Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin ing but ever-existing neighbor- with stark contrasts. famous black leaders of the United States Supreme Court. Johnson, is first performed. It in the Sun. hood barriers that keep it a time such as Paul Robeson will become a black anthem. The issues that impact us tale of two cities. It’s a story In what turned out to be a Since we announced this and Langston Hughes. 1901 Booker T. Washington’s most are intrinsically tied to about Chicago—then and revolutionary case and verdict, play I’ve been struck by the Up from Slavery is published. where we reside—to where now and hopefully not forever. Hansberry won the case. The number of people who’ve The Hansberrys anticipated Washington becomes the first our real estate is. Be it ram- restrictive covenant upon responded with “Why that I’m delighted to have director that the community would not black man to be invited to dine pant violence, gang activity, which Lee’s case focused play again?” This hasn’t been Ron OJ Parson at TimeLine welcome them with open arms, at the White House. drug trafficking, economic but they did not expect the was ruled not technically valid a majority response, but I’ve for the first time. I’ve greatly 1903 W.E.B. DuBois’ The investment, park beautifica- because it required signatures heard it more than expected. admired his work for more degree to which they would Souls of Black Folk is published, tion or the battle over the from at least 95 percent of Yet when asked, most people than 15 years, and you can be disrespected. A young calling for agitation on behalf of quality and quantity of our homeowners in the area—she have trouble answering when read in this Backstory about Lorraine recounted a brick African American rights. schools, our deep connection flying through her living room only had 54 percent. they last saw it performed. his long and storied history February 12, 1909 The (or relative indifference) to window as a child—nearly hit- (It’s been 13 years since a with this play. Notably, the Supreme Court National Association for the these headlines comes down ting her in the head. Instead of major Chicago revival by the ruled the restrictive agree- Advancement of Colored People to where we find ourselves in We’ve got a powerhouse being a clean slate and a move Goodman Theatre and seven line-up this season, with The ment that property would not (NAACP) is founded on the this great metropolis. When away from poverty toward a 100th anniversary of Abraham years since Court Theatre pro- Normal Heart playing nearby be sold to African Americans one of those stories is rooted bright future, the experience Lincoln’s birth, with the inten- duced a musical adaptation.) at Stage 773, The How and unlawful only by technicality. in a part of town other than in the new neighborhood was tion of promoting the use of The case was not won based Perhaps “Why that again?” is our own, is our investment and the Why, the first-ever Chicago terrorizing. the courts to restore the legal asked of any American classic. concern as great? production of the musical on an unlawful and unjust at- rights of black Americans. Juno, and a new downtown Anna Lee, a white neighbor, tempt to deny someone a fair We wonder what new could A Raisin in the Sun is a play 1910 The first issue of The commercial production of To sued Hansberry for purchasing purchase of property based on possibly be mined from The about hopes and dreams. A Crisis, edited by DuBois, is Master the Art, which was the property. She claimed that skin color. But it was and still Glass Menagerie, Who’s Afraid grandmother strives to give published by the NAACP. originally commissioned and 500 land owners had signed is seen as a victory and a step of Virginia Woolf?, Our Town, her kids and grandson a better premiered at TimeLine. It a restrictive covenant stating toward housing, social, politi- December 19, 1910 The City The Crucible, etc., until we see life than what she knew. A Council of Baltimore approves promises to be a year of great that property would not be cal and economic equality. one of those plays with fresh father instills in his son the the first city ordinance desig- discussion and discovery, and I eyes and are knocked out by belief that he can do anything nating the boundaries of black thank you for being a part of it. its impact. he sets his mind to. And a and white neighborhoods. This The label of “classic” is daughter works to break bar- Fondly, ordinance is followed by similar ones in nine other cities. ascribed to these plays for a riers of gender, education and reason—each has a reso- 1911 The National Urban nance that is timeless. League is formed to help Why this play again? It’s a play African Americans secure Though written more than equal employment. 50 years ago, A Raisin in the about Chicago—then, now and Sun—arguably the greatest hopefully not forever. Lorraine Hansberry $10,000 Then and Now 1912 W.C. Handy’s “Memphis the playwright the money Blues” becomes the first blues composition to be published. orn May 19, 1930 in traditional black university, Raisin in the Sun brings up multiple important questions The Autobiography of an Ex- Colored Man, a novel by James Chicago, Lorraine Vivian Hansberry attended the about family dynamics and support, how to love each other, B A Weldon Johnson, is published. Hansberry was the youngest of University of Wisconsin– how to make progress as an individual, and how to survive in a four children of Carl Hansberry, Madison, but found it world that is racially divided and unfair. 1913 President Woodrow a successful real-estate uninspiring. At a time when Wilson’s administration begins One of the more simple questions is, what will Mama do with her segregating blacks and whites businessman and politician, women attending college $10,000 check? The family eagerly awaits her decision. in government departments. and Nannie Louise Perry, was somewhat revolutionary, who was a school teacher. quitting school was no small Lorraine Hansberry. In our 2013 mindset, $10,000 is not altogether that much mon- 1915 The Ku Klux Klan re- Both her parents were active event. She went to New York ey. A $10,000 gift is nothing to scoff at, but it certainly wouldn’t ceives a charter from Georgia’s Critics’ Circle Award as Best participants in the NAACP and City in 1950 and within a year buy you a home, a luxury car or a year of medical school tuition. Fulton County Superior Court. Play of the Year. She was the The Klan spreads quickly, the Urban League. was a staff writer for Freedom youngest American, the fifth Converting $10,000 into its current value requires adjusting for reaching its height during the Magazine, edited by Robeson. Raised on the teachings of woman and the first black inflation. The Consumer Price Index is used to figure out what 1920s with an estimated Langston Hughes, W.E.B. In 1953, she married Robert person to win the award. the purchasing power of $10,000 would be in 2013. 4 million members. DuBois and Paul Robeson, Nemiroff, a Jewish publisher, Her success opened the The result: In 1954, $10,000 had the same purchasing power 1915 The Great Migration Hansberry was highly songwriter and political activist. floodgates for a generation begins. Approximately 2 million as $85,354 today. educated about progress Hansberry began writing of modern black actors and African Americans from south- and dreams for equality in a her first play, A Raisin in the writers who were influenced So, as you watch this production, please keep in mind: That ern states move to northern racially divided nation. Sun, that same year. While and encouraged by her writing. check that’s coming to Mama – it’s worth more than $85,000.