Lorraine Hansberry A Brief Biography Early Life ● Born in the Southside of Chicago in 1930 ○ Mother was a teacher and local representative ○ Father was in the real estate business ● Was exposed to racism at a very young age due to her family moving into a white neighborhood ○ White mobs would surround her family home ○ When Hanberry was 8 a mob threw a brick in her window which nearly hit Hansberry in the head while she was sleeping ● She was also exposed to the structural problems with the current legal systems after Hansberry v. Lee Hansberry’s Time @ Freedom Newspaper ● In her 20’s Hansberry moved to NYC to pursue writing and ended up working for Freedom Newspaper. ○ Worked with people such as Paul Robeson and W.E.B DuBois ○ Freedom was known for their Pan-Africanist ideology, their original motto was "Where one is enslaved, all are in chains!", and frequently wrote about labor movements, and international issues such as anti-colonial struggles. ○ One of Hansberry’s earliest projects for Freedom was as a participant-reporter on a meeting/protest by the “Sojourners for Truth and Justice,” a group of over 130 Black Feminist women responding to government attacks on Black interllectuals and activists. Activism ● Hansberry has been rooted in activism for much of her life ○ In college she joined the Young Progressives of America and the Labor Youth League ○ During her time at Freedom, she often wrote in support of African Liberation Movements ■ Believed that equality for African-Americans also necessitated anti-colonialism ○ Was involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ○ Traveled to and spoke at conferences around the Hansberry with Nina Simone during a SNCC gathering world Listen to Lorraine ● “The Black Revolution and the White Backlash” ○ One of her speeches given as she was battling cancer. ○ Lorraine’s hope for the future of race relations Major Accomplishments I ● 1957 ○ First African-American Woman to be produced on Broadway ● 1959 ○ New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best play of the year for A Raisin in the Sun ● 1960 ○ Named an Honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta at their national convention in Chicago ● 1961 ○ Screen Writers Guild Award nomination for best screenplay ○ Cannes Film Festival Award, for the film version of A Raisin in the Sun ● 1999 ○ Inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame Major Accomplishments II ● 2010 ○ Inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame ● 2013 ○ Inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display which celebrates LGBT history and people ○ Inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. ● 2017 ○ Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.