The Lorraine Hansberry Documentary Project

From The Film Posse

She broke through gender and race barriers, now help bring her story to life! Hansberry was an early participant in the modern civil rights, feminist, black nationalist, peace, and gay/lesbian movements that were gaining momentum during her brief lifetime. (Click here if you want to read up on what Lorraine has meant for the LGBT movement)

Considered a classic, “A Raisin in the Sun” is one of the most read plays in schools, colleges and universities in North America. The 1961 film version starring Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee continues to be shown across the country on screens big and small. In 2004, the very first Broadway revival of "A Raisin in the Sun" broke Broadway box office records. A new, younger and even more diverse audience flocked to Broadway to see it, and many more tuned into the TV movie version of the stage production featuring Sean “P.Diddy” Combs.

Despite the widespread interest in “A Raisin in the Sun, the name and story of its author is largely unknown. For those who have heard of her, Hansberry is a one-dimensional figure who died young. Yet, she is a complex and compelling character whose life tells the story of one individual's power to effect social and cultural change.

"I was born black and female," she famously said. Her own story, presented in the posthumously produced play, “To be Young Gifted and Black,” has moved thousands. Hansberry’s words continue to resonate today--her quotes are tweeted and retweeted across the internet daily.

Yet Hansberry is still an anomaly in American theater--one of a handful of well-known female playwrights, and the most successful African-American female playwright ever.