Lorraine Hansberry’s Legacy: To Be Young, Gifted and Black

by& Gwen McKinney It was May 1, 1964, and celebrated playwright Lorraine Hansberry, addressing a group of teenage national essay winners, extolled the power of Blackness: “I speak with you on this occasion because you are young, gifted and black. I for one can think of no more dynamic combination a person might be…Look at the work that awaits you! Write if you will. But write about the world as it is, and as you think it ought to be…Write about our people. Tell their story.” Though destined to an early grave, Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – Jan. 12, 1965) achieved more in 35 years than most can imagine in multiple lifetimes. Heavily influenced by poet and then elder statesman Langston Hughes, whose “Dream Deferred” inspired the title of her acclaimed play “A Raisin in the Sun,” Hansberry was the first Black playwright to show up on Broadway.& She opened the gates for August Wilson, Amiri Baraka, and the next generation of Black (mostly male) playwrights and directors. “A Raisin in the Sun” transformed theater, shattering the reality of Black family life and American racism onto the Broadway stage. That transcendent play portrayed the depth and emotions of spatial isolation...