310 Lorraine Hansberry

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Books, Arts

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2021

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) was a child, her father made the Hansberry name famous by fighting for justice in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. By the time she was thirty, she herself was famous as the author of A Raisin in the Sun (1959), which tells the story of a black family attempting to purchase a home in a white neighborhood. In this episode, we look at the brief life and towering accomplishments of the woman who was the godmother to Nina Simone's daughter and whose remarks to talented young African American students inspired Simone's song "Young, Gifted and Black." Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. (We appreciate it!) Find out more at historyofliterature.com, jackewilson.com, or by following Jacke and Mike on Twitter at @thejackewilson and @literatureSC. Or send an email to [email protected]. New!!! Looking for an easy to way to buy Jacke a coffee? Now you can at paypal.me/jackewilson. Your generosity is much appreciated! The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, launches, and events. For more information on how The Podglomerate treats data, please see our Privacy Policy. Since you're listening to The History of Literature, we'd like to suggest you also try other Podglomerate shows surrounding literature, history, and storytelling like Storybound, Micheaux Mission, and The History of Standup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature podcast is a member of the Podglomerate Network and LitHub Radio.
0:07.0	Hello.
0:14.5	She was born in 1930 to a real estate broker whose last name became famous thanks to a Supreme
0:20.2	Court case challenging racial restrictive covenants.
0:24.0	She died just 34 years later of pancreatic cancer.
0:28.6	Her name was Lorraine Hansberry and she was 8 years old when her father filed his case,
0:33.9	which demanded equal treatment for black people, arguing that white people should not be
0:38.7	allowed to get together and sign agreements preventing black people from buying homes
0:43.4	in their neighborhood.
0:45.2	When Lorraine was 10, the Supreme Court threw out that case on procedural grounds, but the
0:50.0	spirit of activism lived through her.
0:53.3	And she was in her late 20s, her play A Raising in the Sun became the first play by an
0:58.4	African American woman to be produced on Broadway.
1:02.1	She was famous now and she used the rest of her remaining years to continue her fight against
1:07.4	injustice.
1:08.9	She was also the godmother to Nina Simone's daughter Lisa and Nina Simone, a singer you
1:14.4	hear in the background, based this famous song on Lorraine Hansberry and a famous phrase
1:20.0	that Lorraine Hansberry delivered in a speech to young talented black students.
1:25.8	There were 16 winners of a creative writing contest, dying of cancer, Hansberry left her
1:31.9	hospital bed to go and see them.
1:35.0	I wanted to come to see you, she said, because you are young, gifted, and black.
1:42.0	Look at the work that awaits you, write if you will, but write about the world as it
	...

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