Loraine Hansberry is recognized as the first black playwright to be honored by the New York Critics’ Circle for Raisin in the Sun. Her playwright debuted in 1959, which portrayed the struggle of a black family from the Southside of Chicago. The play captivates an era of American history going through radical change. Hansberry witnessed changes in American history during the Harlem Renaissance, The Great Depression, World War II, and the height of the Civil Rights Movement. In her untimely demise, the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is quoted stating, “Ms. Hansberry’s commitment of spirit, her creative ability and her profound grasp of the deep social issues confronting the world today will remain an inspiration to generations yet unborn.”
