Jan 1, 2010

A Raisin in the Sun | Author Biography

Born in Chicago in 1930, Lorraine Hansberry was the youngest of four children. Her father, Carl Hansberry, was a successful real estate agent—and his family hence middle-class—who bought a house in a previously all-white neighborhood when Lorraine was eight years old. His attempt to move his family into this home created much tension, since Chicago was then legally segregated. Subsequently, however, as a result of Carl Hansberry's lawsuit, the Illinois Supreme Court declared these housing segregation laws unconstitutional.

After high school Hansberry attended the University of...