A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

In 1959, Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun made its Broadway debut. The poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes, sometimes known as "A Dream Deferred," is where the title originates. In the story, a Black family in south Chicago encounters racism, housing discrimination, and assimilation as they try to improve their financial situation with an insurance settlement after the father's passing.

With this drama about an African-American family trying to improve itself by relocating to a new neighborhood, Hansberry broke down a glass ceiling and became the first Black woman to have a play presented on Broadway. Raisin is included on this list for more reasons than just just one. Raisin communicates to audiences of all races and generations because its story components and themes span ethnic and historical divisions, as you saw with not one but two excellent revivals in a period of ten years. It was chosen the best play of 1959 by the New York Drama Critics' Circle, and in more recent years, publications like The Independent and Time Out included it on their lists of the greatest plays ever written.

Written by: Lorraine Hansberry
Created: 1959