Michael Vazquez

Ms. Aponte
Tech Prep 11
11 May, 2015
Lorraine Hansberry Biography
Lorraine Hansberry was a black female playwright. She was born may 19,
1930 in Chicago, Illinois. She came from a rich family. Her mother was a school
teacher, and her father was a real estate broker. She was the granddaughter of a
freed slave.
in 1938, Hansberry and her parents moved to a white neighborhood, where
they were violently attacked by their neighbors. They refused to move out until the
court ordered them to do so, due to ruling restrictive covenants illegal. Hansberry
attended college at the University of Wisconsin where she changed her major from
painting, to writing. After attending for two years, she dropped out and moved to
New York City.
After she moved to the city, she worked for Paul Robeson's progressive black
newspaper as a writer and associate editor from 1950-1953. in 1956, she quit and
committed all her time to writing. By 1957, she joined the Daughters of Bilitis and
wrote letters for their magazine about feminism and homophobia. By doing this, she
exposed her lesbian identity. She wrote her initials, L.H., due to the fear of
discrimination.
In 1964, Hansberry was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She died January
12, 1965.