Lorraine Hansberry Documentary Project

Hansberry Filmmaker Awarded New Fellowship

2009-11-01T16:50:00.000-05:00

Hansberry director/producer Tracy Heather Strain was in the news recently for receiving a Brother Thomas Fellowship Award from The Boston Foundation. She and the seven other fellows were honored in a ceremony at The Boston Foundation on October 13, 2009, and a week later at The Pucker Gallery, which represents the late Brother Thomas Bezanson, a Benedictine monk and master ceramic artist. To see photos of Brother Thomas's stunningly beautiful works, click here to see the program from the gallery's recent exhibition.

Harry Belafonte Interview, February 2009

2009-06-01T00:06:00.002-04:00

The Big 5-0 for A Raisin in the Sun

2008-12-31T13:23:00.003-05:00

Entertainment at SFGate, news and information for the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2009, many plays, people and other theatrical entities will observe significant milestones, including the 50th anniversary of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun." Chronicle Theater Critic Robert Hurwitt looks ahead to more theater's touchstones taking place in the New Year.

Lorraine Hansberry and the 2008 Campaign: Who Would She Have Supported?

2008-01-19T17:58:00.001-05:00

There has been a lot written about African-American women and whether a majority will support Barak Obama, an African-American man, or Hilary Clinton, a European-American woman, in the Democratic primaries and caucuses. By the way, if you haven't seen or read the debate between second-wave feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem and Princeton University Professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell on Democracy Now!, you should check it out!

Since I spend so much time thinking about Lorraine Hansberry, I've wondered what she might have said about this presidential race, and which of these two candidates she would have supported, if she had been inclined to back either. What do you think?

Take our What Would Lorraine Hansberry Do (WWLHD)? poll on the right, and explain your selection in the comments using what she's written to support your position.

World Premiere for A Raisin in the Sun at 2008 Sundance Film Festival

2007-12-01T20:13:00.001-05:00

A RAISIN IN THE SUN / U.S.A. (Director: Kenny Leon; Screenwriter: Paris Qualles)—After moving to Chicago’s South Side in the 1950s, a black family struggles to deal with poverty, racism, and inner conflict as they strive for a better life. Adapted for the screen from Lorraine Hansberry's play, this is a moving portrait of dreams deferred. Cast: Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, Sean Patrick Thomas. World Premiere.

Powered by ScribeFire.

ABC put the trailer up last night. Look for the video titled "Don't Miss A Raisin In The Sun!"

Post Interview Posing

2007-11-25T21:08:00.001-05:00

Executive Producer Chiz Schultz & Playwright William Branch
Originally uploaded by unit2A

One of interviews we've completed was with William Branch who met Lorraine Hansberry in New York. He was one of the organizers of the First Conference of Negro Writers held at the Hudson Hotel in New York in early March 1959. Hansberry was invited to speak at the gathering, which happened about two weeks before the Broadway premiere of A Raisin in the Sun. It was at the conference where she gave a speech that is often quoted today. Two of our favorites phrases from her address: "I am black and female" and "...the human race does command its own destiny and that destiny can eventually embrace the stars."

A Quick Update: We're Still Moving Forward!

2007-10-24T11:00:00.001-04:00

The Office
Originally uploaded by unit2A

Our team is hard at work continuing our research and development for this documentary project about the late great Lorraine Hansberry. Business affairs—whether it is writing fundraising proposals, dealing with legal issues, or estimating our budget and schedule—takes up much more of our time right now than we'd like. When we have time to dive back into the content, i.e. Hansberry's story, especially contemplating her powerful words, we are delighted and inspired. Gotta get back to the proposal writing.

A Long Legacy: Hansberry's Words Continue to Inspire

2007-08-06T08:31:00.001-04:00

Liberty City artist portrays urban life at Fort Lauderdale exhibit - 07/27/2007 - MiamiHerald.com

Liberty City artist portrays urban life at Fort Lauderdale exhibit
A self-taught painter from Liberty City depicts his world in a show in Fort Lauderdale
Posted on Fri, Jul. 27, 2007
BY ANI MARTINEZ armartinez@MiamiHerald.com

When Addonis Parker watched Woody Woodpecker as a 4-year-old boy, he thought, ''I could do better.''

So his mother handed him a drawing pad and paint and told him to prove it.

Parker, 34, hasn't stopped painting since.

''My mother trained my mind away from poverty,'' he said. ''We weren't from a well-to-do family, so she helped me understand there was another life I could live.''

Parker, of Liberty City, is a self-taught painter. In his own words, he depicts ''urban life through urban eyes.''

A collection of Parker's paintings went on display Thursday at the Old Dillard Museum in Fort Lauderdale. The exhibit, called Young, Gifted and Black . . . and That's a Fact, is at the museum through Aug. 31. The exhibit title is inspired by To be Young, Gifted and Black, a collection of writings by American playwright Lorraine Hansberry, author of the groundbreaking drama A Raisin in the Sun.

Celebrating Black Theater...and Film!

2007-07-30T11:13:00.000-04:00

Tonight in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the National Black Theatre Festival holds its Opening Night Gala. I'm excited to make it down here finally, even though I can only attend this evening's kick-off. This year's festival begins on a sad note because the visionary founder Larry Leon Hamlin passed away last month. Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting his widow Sylvia and several people in the office—all dressed in their traditional purple and black—working hard to make this week-long event run smoothly. With the help of my aunt and uncle, and through the kindness of the festival planners, I'm spreading the word about our Hansberry documentary, and placing our postcards at the various festival-related venues around town.

I suspect that most everyone of the theater folks in the room tonight will have participated in at least one production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. Take James Pickens, Jr. of Grey's Anatomy, who, according to the local news, was already in Winston-Salem yesterday. Pickens played Walter Lee in the 25th anniversary celebration of the play at the Roundabout Theatre which was directed by Harold Scott. Honoree Billie Allen, one of six recipients of a Living Legend Award, was Diana Sands' understudy in the original Broadway production. Some of the other festival awardees include the Negro Ensemble Company/Theatre Longevity Award, Lou Bellamy/Lloyd Richards’ Director’s Award, and Leslie Lee/August Wilson’s Playwright Award. The theater festival also gives out an Outstanding Achievement in Film Award, and this year's recipient is Warrington Hudlin, DV Republic Founder and Chief and President of the Black Filmmakers Foundation. Should be a fun and moving evening.

Interesting Article Regarding A Raisin in the Sun

2007-07-26T11:07:00.001-04:00

Star Community Newspapers

Reading more of a pleasure than requirement for teenagers

BY STEFANIE WHITE, McKinney Courier-Gazette
(Created: Wednesday, July 25, 2007)

Some high school students are required to read during the summer, but Helen Talley said more teens are choosing to read on their own.

“Actually, I think they are reading more for pleasure during the summer,” Talley said. “It seems once school goes out, the shelves are empty.”

Talley, McKinney Memorial Public Library young adult coordinator, said the library has had a few requests on required summer reading books.

“‘A Raisin in the Sun’ is one that everyone is having to read,” Talley said. “We get a request almost on a daily basis.”

We Gotta Grant

2007-06-14T20:40:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to announce that the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded us with an Arts on Radio and Television Grant. We are so honored to receive their support. On to the humanities!

Happy Birthday Lorraine and Malcolm!

2007-05-21T07:48:00.000-04:00

Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was born May 19, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. Malcolm X, nee Malcolm Little, was born on the same day in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Lorraine died when she was 34 years old of pancreatic cancer on January 12, 1965. Malcolm X attended her funeral, and about five weeks later, at the age of 39 on February 21, 1965, he was assassinated.

A Producer's Long Relationship with Lorraine Hansberry

2007-03-09T16:57:00.000-05:00

From Executive Producer, Chiz Schultz: Years after being profoundly moved and thrilled by the original Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun, Edgar Lansbury, a friend of mine, called me and asked if I would meet Bob Nemiroff, Hansberry’s ex-husband, who wanted to produce a compilation of her writings and work off-Broadway. Bob and I met at Belafonte Enterprises, where I was working for Harry Belafonte, developing projects for feature films and television. It was 1968. Bob asked me to read a play he had written, To Be Young, Gifted and Black. It was inspiring, funny, dramatic, exciting and revealed a woman I realized I knew nothing about. How I would have liked to know her!

I recommended the play to Belafonte, whose company proceeded to invest in the production, along with Lansbury and some others. The play, with Cicely Tyson among others, opened in 1969 at the Cherry Lane Theater and was the longest-running off-Broadway play that season. That began a lifelong friendship with Bob Nemiroff that later led to his asking me to produce the television production of A Raisin in the Sun starring Danny Glover and Esther Rolle, as well as a documentary special on Hansberry’s life and legacy.

After more than ten years, the Lorraine Hansberry Documentary Project is in pre-production, with an exceptional producer/director, Tracy Heather Strain; award-winning editor, Randy MacLowry; and esteemed advisers such as Hansberry’s biographers Margaret Wilkerson and Michael Anderson; two-time Pulitzer prize winning historian, David Levering Lewis; the late Lloyd Richards, original director of A Raisin in the Sun; Hansberry scholar, Professor Steven Carter; and women’s studies scholar Beverly Guy-Sheftall.

Our documentary and the educational outreach program to schools and universities both here and abroad are long overdue. We are excited to use some of the latest interactive digital tools and social networks to connect with students and the public at large as we embark on this exploration of Hansberry's life, art and times. By getting to know Lorraine Hansberry, both the artist and the woman, we can receive a new understanding of and respect for our fellow humans and the inspiration to follow our dreams.

It's Time for a Documentary on Hansberry

2007-02-09T00:14:00.000-05:00

Lorraine Hansberry's best known work A Raisin in the Sun is the most read American play in American schools, but what do you really know about this woman who helped change the face of American theater? Yes, she died at 34 years old of pancreatic cancer, but as people will learn from our project, she was much more than just a one hit wonder.