Looking for Lorraine
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“Cindy, Oh Cindy” (Nemiroff and D’Lugoff), 74
Civil Rights Act of 1964, John Kennedy’s proposal for, 165
civil rights movement: and Brown v. Board of Education, 65, 168; JFK’s views, 165; LH’s critique of, 179; as long-term, messy struggle, 174; portrayal of, in Raisin, 102; and questioning of nonviolence, 142, 168–69. See also activism, radical
Clark, Kenneth, 163–64
Cohen, Edythe: letters from LH, as source material, 41; LH letter to, about passion for racial justice, 49; LH letter to, mentioning coming marriage, 60
Colbert, Sonya, 7
college education: Beneatha’s ambitions for, 113–14, 124; as expected within the Hansberry family, 9; Navy Pier campus of the University of Illinois, 113–14; New School for Social Research, 43. See also University of Wisconsin
colonialism, imperialism: Freedom’s focus on, 47; and LH’s activism against, 66, 150–51; and LH’s global perspective, 22, 24–25, 65–67
“Come Ye Disconsolate” (hymn), 196
Commentary magazine, “Liberalism and the Negro” roundtable, 122
Committee for the Negro in the Arts, 47
communism: Camp Unity, 68; Ellison’s distancing self from, 55–56; and the execution of the Rosenbergs, 63–64; LH’s attraction, commitment to, 32, 47, 49, 52; and the 1930s Chicago art scene, 18, 21; youthful debates about, 22, 32–33, 42. See also Community Party; Inter-American Peace Conference; Robeson, Paul
Communist Party: Burnham’s affiliations with, 46–47; Foley Square Trial treason trial, 34–35; Ray Hansborough’s membership in, 21; and Jefferson School of Social Science, 51; LH’s retreat from, 68; LH’s support for, 56; and Robeson, 57, 68. See also US State Department
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE): LH’s Croton fund-raiser for, 166–67, 173; shooting of Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney, 173; “Stall In,” critiques of, 170
Cook, Molly Malone, 91–93
Cordero, Ana Livia, 155–56
Cottom, Cornelia, 182–83
courage, fearlessness: depictions of, in Les Blancs; depictions of, in Raisin, 139, 142–44; Du Bois’s, 179; Carl Hansberry’s, 136; LH’s, 127–28, 170, 184. See also activism, radical
The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (Cruse), 113
critical essays on art and politics: on art as illumination, 108; LH’s skill at, 106–7; on liberalism, 172–73; response to responses to Raisin, 107–8, 100, 112–14; support for Baldwin’s work, 119; Provincetown art show opening, 82; views on Ellison, 54, 99, 113; views on Wright, 123–24. See also Freedom (newspaper); specific writings and writers
Croton-on-Hudson, New York: LH’s gravesite, 197, 202–3; LH’s home, 175–76, 203–4; radical activists in, 176
Cruse, Harold, 113
Cuban Revolution, 157–58
Curtis Institute, Philadelphia, 131
Daily Worker (newspaper), 82, 84
Daley, Richard M., 137
Danny Rogers (character in A Big White Fog), as villainous entrepreneur, 139
“Dark Symphony” (Tolson), 19
Daughters of Bilitis, 79–80
David (character in Sign), homosexuality of, 147–49
Davis, Ossie: and the AAF, 171; Carnegie Hall memorial for Du Bois, 178; as pallbearer at LH’s funeral, 195; support for LH’s radical voice, 155; as Walter Lee Younger in Raisin, 101
Death of a Salesman (Miller), 105–6
de Beauvoir, Simone: disparagement of female beauty, 87; LH essay on, 89; The Second Sex, impact on LH, 75, 77–78
Dee, Ruby: and the AAF, 171; and the American Negro Theater, 53; as Ruth Younger in Raisin, 98; tribute at LH’s funeral, 191
depression, emotional ups-and-downs: efforts to manage during illness, 183; LH’s frequent experience of, 45–46, 99, 134–35, 181; reflection of in letters to RN, 68–70, 74–75; and response to Provincetown, 81–82; and the short story “Arnold,” 76–77
diary, datebook entries: about intellectualizing deep emotions, 79; about desire to remain active despite illness, 180; lists of likes and dislikes, 95–96, 115; and mood swings, 181; nostalgia for Chicago, 45; plans for year before her death, 186; and self-exploration, questioning in, 69–71, 95–96, 107, 129; writings about lovers and love, 93–94. See also depression; personal qualities
Dirty Hands (Sartre), 170
D’Lugoff, Art, 72
D’Lugoff, Burt, 74
dogs, 176, 183
domestic workers, 113
Drake, St. Clair, 18
Drama Critics Circle Award, 1, 98
drawing skill, 28
The Drinking Gourd (TV series, Hansberry), 158–59
Du Bois, Shirley Graham, 178
Du Bois, W. E. B.: on art as political, 48, 52; Carnegie Hall memorial, 178; on the day of Awakening, 97; death, 178; LH’s admiration for, tributes to, 52, 178–80; mentorship of LH, 48, 51–52; mentorship of Leo Hansberry, 51; passport revocation, 56; split from the NAACP, 66–67
Dufty, William, 114
dying, death: Carl Hansberry’s, 22, 195; LH’s illness and final days, 182, 184–85, 187, 195. See also cancer
Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama, 197
education. See college education; Englewood High School, Chicago
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 63
Elbein, Joseph, 42
Ellison, Ralph: distancing from Communist Party, 55–56; “Harlem Is Nowhere,” 54, 99; Invisible Man, 55; LH’s criticisms of, 54, 99, 113
Emily Jones (Hansberry pseudonym): “Chanson Du Konallis,” 88–90; explorations of gender and lesbian sexuality, 83–84, 87; “Renascence,” 194; separation of race from sexuality, 88
Englewood High School, Chicago: academic performance at, 20; debates and discussions, 22, 24–25; inscriptions in LH’s yearbook, 25–26; integration of, 23; strike by white students at, 23
Eric/Ngedi (character in Les Blancs), homosexuality and courage, 141–43
Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York, 98, 200
Excelsior (Mexico City newspaper), 157
fame, stardom: and cultural diplomacy, 151–52; desire for, changing views, 119, 135; impacts of, 95–96; and the Raisin film, 115–16. See also Raisin in the Sun
Fast, Howard, 47
Faulkner, William, 55, 123
Fauset, Jessie, 88
FBI surveillance: concerns about Raisin, 99; decision not to interview LH, 99–100; following the Montevideo conference, 59; of LH’s Greenwich Village apartments, 94; physical description of LH, 102
fears and vulnerabilities, 91
Federal Negro Theater, 53
feminism: connection with lesbianism, 81; criticisms of Gide’s misogyny, 129; criticisms of LH’s use of strong male voices, 140–41, 144; and female activism at the Montevideo conference, 58; and female roles in “The Anticipation of Eve,” 84–86; and male vs. female artists, 72; messages about in LH’s and Simon’s work, 133–34; and The Second Sex, 77–78; and women’s intellectual rights, 81. See also the Ladder; lesbians, lesbianism
Fields, Sidney, 103
The Fire Next Time (Baldwin), 125, 136–37
Fisher, Eddie, 74
“Flag from a Kitchenette Window” (Hansberry), 44, 98
Florence (Childress), 72–73
Flowers for the General (Hansberry), 79
“Foreign paper told me about Miss Bergman” (Hansberry), 40
Forman, James (Rufus), 21–22, 184, 191
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Hemingway), 62–63
400 Blows (Truffaut), 95–96
Fourteenth Amendment, 17
Franklin, John Hope, 178
Frederick Douglass Educational Center, New York, 53
Freedom (newspaper): content, 47; coverage of Nkrumah’s election, 48; critique of Invisible Man in, 113; LH’s book and movie reviews, 47–48; LH’s hiring, 46; LH’s resignation from, 65; LH’s writings about international politics, 48
Freedom Negro History Festival pageant, 53
freedom riders, 166–67
funeral, 190–93, 19
5
Garcia Lorca, Federico, 29, 30
gay and lesbian people. See lesbians, lesbianism
gender: early concerns about, 14; explorations of, Les Blancs example, 144; and male vs. female artists. See also feminism
generosity of spirit, LH’s, 71–72, 192, 195, 199
Genet, Jean, 95, 110. See also Les Blancs
George Murchison (character in Raisin), assimilationist perspective, 140
Ghana, 48. See also Pan–Africanism
the ghetto: and the Black middle class, 9, 104, 113; international ghettoization, 22; LH’s experience of, 9–10, 23; and Native Son, 124; and potential for violence, and Raisin, 97–99, 103–4, 115; vignettes portraying, 14–15; violence in, 3, 13–15, 169–70; West Side, Chicago, 201. See also housing discrimination; segregation, South Side, Chicago
Gibson, Truman J., Jr., 138
Gibson, Truman, Sr., 18
Gide, André, 129
Giovanni, Nikki, 130
Giovanni’s Room (Baldwin), 88, 118–19
globalism. See colonialism, imperialism
Gloria (character in Sign): truths spoken by, 148–49; work as prostitute, 146
Gold Through the Trees (Childress), 73
Goldwasser, Evelyn (Evie), 177
Gonçalves, Carlos, 159
Goodman, Andrew, 173
“good uncolored,” 14
Goss, Margaret Taylor, 18
Go Tell It on the Mountain (Baldwin), 119, 136
Grant, Joanne, 192
Great Depression, 9, 11, 17–18, 139
Great Migration, 10, 16, 54–55, 139
“green land. Dark land.” (Hansberry), 27, 38–39
Greenwich Village, New York: artistic and personal freedom, 43; dominance of whites in, 88; gentrification, 200; Washington Square Park, 45
Gregory, Dick, 195
Gresham, Joi, 7, 198
Grifalconi, Ann, 93
Guare, John, 200
Haitian Resolution against racial discrimination in the Americas, 39
Haley, Alex, 184
Hamilton (Miranda), 200
Hannibal, 21
Hansberry, Carl: at the Chapultepec Conference, 39; consciousness of race, 12; death, 22; education, 9; enduring impact of LH’s life and work, 22, 98, 136–38; experience of being swindled, 138; LH mourning for at Ajijic, 38–39; as middle class capitalist, 9, 11; parenting style, 11–12; patriotism, 22, 39, 170; Rhodes Avenue property dispute, 12–13, 17
Hansberry, Elden, 4
Hansberry, Mamie, 13
Hansberry, Nannie Perry: birth of Lorraine, 9; education and teaching career, 9; illness, LH’s care for during, 74; LH letter to about Raisin, 98; at LH’s funeral, 191; parenting style, 11–12; references to in LH’s poetry, 50; response to LH’s marriage, 65
Hansberry, William Leo: Du Bois’s mentorship of, 48, 51, 66; founder of African Studies, 4; friends, LH’s exposure to as child, 11, 66; teaching career, 26; visit to LH in hospital, 182
Hansberry family: commitment to, desire to remain in touch with, 71–72, 149; as middle class, 9, 11, 24; intellectual interests, 4, 10–11, 19, 66, 214. See also 6140 Rhodes Avenue
Hansberry Foundation, 138
Hansberry v. Lee, 17
Hansborough, Ray, 21
“Harlem” (Hughes), 98
Harlem, New York: artist community in, 53; Frederick Douglass Educational Center, 53; LH’s move to, 46; modern, echoes of LH in, 200; rioting in following police shooting of Powell, 173; vigil demanding end to school segregation, 197
“Harlem Is Nowhere” (Ellison), 54–55, 99
Harry (character in “Metamorphasis”), internalized racism of, 156–57
Hemingway, Ernest, 62
Hentoff, Nat, 122
Higashida, Cheryl, 6
Hiroshima (film), 47
Holiday, Billie, 114
homosexuality: embracing of term by LH, 125; and LH’s and Simon’s struggles with, 131; in the Village during the 1950s, 43. See also lesbians, lesbianism
honesty, importance to LH and Baldwin, 3, 31, 45, 125, 195
Hoover, J. Edgar, 99
Horne, Lena, 163
housing discrimination: Carl Hansberry’s approach to, 9, 17; racially restrictive covenants, 12–13; racism and, 27; at the University of Wisconsin, 27–28. See also ghettos; kitchenettes
Hovey, Serge, 70
“How to Write a Play” (Kerr), 109
Hudson Valley, New York, culture, 176
Hughes, Langston: American Negro Exposition, 19; ashes, 200; Childress’s dramatizations of stories by, 73; “Harlem,” 98; on new paternalism, 111; poetic tribute to LH, 186, 189–90; on the quandary of Black artists, 100
human nature, messiness of: LH’s focus on, 182, 193; O’Casey’s skill at portraying, 30
humor, wit, and charm, LH’s, 2, 28–29, 62, 91, 107, 192
Hunton, Alphaeus, 52–53
Hurston, Zora Neale, 199
illnesses, chronic disease, 177–78, 182, 186–87
“I Loves You Porgy” (Gershwin), Simone’s rendition, 129, 132
“In the Evening by the Moonlight” (Simone), 186–87, 192
indigenous culture, exposure to in Mexico, 37
Ingram, Rosalee, 50
inheritance. See paternal legacy
integration. See racism; segregation; white supremacy
Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace, Chapultepec, Mexico, 39
Inter-American Peace Conference, Montevideo, Uruguay, 57–59, 58, 59
interior spaces, role in LH’s work as Emily Jones, 87
international perspective. See anticolonial internationalism
interracial intimacy: Baldwin’s and LH’s explorations of, 126–28, 187; in bohemian culture, 43, 72; in Smith’s Strange Fruit, 20. See also Nemiroff, Robert (Bobby)
Invisible Man (Ellison), 55, 113
Iris Brustein (character in Sign), rejection of Sidney’s paternalism, 134, 146
Irish culture, O’Casey’s skill at capturing, 30
Jackson, Roosevelt “Rosie,” 61
Jefferson School of Social Science, New York, 51
Jenny Reed (discarded character from Sign), 144
Jerome, Alice, 196
Jimmy (character in The Fire Next Time), on costs of white supremacy, 125
Jitney (Wilson), 200
John Brown Community Theatre, prospectus for, 115–16
John Henry (Hansberry pseudonym), 84
Jonas, Irma, 36–37
Jones, Emily. See Emily Jones (Hansberry pseudonym)
Jones, Claudia, 52–53, 73
Jones, LeRoi. See Baraka, Amiri (LeRoi Jones)
Joseph Asagai (character in Raisin): commitment to African independence, 140; as LH’s voice and favorite, 140; and the “religion” of activism, 143
Journal of Negro Education, 160
journals. See diaries, datebooks
Julien, Isaac, 4
Juno and the Paycock (O’Casey), 29–30
Kaplan, Renee, 83, 183, 195
Kennedy, John F., 152–53, 165
Kennedy, Robert F., 162–64
Kenyatta, Jomo, 65–66
Kerr, Walter, 109
“The Kerry Dance” (song), 21
Killens, John Oliver: and the AAF, 171; description of Trouble in Mind, 73; on LH’s politics, 2; as narration for Freedom Negro History Festival, 53; as pallbearer at LH’s funeral, 195
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 167–69, 196
kitchenettes: “Flag from a Kitchenette Window” (Hansberry), 44, 98; “kitchenette building” (Brooks), 44, 98; and Raisin, 98; as solution to Black housing problem, 9. See also Hansberry, Carl
Kitt, Eartha, 95–96
Konallia Martin Whitside (character “Chanson Du Konallis”), sexuality of, 89–90
Labor Youth League, New Challenge Magazine, 65
the Ladder (Daughters of Bilitis): “Chanson Du Konallis,” 88–90; LH’s letters to, 80–81; story published in, 83
La F
arge, Oliver, 182
Langdon Manor, University of Wisconsin, 27–28
Larsen, Nella, 88
Latin American politics, 157
Laughing Boy (La Farge), 182
leadership abilities, LH’s, 19–20, 35
Leaks, Sylvester, 180, 192
Lee, George, 21
leftist politics. See activism, radical; communism
legal system, as vehicle for change, cynicism about, 17, 160, 168
Lena Younger (character in Raisin): affirmation of Black humanity, 124; desire for own home, 97, 139–40; Marxist messages, 139; strength, 141
lesbians, lesbianism: “The Anticipation of Eve,” 84–85; among Black women, 89; connection with feminism, 81; exclusion from cultural mainstream, 201–2; in Flowers for the General, 79; LH’s embracing of term, 125; lovers and love as inspiration, 93–94; Molly Cook, 91–93; RN’s saving of LH’s writing on, 83; Dorothy Secules, 83, 93–95, 182, 187, 195; writings about, characteristics, 87. See also Emily Jones (pseudonym); Simone, Nina
Les Blancs (Hansberry): as “call and response” with Baldwin, 126; early notes, original focus on women, 144; homage to Lumumba in, 156; and interracial relationships, 142–43; and the revolutionary moment, 143–44; RN’s editing of, 197; theme of inheritance in, 141; work on during illness, 182
liberalism: anticommunist stance, 35; Ellison’s move toward, 56; Hansberry’s parents adherence to, 56; LH’s criticisms of, 142, 172–73; “Liberalism and the Negro” roundtable (Commentary magazine), 122–23; portrayal of, in Les Blancs, 142
liberation, freedom: and armed self-defense, 168–69; dreams of, while in Mexico, 38–39; importance for both LH and Baldwin, 129; Simone’s militancy, 131; slowness of progress toward, 187–88; and “the Village” of the 1950s, 43. See also activism, radical; Black radical traditions
Liberation Committee for Africa, 159
life insurance, importance for working-class Blacks, 113
lilies, symbolism of, 202
Lily (character in “What Use Are Flowers?”), as fighter, 133, 202
loneliness, sense of isolation: LH early experience of, 12; reflections of in journal writing, 45–46; as shared by LH, Baldwin, and Simone, 121–22, 130, 134–35
Looking for Langston (film, Julien), 4
Lorraine Hansberry Literary Trust, 198
Lorraine Hansberry Park, Chicago, 201
L’Ouverture, Toussaint, 21
Louys, Pierre, 80
Low-Dive Jenny (character in The Three-Penny Opera), anger of, 132