Lorraine Hansberry's Radical Activism Beyond Broadway

Abstract

This thesis utilizes two of Lorraine Hansberry’s plays, "Les Blancs" (1970) and "Flowers for the General" (1955), to interrogate the larger misconceptions and myths that surround Hansberry and her most famous play, "A Raisin in the Sun" (1959). In "Les Blancs," Hansberry intentionally positions Eric Matoseh, a mixed-race character who is suggested to be in a homosexual relationship, as possessing an identity which melds seemingly dissonant aspects of race, gender, and sexuality; this identity allows Eric to reach a truly revolutionary consciousness. In "Flowers for the General," an unpublished play from her archived papers, Hansberry positions lesbian identity similarly in the character Marcia. In these two plays, Hansberry includes themes of anti- colonialism, feminism, anti-militarism, and others which are also evident in the radical, though largely misinterpreted as accommodationist, "A Raisin in the Sun." When read alongside each other, "Les Blancs" and "Flowers for the General" posit, through Eric and Marcia, that their homosexual and lesbian identities are the most cohesive and fulfilling. Various cultural, social, and political obstacles prevented Hansberry’s unpublished writing on sexuality—which anticipates modern critical feminist and race theories—from being published or staged. However, examination of Hansberry’s archival materials, like "Flowers," is a necessary step in expanding the view of her complex and contradictory life and work outside of "A Raisin in the Sun."