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Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry
A “loving, lavishly detailed” ( New York Times ) and captivating portrait of Lorraine Hansberry’s life, art, and political activism—one of O Magazine ’s best books of April 2021
“A devoted and deeply felt account of the development of an artist’s mind.”—Dave Itzkoff, New York Times Book Review (2021 Summer Reading issue)
In this acclaimed biography of Lorraine Hansberry, Soyica Diggs Colbert narrates a life at the intersection of art and politics, arguing that for Hansberry the theater operated as a rehearsal room for her political and intellectual work. Celebrated for her play A Raisin in the Sun , Hansberry was also the author of innovative journalism and of plays touching on slavery, interracial communities, and Black freedom movements. Hansberry was deeply involved in the Black freedom struggle during the Cold War and in the early civil rights movement, and here Colbert shows us an artist’s life with the background of the Greenwich Village art scene in the 1960s, the homophile movement, Black diasporic freedom movements, and third-wave feminism.
Drawing from Hansberry’s papers, speeches, and interviews, this book provides a new point of entry in the history of Black radicalism, and a new perspective on Black women in mid-twentieth-century political movements.
“A devoted and deeply felt account of the development of an artist’s mind.”—Dave Itzkoff, New York Times Book Review (2021 Summer Reading issue)
In this acclaimed biography of Lorraine Hansberry, Soyica Diggs Colbert narrates a life at the intersection of art and politics, arguing that for Hansberry the theater operated as a rehearsal room for her political and intellectual work. Celebrated for her play A Raisin in the Sun , Hansberry was also the author of innovative journalism and of plays touching on slavery, interracial communities, and Black freedom movements. Hansberry was deeply involved in the Black freedom struggle during the Cold War and in the early civil rights movement, and here Colbert shows us an artist’s life with the background of the Greenwich Village art scene in the 1960s, the homophile movement, Black diasporic freedom movements, and third-wave feminism.
Drawing from Hansberry’s papers, speeches, and interviews, this book provides a new point of entry in the history of Black radicalism, and a new perspective on Black women in mid-twentieth-century political movements.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 20, 2021
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334 people want to read
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May 12, 2021
Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry (2021) is written by Professor of African American Studies, Soyica Diggs-Colbert, who teaches at Georgetown University. The book meticulously follows the Literary Criticism format of analysis of published and unpublished work of Lorraine Hansberry (1930-65). Hansberry became a household name after her award winning play “A Raisin in the Sun” appeared on Broadway (1959).
Hansberry was born and raised in Chicago. Both her parents were college educated professionals and politically active members of the Republican Party. After an unsuccessful run for Congress (1940), Lorraine’s father, an attorney and real estate developer sued the Federal government for the rights of Black Americans to live in neighborhoods of their choice. He won the lawsuit, but lost the war. Black American’s who attempted to live in or around white neighborhoods during that time faced violence from racist individuals and/or mobs. Mrs. Hansberry guarded the family home with a firearm. From an early age, Lorraine learned critical thinking skills related to racial inequality and economic/social injustice. Lorraine stated that “the slow death pf American racism led to the loss of her (beloved) father” in 1946.
After attending college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and The New School, Lorraine accepted a position reporting for “Freedom”-- a small indie press that shared space with the Council of African Affairs. Under the guidance of Paul Robeson (editor) along with Alice Childress and W.E.B. DuBois, Lorraine developed her writing style and published articles. Her voice became more powerful, in what she called “the movement”. Lorraine joined the “Sojourners For Truth and Justice” (STJ) a female centered political organization, and the “Student Non-Violent Coordination Committee (SNCC): “Change Agents” received training in civil disobedience from Ella Josephine Baker at Shaw University, Raleigh N.C.
In 1950’s America, with the fear of Communism and influence of McCarthyism, the interracial marriage of Hansberry to Robert Nemiroff (1929-91) a white Jewish intellectual, book editor, playwright and music composer—was neither widely accepted or celebrated (1953). Despite the fact that Hansberry identified as a “heterosexually married Lesbian” Nemiroff’s unconditional love, devotion and support for Lorraine furthered her success as a writer, artist, and celebrity as a radical public figure. Nemiroff is credited for establishing the Lorraine Hansberry Archive located at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in the New York Public Library.
Along with James Baldwin and other intellectuals Lorraine met with attorney general Robert F. Kennedy who sought to understand the motivations behind racial violence and social unrest. The country was alarmed by the terrorist Sixteenth Street Church bombing in Birmingham, AL. (1963). Lorraine observed with a passion of vengeance-- it is a “sting” when exercised on children. Nina Simone responded with the protest anthem “Mississippi Goddamn” (1964).
The interest in Lorraine Hansberry has increased over the years, the details of her unconventional life are really fascinating, she is regarded as a visionary and historical figure in the LGBTQ community. Professor Diggs-Colbert relies on previously published research for this book, and the overall focus is her interpretation of Hansberry’s articles and plays; rather than a biographical narrative. The photos included and pages of Hansberry’s artwork certainly add appeal to the book. (3*GOOD) ** With thanks to the Yale University Press via NetGalley for the DDC for the purpose of review.
Hansberry was born and raised in Chicago. Both her parents were college educated professionals and politically active members of the Republican Party. After an unsuccessful run for Congress (1940), Lorraine’s father, an attorney and real estate developer sued the Federal government for the rights of Black Americans to live in neighborhoods of their choice. He won the lawsuit, but lost the war. Black American’s who attempted to live in or around white neighborhoods during that time faced violence from racist individuals and/or mobs. Mrs. Hansberry guarded the family home with a firearm. From an early age, Lorraine learned critical thinking skills related to racial inequality and economic/social injustice. Lorraine stated that “the slow death pf American racism led to the loss of her (beloved) father” in 1946.
After attending college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and The New School, Lorraine accepted a position reporting for “Freedom”-- a small indie press that shared space with the Council of African Affairs. Under the guidance of Paul Robeson (editor) along with Alice Childress and W.E.B. DuBois, Lorraine developed her writing style and published articles. Her voice became more powerful, in what she called “the movement”. Lorraine joined the “Sojourners For Truth and Justice” (STJ) a female centered political organization, and the “Student Non-Violent Coordination Committee (SNCC): “Change Agents” received training in civil disobedience from Ella Josephine Baker at Shaw University, Raleigh N.C.
In 1950’s America, with the fear of Communism and influence of McCarthyism, the interracial marriage of Hansberry to Robert Nemiroff (1929-91) a white Jewish intellectual, book editor, playwright and music composer—was neither widely accepted or celebrated (1953). Despite the fact that Hansberry identified as a “heterosexually married Lesbian” Nemiroff’s unconditional love, devotion and support for Lorraine furthered her success as a writer, artist, and celebrity as a radical public figure. Nemiroff is credited for establishing the Lorraine Hansberry Archive located at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in the New York Public Library.
Along with James Baldwin and other intellectuals Lorraine met with attorney general Robert F. Kennedy who sought to understand the motivations behind racial violence and social unrest. The country was alarmed by the terrorist Sixteenth Street Church bombing in Birmingham, AL. (1963). Lorraine observed with a passion of vengeance-- it is a “sting” when exercised on children. Nina Simone responded with the protest anthem “Mississippi Goddamn” (1964).
The interest in Lorraine Hansberry has increased over the years, the details of her unconventional life are really fascinating, she is regarded as a visionary and historical figure in the LGBTQ community. Professor Diggs-Colbert relies on previously published research for this book, and the overall focus is her interpretation of Hansberry’s articles and plays; rather than a biographical narrative. The photos included and pages of Hansberry’s artwork certainly add appeal to the book. (3*GOOD) ** With thanks to the Yale University Press via NetGalley for the DDC for the purpose of review.
March 24, 2023
“For Hansberry, loss and despair characterized most of her life. She suffered from depression and contemplated suicide. She understood intimately the feeling of being ravaged physically, politically, socially, and personally by impossibility. Nevertheless she believed in the possibility of transformation. Her intimacy with death and the belief in the collective human capacity to transform the world distinguishes her voice and her legacy.” -Soyica Diggs Colbert, 2021
As a famous playwright, Lorraine Hansberry moved in circles that included Paul Robeson, Langston Hughes, Claudia Jones, James Baldwin and Nina Simone. It was here, amongst her piers, where she received her most meaningful and critical engagement. While the white, liberal media opted to promote her as a “housewife” who “dabbled” in writing, her cadres recognized her enormous talent and held her socially and politically accountable.
Hansberry’s “housewife” reputation ultimately played in her favor. Her writing was widely viewed as non-threatening and the general public opinion of her was overwhelmingly positive, a laudatory reputation that grew almost as fast as her secret FBI file. The Bureau, under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, had labeled her a threat and kept her under close surveillance.
Altogether, Lorraine Hansberry was best described as “a black nationalist with a socialist perspective.” Unlike her friend Claudia Jones, who was imprisoned and eventually deported, Lorraine’s celebrity (see: A Raisin in the Sun) served to both insulate her from existent McCarthyism and provide her with a platform for Civil Rights discourse. As a woman who was often underestimated and sometimes overlooked, her collective contributions to black activism, social change, and civil rights can hardly be overstated.
“The problem is, we have to find some way with these dialogues to show and encourage the white liberals to stop being a liberal and become an American radical.” -Lorraine Hansberry, 1964
As a famous playwright, Lorraine Hansberry moved in circles that included Paul Robeson, Langston Hughes, Claudia Jones, James Baldwin and Nina Simone. It was here, amongst her piers, where she received her most meaningful and critical engagement. While the white, liberal media opted to promote her as a “housewife” who “dabbled” in writing, her cadres recognized her enormous talent and held her socially and politically accountable.
Hansberry’s “housewife” reputation ultimately played in her favor. Her writing was widely viewed as non-threatening and the general public opinion of her was overwhelmingly positive, a laudatory reputation that grew almost as fast as her secret FBI file. The Bureau, under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, had labeled her a threat and kept her under close surveillance.
Altogether, Lorraine Hansberry was best described as “a black nationalist with a socialist perspective.” Unlike her friend Claudia Jones, who was imprisoned and eventually deported, Lorraine’s celebrity (see: A Raisin in the Sun) served to both insulate her from existent McCarthyism and provide her with a platform for Civil Rights discourse. As a woman who was often underestimated and sometimes overlooked, her collective contributions to black activism, social change, and civil rights can hardly be overstated.
“The problem is, we have to find some way with these dialogues to show and encourage the white liberals to stop being a liberal and become an American radical.” -Lorraine Hansberry, 1964
August 11, 2022
As Dave Itzkoff wrote about this book in The New York Times: "A devoted and deeply felt account of the development of an artist's mind."
Colbert dives into Lorraine Hansberry's life and archival writings to explore how her political views, journalism, and personal life culminated in her work. Though Hansberry soared to fame with the opening of A Raisin in the Sun in 1959, she was writing well before then with her career in journalism the decade prior. That writing is often overlooked when referring to Hansberry's more famous pieces. She was often misquoted and misrepresented in the public eye. The media wanted to categorize Hansberry as a housewife, rather than the radical individual she was.
Hansberry was a radical activist. She was exposed to activism and the fight for civil rights at an early age, and starting in 1950 she began to work with Freedom! as a journalist. Understanding Hansberry's dedication to activism and her experiences are crucial in understanding her work through a clear (and NOT misquoted!) lens. Colbert does a great job of reading in between the lines of Hansberry's personal writings, letters, and drafts to understand the complexities of Hansberry's mind.
Highly recommend!! :)
Colbert dives into Lorraine Hansberry's life and archival writings to explore how her political views, journalism, and personal life culminated in her work. Though Hansberry soared to fame with the opening of A Raisin in the Sun in 1959, she was writing well before then with her career in journalism the decade prior. That writing is often overlooked when referring to Hansberry's more famous pieces. She was often misquoted and misrepresented in the public eye. The media wanted to categorize Hansberry as a housewife, rather than the radical individual she was.
Hansberry was a radical activist. She was exposed to activism and the fight for civil rights at an early age, and starting in 1950 she began to work with Freedom! as a journalist. Understanding Hansberry's dedication to activism and her experiences are crucial in understanding her work through a clear (and NOT misquoted!) lens. Colbert does a great job of reading in between the lines of Hansberry's personal writings, letters, and drafts to understand the complexities of Hansberry's mind.
Highly recommend!! :)
August 15, 2023
Possibly the most boring biography of a fascinating person I’ve ever read. What a wasted opportunity to highlight a pivotal historical literary figure in our culture.
May 24, 2021
The writer is a "a day late and a dollar short." This book appears to be a replica of Dr. Imani Perry's 2018 "Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry."
May 30, 2021
What I really liked about this book is that it is not a "typical" chronological biography. Instead, we get a perspective and insights on who Lorraine Hansberry was mainly through her writing and other research (interviews of her and others). Colbert's book brings a much needed lens to Hansberry's work -- that of a Black Feminist who also was a lesbian in a heterosexual marriage. One of the insights is about Hansberry's use of realism as a "witness" - realism calls attention to how "belief, history and desire shape how and what we see and witness "draws from the black radical tradition of affirmation often necessitated by racism's power to isolate individuals."
This book also gives extensive coverage to some of her other writing such as the screenplay "The Drinking Gourd" - which is part of a "second reconstruction" - commissioned by NBC but never produced it. Hansberry felt that "undoing the damage of slavery requires undoing the economic, racial and gender systems that emerge in part through homophobia." This book also gives in-depth analysis of other works of Hansberry's that have been eclipsed by "A Raisin in the Sun."
As I read this book, I realized that many of Hansberry's ideas were of the time and yet ahead of the time and still very relevant today. I highly recommend this book.
This book also gives extensive coverage to some of her other writing such as the screenplay "The Drinking Gourd" - which is part of a "second reconstruction" - commissioned by NBC but never produced it. Hansberry felt that "undoing the damage of slavery requires undoing the economic, racial and gender systems that emerge in part through homophobia." This book also gives in-depth analysis of other works of Hansberry's that have been eclipsed by "A Raisin in the Sun."
As I read this book, I realized that many of Hansberry's ideas were of the time and yet ahead of the time and still very relevant today. I highly recommend this book.
September 21, 2021
This is a very good academic approach to looking at the intersection of Hansberry’s personal life and her work, and does a fantastic job teasing out the ways her public persona (or at least the way many have interpreted it) is very different from the person who was writing her famous texts. The chapter on A Raisin in the Sun is excellent, but like most academic texts, assumes that the reader has a very close or recent knowledge of the play. It feels a lot like a very strong dissertation that didn’t get tweaked much for a wider publication.
July 25, 2025
Sylvia Colbert's biography of Lorraine Hansberry is the kind of book that patiently waits for me to be ready for it—then rewards my attention with surprising depth. I found myself reading it in stops and starts over years, not because it wasn’t compelling. Life kept interrupting me. This is not an “I liked it!” book for me; it’s a book I deeply appreciate. I came to realize, as I reached its final chapters (returning after a long pause), just how purposeful Colbert’s focus is: she looks through Hansberry’s writing—her plays, speeches, interviews—and from that lens offers glimpses into Hansberry’s life, her intellectual journey, her choices, and her relationships.
What strikes me most is how Colbert resists the easy route of sensationalism or "behind-the-scenes" gossip. Instead, she offers a true intellectual biography, one that respects Hansberry not only as a playwright or Black icon, but as a radical presence: a Black feminist, a queer socialist, a pan-Africanist, a thinker whose chosen medium was theater but whose ideas belonged to the world.
The biography shines in the way it situates Hansberry amid her era—socially, politically, intellectually, globally—without losing sight of her humanity. Colbert’s attention to Hansberry’s relationships with women is especially welcome, particularly her intense, lifelong friendship and creative partnership with Nina Simone. These sections illuminate so much about how Hansberry thought, worked, and loved.
Grateful to Colbert for letting Hansberry’s voice come through undiminished, and for keeping the emphasis on the thoughts and convictions in her work—the passions and urgencies that made her not only a brilliant playwright, but a voice, a fiery justice seeking voice, for her generation.
I’m reminded of a line from Hansberry’s journal (not quoted by Colbert, but unforgettable for me), from "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black":
“If anything should happen—before 'tis done—may I trust that all commas and periods will be placed and someone will complete my thoughts. This last should be the least difficult since there are so many who think as I do.”
For me, Colbert has done just that: she’s helped place the commas and periods, and continues—by means of Hansberry’s own words—to complete Hansberry's ongoing, urgent thoughts.
What strikes me most is how Colbert resists the easy route of sensationalism or "behind-the-scenes" gossip. Instead, she offers a true intellectual biography, one that respects Hansberry not only as a playwright or Black icon, but as a radical presence: a Black feminist, a queer socialist, a pan-Africanist, a thinker whose chosen medium was theater but whose ideas belonged to the world.
The biography shines in the way it situates Hansberry amid her era—socially, politically, intellectually, globally—without losing sight of her humanity. Colbert’s attention to Hansberry’s relationships with women is especially welcome, particularly her intense, lifelong friendship and creative partnership with Nina Simone. These sections illuminate so much about how Hansberry thought, worked, and loved.
Grateful to Colbert for letting Hansberry’s voice come through undiminished, and for keeping the emphasis on the thoughts and convictions in her work—the passions and urgencies that made her not only a brilliant playwright, but a voice, a fiery justice seeking voice, for her generation.
I’m reminded of a line from Hansberry’s journal (not quoted by Colbert, but unforgettable for me), from "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black":
“If anything should happen—before 'tis done—may I trust that all commas and periods will be placed and someone will complete my thoughts. This last should be the least difficult since there are so many who think as I do.”
For me, Colbert has done just that: she’s helped place the commas and periods, and continues—by means of Hansberry’s own words—to complete Hansberry's ongoing, urgent thoughts.
May 4, 2024
This is a comprehensive, meticulously researched and detailed account of Lorraine Hansberry’s life, work and political activism. It’s a valuable and important contribution to Hansberry studies, but not an easy read. Academic and scholarly, dry and detached, it offers the less invested reader little to leaven its seriousness. I found myself skipping large chunks, and as I am not that familiar with the plays, some of those sections were quite hard going too. What it does have in its favour for me, however, is the thoughtful, intelligent and insightful analysis of the work, and I’m sure that if I ever get to see one of the plays performed I will certainly be referring to this study. The political analysis, though, I found harder to concentrate on. Just a bit too much of a thesis with few concessions to a less informed reader.
March 28, 2024
This was less of an actual biography of Lorraine Hansberry and more of a psychological analysis of her through her work. While that is a fascinating premise and some of the analysis was quite interesting, the real problem is that this book reads more like a boring college textbook rather than an insightful look at one of America’s most important authors. It was quite a slog to get through and I almost quit reading it a number of times. This book is less than three hundred pages and it took me almost eight months to read; I can’t even remember the last time I took that long to read anything. And other than the fact that I can now count it toward my reading goal for the year, I’m not sure it was worth it.
November 8, 2024
A very comprehensive biography of an important American artist of the 20th Century. I really enjoyed learning about Lorraine Hansberry and how her work influenced and found its way into her work. A well written academic text that is not the usual biographic structure that I typically read. but it was a welcome one.
Hansberry is such a fascinating figure that I now must go read her work.
Thank you to Netgalley and Yale University Press for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Hansberry is such a fascinating figure that I now must go read her work.
Thank you to Netgalley and Yale University Press for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 19, 2021
This wasn't nearly as good as "Looking for Lorraine" even though that book felt too short, this one feels too long. I was really interested to learn more about Hansberry's art, politics, and sexuality, but the writing is really bogged down by some repetitive academic language. It's not that I'm confused, but the words start meaning less and less until they're just filler and I subsequently wish this was a lot shorter.
June 12, 2023
This book reads like a PhD dissertation. While it has many good points, you must wade through exhaustive academic jargon which needlessly weighs the story down. The disappointing aspect of this writing style is that the academic texts cited will certainly cycle out of favor as new research emerges. Therefore, this text reads like a graduate student trying to keep up with the times rather than a timeless work about a significant author.
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May 2, 2022This made me feel closer to Lorraine than ever. Colbert’s careful attention to her archive and placing it within various temporal, historical, and philosophical frames exudes so much about feminism, black cultural politics, internationalism, and liberation. But just as key is how Lorraine’s personal life is handled—from her queerness to her loneliness to her lists. Highly recommend this book.
June 12, 2021
Parts felt somewhat repetitive.
But was grateful to learn more about Lorraine Hansberry.
But was grateful to learn more about Lorraine Hansberry.
December 28, 2021
I picked up this book with such excitement. And it was such a trudge. More like an academic textbook than a biography - somehow the subject is lost in the author's theory of her life.
February 5, 2022
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