“Write if you will: but write about the world as it is and as you think it ought to be and must be—if there is to be a world. Write about all the things that men have written about since the beginning of writing and talking—but write to a point. Work hard at it, care about it. Write about our people: tell their story. You have something glorious to draw on begging for attention. Don’t pass it up. Don’t pass it up. Use it. Good luck to you. The Nation needs your gifts“- Lorraine Hansberry
This month marks the 61st anniversary of the passing of one of the most influential black cultural and political figures of the 20th century, Mama Lorraine Vivian Hansberry. Born on 19 May in 1930 in Chicago, USA, Hansberry was a respected playwright, writer, and activist who worked with, among others, the eminent black thinker W.E.D Du Bois.
As a playwright, one of her celebrated works is a play titled ‘A Raisin In The Sun’. This work explores the economic struggles of Black families in AmeriKKKa. The title of this play was taken from a line in a poem by Langston Hughes. Hansberry wrote to Hughes and sought his permission to use his work. He granted her his permission and blessing. The poem goes:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore – And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over – like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags – like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
‘A Raisin In the Sun’ also went on to become a highly acclaimed television series that featured black actors such as Sidney Poitier. Hansberry is also the person who gave us the immortal words “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.” These words have shaped not only the conceptual approaches of black creatives, but also the conceptual approaches of many black revolutionary movements of the 20th century. They have become both an embodiment of black creative expression and rebellion. A Black Zeitgeist for Black Self-determination.
There is a fascinating story behind the genesis of these epoch shaping words. In May 1964, Hansberry was invited to give a speech in honour of six black teenagers. These teenagers won a national creative writing contest. In her speech, she told these young black teenagers that:
“I wanted to come here and speak to you on this occasion because you are young, gifted, and black…”
At the time of delivering this speech, Hansberry had come straight from hospital. After her passing on 12 January 1965, her literary works were published in 1968-69. The literary tribute was titled ‘To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words’.
As a tribute to her, her friend Mama Nina Simone decided to record the tune ‘To Be Young, Gifted & Black’ in 1968.
The recording of this came in the midst of at least three seismic moments in black resistance.
The assassination of Medger Evers (1963).Also in 1963, the killing through a bomb of four black girls, Addie Mae Collins(14), Cynthia Wesley(14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11).
The assassinations of Omowale Malcolm X (1965), Martin Luther King jr (1968) and later, Black Panther leader Fred Hampton (1969).
Later, black creative geniuses such as Donny Hathaway, Aretha Franklin, and Houston Person, among others, recorded their own interpretations of ‘To Be Young, Gifted&Black’.
There is another thing that fascinates me about the Lorraine Hansberry story, and that is its connection to that of Omowale Malcom X.
Both were born on 19 of May, and both passed on in the same year, 1965. Hansberry passed on in January 1965, a month before the assassination of Malcolm X in February 1965.
Both were in their thirties when they passed on. Malcolm X 39 and Hansberry 34. Even though they had differences on such issues as inter-racial marriages, they eventually developed a mutual respect for each other.
In fact, Hansberry directly challenged Malcom X on his criticism of Blacks who marry inter-racially. Even though they knew each other for a relatively short time, they nevertheless had a cordial relationship.
Malcolm X attended her funeral, where Ossie Davis was also in attendance and would later deliver the eulogy at Malcom X’s funeral the next month.
Hansberry is without doubt one of the greatest Black people to ever walk the earth.Join us on Sunday 25 Jan, 2026 at 13:00 on the Facebook platform: Sompisi Godide Mphemba, when we reflect on her life and contribution.
