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\nLooking for Lorraine: \;The Radiant and Ra dical Life of Lorraine Hansberry by \;Imani Perry
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\nLorraine Hansberry\, who died at thirty-four\, w as by all accounts a force of nature. Although best-known for her work&nbs p\;A Raisin in the Sun\, her short life was full of extraordinary experien ces and achievements\, and she had an unflinching commitment to social jus tice\, which brought her under FBI surveillance when she was barely in her twenties. While her close friends and contemporaries\, like James Baldwin and Nina Simone\, have been rightly celebrated\, her story has been dimin ished and relegated to one work&mdash\;until now. In 2018\, Hansberry will get the recognition she deserves with the PBS American Masters documentar y &ldquo\;Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart&rdquo\; and Imani Perry&rsquo\;s multi-dimensional\, illuminating biography\, \;Looking for Lorraine.
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After the success of \;A Raisin in the Su
n\, Hansberry used her prominence in myriad ways: challenging President Ke
nnedy and his brother to take bolder stances on Civil Rights\, supporting
African anti-colonial leaders\, and confronting the romantic racism of the
Beat poets and Village hipsters. Though she married a man\, she identifie
d as lesbian and\, risking censure and the prospect of being outed\, joine
d one of the nation&rsquo\;s first lesbian organizations. Hansberry associ
ated with many activists\, writers\, and musicians\, including Malcolm X\,
Langston Hughes\, Duke Ellington\, Paul Robeson\, W.E.B. Du Bois\, among
others. \;Looking for Lorraine \;is a powerful insight into Hansbe
rry&rsquo\;s extraordinary life&mdash\;a life that was tragically cut far
too short.