Our Favorite Movies Adapted From Black Books
A Raisin in the Sun
A Raisin in the Sun tells the story of an impoverished Black family and their struggle to live and somehow prosper in pre-Civil Rights era Chicago. It was originally written as a play by Lorraine Hansberry that went on to break many racial barriers when it premiered on Broadway in 1959 (it was the first Broadway play to be written by a black woman and directed by a black man). Since that time, A Raisin in the Sun has actually been adapted into three films: the first in 1961 starring the original Broadway cast with Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee, the second in 1989 starring Danny Glover, and the third in 2008 starring Diddy and Audra McDonald.
Mama: “Oh—So now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life—now it’s money. I guess the world really do change…”
-Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun
