Lorraine Hansberry

Conflicts of a struggling African-American family who suddenly come into a financial windfall.

A substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.

A substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN is a groundbreaking drama celebrating the human spirit, featuring an electrifying performance by winner Sidney Poitier. The Younger family, frustrated with living in their crowded Chicago apartment, sees the arrival of a $10,000 insurance check as the answer to their prayers. Matriarch Lena Younger (Claudia McNeil) promptly puts a down payment on a house in an all-white suburban neighborhood. But the family is divided when Lena entrusts the balance of the money to her mercurial son Walter Lee (Poitier), against the wishes of her daughter (Diana Sands) and daughter-in-law (Ruby Dee). It takes the strength and integrity of this African-American family to battle against generations of prejudice to try to achieve their piece of the American Dream.