Racism in A Raisin in the Sun Chicago’s Southside, like many other Northern cities, housed many African Americans in the 1950s. The housing was poor quality and racism was prevalent. Lorraine Hansberry, playwright for A Raisin in the Sun, paints a vivid picture of life in a gloomy city where the struggle of poverty and equality are real. Though the experience of one family, the play A Raisin in the Sun accurately depicts the historical record of African-Americans’ lives in the 1950s of the racist relationship between blacks and whites and the fragmentation of black families. One effect of racism on the Youngers’ lives in money. When walter was speaking to Mama he said, “...I pass the cool, quiet-looking restaurants where them white boys are sitting back talking ‘bout things...sitting there turning deals worth millions of dollars...sometimes I see guys don’t look much older than me--” (Hansberry 74). This shows the gap between the incomes of white citizens and black citizens. The wealth among Americans is not equally distributed and whites combined have on average more wealth than blacks combined (Surowiecki 39). This was because whites were …show more content…
For example, the text says, “...a bedroom which is shared by Mama and her daughter, Beneatha...a second room (which in the beginning of the life of this apartment was probably a breakfast room) which serves as a bedroom for Walter and his wife, Ruth.” (Hansberry 24). This depicts the conditions that most black lived in the northern cities. Partly because of their low income, the poor quality of the projects was the only housing available to them (Murray 277). Also in the text Lindner says, “...as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities.” (Hansberry 118). This gives an example of how many white Americans didn’t want to co-exist