Newark Public Library Explores Lorraine Hansberry 3/9-11

Three Programs at the Newark Public Library Explore The Life of Lorraine Hansberry and her Work A Raisin in the Sun. The Newark Public Library will explore the seminal work, A Raisin in the Sun by playwright Lorraine Hansberry through a series of programs over three days, which includes the screening of two movie versions of the play and a performance of Love to All, Lorraine.

On Monday, March 9, the Hansberry Archives will be broadcast in the morning on WBAI-FM 99.5, followed by a noon screening of the film A Raisin in the Sun starring Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee in the Library's James Brown African American Room, 5 Washington Street, Newark,

On Tuesday, March 10, actress and playwright Elizabeth Van Dyke will perform her work Love to All, Lorraine, a tribute to and exploration of Hansberry's life at 6 p.m. in Centennial Hall of the Main Library. The play was written to commemorate the first Broadway production of Raisin, the first work by an African-American woman to be produced on a Broadway stage.

First produced in 2006, Love to All, Lorraine, was reviewed by the New York Times as thoughtful; the acting as poignant and luminous.

The Library will screen a later version of Raisin starring Sean P. Diddy Combs and Phylicia Rashad on Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m. in the James Brown African American Room.

The events for A Raisin in the Sun are part of the Newark Library's 2009 salute to Black History.

A special exhibit, Dear & Glorious Physician: The History of Black Doctors, Nurses, and Hospitals in Newark And Places Just Beyond the River, and additional programming runs through March 28. The exhibit centers on the exploration of the lives and legacy of the black doctors and nurses whose pioneering work in the greater metropolitan area opened the doors of the health services industry to the city's African American population as both consumers and providers.

Funding for the Library's Black History Celebration and exhibit has been provided by a generous grant from the PNC Foundation.

All programs offered by the Library are free and open to the public. For more information, please call 973-733-5411 or log on to www.npl.org.