The Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award is awarded to the best Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival student-written play about the African-American experience.
After the success of Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry was considered an important forerunner in African-American drama and literature.
Lorraine Hansberry (May 19, 1930 - January 12, 1965) was the first American playwright to create a realistic portrayal of African-American urban family life.
The play appeared in book form the following year under the title, To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words.