#WNDB - A Raisin in The Sun

A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
Vintage (November 29, 2004)
Audience: Teens to Adults
Drama * African-American Life * Poverty
IndieBound | Amazon | Book Depository

For the first time in forever, I watched the entire Tony Awards show on June 12, 2016. The next morning, after spending several hours trying and failing to get tickets to Hamilton, I ran to Barnes and Noble and bought the book. Not the Ron Chernow Alexander Hamilton biography but the Lin-Manual Miranda Hamilton: The Revolution hardcover of awesome. And, of course, the soundtrack.

On my way to the register, I saw a table of High School Summer Reading List selections and A Raisin in the Sun caught my eye. I've always loved the poem*, A Dream Deferred, and had seen snippets of the televised version of the play.

I didn't think anything of it, just put the books on my ever-expanding TBR pile hill mountain, mountain range...

A week and 1/2 later, I go to ALA Orlando (pics coming soon) and finally get a copy of The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon, which I rave about here. And guess what play consumes the mc's father? Yep! He loves the character of Walter Lee Younger, whose life mimics what he sees as his own circumstances. Serendipity?

Lorraine Hansberry was the youngest person (only 29), first female, and first African-American to have a play produced on Broadway. This story of how poverty eats at your will and limits your ability to rise up still resonates today.

The Evolution of A Raisin in the Sun


*What happens to a dream deferred? 

      Does it dry up 

      like a raisin in the sun? 

      Or fester like a sore— 

      And then run? 

      Does it stink like rotten meat? 

      Or crust and sugar over— 

      like a syrupy sweet? 

      Maybe it just sags 

      like a heavy load. 

      Or does it explode?

I woke up in the middle of the night to find yet another African American killed by police officers and I am afraid that the last line is what we have coming. We cannot deny that #BlackLivesMatter but we also need to show it. #AltonSterling - Here's a great article about the pushing down that is sure to come to no good end, called Heavy Load, that also references A Dream Deferred and A Raisin in the Sun!

42: The True Story of An American Legend

Today I went to preview the new Jackie Robinson movie because we want to take our 7th graders to see it. They study the 1940s under the theme of change. They discuss the Negro Baseball Leagues and they raise money for The Negro Baseball League Tomb Marker Project.  So when we saw the trailer for the movie, we knew we wanted them to see it. We also knew time was going to be against us and this movie is rated PG-13.

I was the only person able to go see the movie, so I took my notebook and headed out.

Wow. Yes, I knew the story of Jackie Robinson and yes, I knew they would make it sentimental - it's an inspirational movie. But, I never expected to come out changed.

The movie only covers 2 years in Robinson's life and touches on both his and Branch Rickey's struggles during that time. The movie has some curse words and some racial and ethnic slurs, as to be expected from the time period, and they don't over do it. It's enough where you get the idea and still feel a little uncomfortable, hopefully.  But, there is one scene when Jackie Robinson is up to bat against the Philadelphia Giants and their manager, Ben Chapman, is slinging the N-word and other derogatory terms. It's a turning point for the movie and it's only the tip of the iceberg of what Robinson actually went through.  In the movie, Robinson grabs a bat and then walks off the field after getting out on a popfly for the second time.  He is nearly broken.

I was broken. I thought about all the people who came before me. And I've seen many  movies and read many books on topics like these. Maybe I was just in the right frame of mind. I don't know. But, could I have stood up like Robinson? I'm glad that people like him paved the way for me to do a job I love. I'm thankful. People say, but look how far we've come - we have a black president. Having to point that out shows how far we still need to go. I hope I'm "built to last" and can step up when my turn comes.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers - Nerdprintz

For some odd reason, I kept putting off reading this one. Even though I started the Nerdprintz Challenge, I wasn't doing the reading. Basically because the older books looked so boring. And, with the exception of Sunrise over Fallujah, I'm really not a WDM fan.This year though I got a request to do some specific book talks and this was one of several books the teacher wanted me to talk about.  I reluctantly took it home and was pleasantly surprised.

We open with a few pages from Steve Harmon's notebook. He's in jail awaiting trial on robbery and murder charges.  He talks about how scary jail is and how he's going to document his time by writing a screenplay - something he did in classes he took in high school. The book then alternates between Steve's journal and this movie of the trial. 

Monster is interesting because Steve is an unreliable narrator. His journal entries don't quite line up with the flashbacks that he put in the movie. In the end, you are unsure of what should happen to him.

It's a good book for students who don't like to read because the format makes it easy to read. The subject matter is also interesting as you get sort of an inside look at a trial as well as an idea of life on the streets.

I'd recommend it to 8th grade students, boys and girls, but especially those who aren't particularly fond of reading.