Baldwin, Hansberry, and Simone

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

In Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry, Imani Perry describes Baldwin, Hansberry and Simone as the trinity. Baldwin, Hansberry and Simone offer a singular unity in black cultural production because of their shared commitment to aesthetics and activism. The three figures, each working expertly in a different genre, also shared a fierce friendship. While all three had individual areas of emphasis, Hansberry’s materialism, Simone’s black feminism, and Baldwin’s black nationalism, they learned from each other and taught one another lessons about how to navigate American racism, heterosexism, and patriarchy during the Cold War and Civil Rights Movement periods. Through an examination of primary and secondary sources, this course will examine the individual aesthetic practices of Baldwin, Hansberry and Simone and consider how their artistic and activist work informs one another. Organized around themes from the artists’ works, the class begins with an examination of the 1950s and the Cold War, shifts into the artists’ engagement with the Village Scene, and ends with an exploration of the Civil Rights Movement. In class discussion and written assignments, students will engage with and develop an in-depth understanding of the historical, social, philosophical, and political theories and practices that distinguish the artistic contributions of Baldwin, Hansberry and Simone. We will examine how these artists not only fashioned themselves but shaped communities, organizations, political movements and the nation.