Black and White In the words of Jim Cocola and Ross Douthat, Hansberry wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun to mimic the way she grew up in the 1930s. Its purpose was to tell what life was like for a black family living during the pre-civil rights era, when segregation was still legal (spark notes). Hansberry introduces us to the Youngers, a black family who lived on Chicago's Southside during the civil rights movement of the 1950s. The Younger family consists of Mama, who is the head of the family, Walter and Beneatha, who are Mama's children, Ruth, who is Walter's wife, and Travis, who is Walter and Ruth's son. Over the course of the show, young people face poverty, discrimination, marital problems and abortion. Mom is waiting for a check from the insurance company due to her husband's recent passing. During the show Walter tries to convince his mother to let him invest the money in a liquor store. Beneatha dreams of becoming a doctor while embracing her African heritage, and Ruth has just found out she's pregnant and is struggling to keep her marriage going. The Youngs live in a very small apartment that is falling apart due to the wear and tear the place has suffered over the years. The mother dreams of having her own home and ends up using some of the insurance money to put a down payment on a house in a posh neighborhood. The young people meet Mr. Lindner, who is the head of the welcoming committee. Mr. Lindner voices community concerns about youth moving into their neighborhood. Is the play A Raisin in the Sun focused on racial or universal issues? Some say this play is racial as the family is black and what the family is going through could only happen to people of that race. An important race is... in the center of the card... having a garden. This play is more universal as most of the problems the characters face are easily relatable to people of all races. Most people want to be able to provide for their family, own a home, and find out where they come from. Most couples argue and argue about money or children and the inability to provide for them. Everyone has dreams, big and small, no matter what race, and there is something that everyone can relate to. A Raisin in the Sun is universal because the play communicates the issues present in the play and conveys them in a way that everyone can relate to. Works Cited Hansberry, Lorraine. A raisin in the sun. Norton. Ninth. Ed. Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, Kelly J. Mays. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005. 1942-2002. Cocola, Jim and Douthat, Ross. SparkNote on A Raisin in the Sun, September 16. 2008..