Afrocentrism, or the expression of pride in one's African heritage, so popular among the black youth of the 1990s, was, in 1959, a little-known phenomenon. But Lorraine Hansberry's affinity for all things African resulted from the people of greatness that she was acquainted with through her family. Langston Hughes, for example, was a friend of her father's and often came to the Hansberry home for dinner. Lorraine's uncle, Leo Hansberry, a noted historian and professor, was the teacher of Kwame Nkrumah while he was a student at Howard University. (Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of the fight for freedom of the Gold Coast from British rule and became its first president in 1957. The British name "Gold Coast" was changed to the Republic of Ghana in honor of that ancient kingdom.) Hansberry's knowledge and pride in her African heritage was a result of her family and her family's associations, something of which few other blacks could boast.
In this play, Beneatha expresses Hansberry's knowledge of and pride in her African heritage. Beneatha's Afrocentric spirit is nurtured by her relationship with the African, Asagai. Not only is Beneatha's dialogue peppered with a knowledge of 1959 African politics, but her dialogue also shows a knowledge of the ancient kingdoms of Africa, something few historians spoke of and even fewer people knew about.
