Baldwin penned the essay Sweet Lorraine for Esquire in
1969, four years following Hansberry’s death, and one
year after Dr. Martin Luther King had been killed.
The affection between Lorraine and Jimmy is clear
starting with the title of the essay Sweet Lorraine from
which he jumps right into the text with the opening
sentence, “That’s the way I always felt about her and so
I won’t apologize for calling her that now.” Baldwin’s
tender defiance reflects that of a journal entry or maybe
even a conversation with Lorraine’s lingering spirit. It’s
unclear who the audience is, or whether or not this is a
cathartic piece written to fellow disillusioned movement
members mourning the loss of their assassinated friends.
In Sweet Lorraine, he describes an average evening with
Hansberry, which includes lots of whiskey, chain smoking
and debates about history, politics, gender and movement
activities. He names these moments they share as “down
home sessions” and highlights the fact that for these
conversations Lorraine would always be wearing slacks.
(Baldwin; 1969). I am especially moved by the use of the
words “down home,” which is a phrase typically reserved
for migrants from the Black south referring to the homes
they fled, but given the fact that Baldwin and Hansberry
are first generation people born in the Northeast and
Midwest