Diana Patricia Sands was an American actress, perhaps most known for her portrayal of Beneatha Younger, the sister of Sidney Poitier's character, Walter, in the original stage and film versions of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun (1959).
Photograph of Sands taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1963
As Beneatha Younger with Claudia McNeil and Sidney Poitier in the Broadway version of A Raisin in the Sun, 1959.
Sands in the trailer to A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chicago, as they attempt to improve their financial circumstances with an insurance payout following the death of the father, and deals with matters of housing discrimination, racism, and assimilation. The New York Drama Critics' Circle named it the best play of 1959, and in recent years publications such as The Independent and Time Out have listed it among the best plays ever written.
First-edition publication (Random House 1959)
Scene from the play. Ruby Dee as Ruth, Claudia McNeil as Lena, Glynn Turman as Travis, Sidney Poitier as Walter, and John Fiedler as Karl Lindner.