Yet 50 years later, Hansberry’s “Les Blancs” remains a radical testament to her global vision and prescience.

Hansberry unlocked the central problem after the U.S. premiere of French writer Jean Genet’s play “Les Negres” (“The Blacks”) in May 1960.

David Attie via Getty Images

Hansberry's final play, "Les Blancs," debuted on Nov. 15, 1970.

In a critical background on Hansberry’s last works, Robert Nemiroff, her husband and literary executor, noted that she believed “Les Blancs” had the potential to be her most important play.

While battling cancer, Hansberry spent years writing and rewriting the script for “Les Blancs,” editing and redeveloping it during hospital visits as her health continued to decline.