Diana Sands, the first black actress to be cast in a major Broadway play without regard to color, was born in New York City in 1934 to Rudolph Thomas, a carpenter, and Shirley Sands, a milliner. Sands made her first stage debut in George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara at New York City’s High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan. After graduating from high school, Sands performed as a dancer while seeking work on Broadway. In 1959, she debuted on Broadway as the character Beneatha Younger, a dignified, aspiring doctor in A Raisin in the Sun. Her stage performance earned her the 1959 Outer Circle Critics’ Award and her first film appearance as the same character in the 1961 film version opposite Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee, Ivan Dixon, and Sidney Poitier. After Raisin in the Sun, Sands was then offered subsequent film roles, but her refusal to be typecast subjected her to less prestigious parts. Determined to bypass the industry’s segregated climate, Sands sought to elevate her profession as an actress by performing abroad where she appeared in plays such as Caesar and Cleopatra, Anthony and Cleopatra, and Phaedra. She continued to perform in the United States as well and in … Continue reading Diana Sands (1934-1973)