Strange Fruit
In 1937, after seeing a photo depicting the lynching of a black man in the south, Bronx-born high school teacher Abel Meeropol wrote a poem entitled "Strange Fruit" that begins with the words: "Southern trees bear a strange fruit / Blood on the leaves and blood at the root." He set the poem to music and a few years later convinced Billy holiday to record it in a legendary heartbreaking performance. Intertwining jazz genealogy, biography, performance footage, and the history of lynching, director Joel Katz fashions a fascinating discovery of the lost story behind a true American classic. Written by Excerpted from Coolidge Corner Theatre Program Update
- Year: 2002
- Country: United States of America
- Genre: Music, Documentary
- Studio:
- Keyword: southern usa, politics, racial segregation, racism, lynching
- Director: Joel Katz
- Cast: Dorothy Thigpen, Milton Gabler, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Pete Seeger, Ethel Rosenberg, Julius Rosenberg
