• May 20, 2002
  • 57 min
  • Full-HD

Strange Fruit (2002)

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

Category
Country
United States of America
Companies

Dorothy Thigpen

Self

Milton Gabler

Self

Farah Jasmine Griffin

Self

Pete Seeger

Self

Ethel Rosenberg

Self

Julius Rosenberg

Self

Billie Holiday

Self

Cassandra Wilson

Self

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