“Strange Fruit”: An American Protest Song by Livio Fasullo
“Strange Fruit”- Abel Meerpol
“Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
And the sudden smell of burning flesh!
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.”
In 1939 Billie Holiday sang “Strange Fruit”, the poem above, set to music for an integrated audience at New York City`s Cafe Society. After she finished the audience was silent until one patron began to nervously applaud. (http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/margolick-fruit.html)“Strange Fruit” became one of Billie Holiday’s signature songs, and she would perform it nightly at the “Cafe Society” and wherever else it was safe to perform. (http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/margolick-fruit.html) Although Holiday`s label Columbia Records, refused to record it, and many radio stations refused to play it, “Strange Fruit” was quite successful.
To understand the success of “Strange Fruit” it is important to understand its origins. “Strange Fruit” was written by Alan Meerpol, a white Jewish schoolteacher from the Bronx who was inspired to write “Strange Fruit” in 1934 when he saw the haunting photograph of the lynchings of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Ind. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129025516 Meerpol gave the song to Barney Josephson, the founder and owner of Cafe Society, who gave it to Billy Holiday to perform. (http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/margolick-fruit.html) It is important to note that when Holiday recorded “Strange Fruit” in 1939, lynchings were still occurring each year and then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt refused to sign anti-lynching legislation over fear of upsetting Southern Democrats (http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/margolick-fruit.html). Some say that “Strange Fruit” marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in America 14 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. Legendary drummer Max Roach said “When she recorded it, it was more than revolutionary…No one was speaking out (at the time) She became one of the fighters… She became a voice of black people and they loved this woman.” ( http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/margolick-fruit.html).
Over the years, other artists have recorded “Strange Fruit” to Protest Inequality in America. Nina Simone recorded it in 1964 for the album Pastel Blues. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastel_Blues) Simone would continue to perform “Strange Fruit” live as her involvement in the American Civil Rights movement increased in the 1960s. Here is a recording of Simone performing it live at Morehouse college in Atlanta, 1969. “Strange Fruit” was also in the speeches of Khalil Abdul Muhammed, a speaker of the Black Panthers. http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/margolick-fruit.html
“Strange Fruit” has continued to appear in the news during the last year.The British Singer Rebecca Ferguson, refused to sing at President Donald Trump`s Inauguration unless she was permitted to sing “Strange Fruit” (she did not perform). (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/02/rebecca-ferguson-says-she-will-play-trump-inauguration-if-she-can-sing-strange-fruit)President Donald Trump has been criticized for his affiliation with the White-Nationalist linked Steve Bannon and for refusing to condemn the actions of a white-Nationalist groups at the Charlottesville Rally. On August 11-12 2017 various White Supremacist groups held the Charlottesville Rally protesting the removal of the a Confederate era monument, during which a protestor drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one and injuring 19. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unite_the_Right_rally) In response, dancer Travis Wall choreographed a dance routine set to Nina Simone`s rendition of “Strange Fruit” comparing a current hate crime to the countless hate crimes of the Jim Crow Era South.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REQLA_05TlI
These modern performances of “Strange Fruit” are very socially and politically motivated. In these scenarios, the performance (or refusal thereof) of a song protesting lynching is used as to condemn modern hatred, and the President who turns a blind eye. And although “Strange Fruit” is clear example of how music can be used to make a bold political statement, any instance in which a political figure uses music is political. Conservative radio host Dennis Prager conducted the Santa Monica Symphony on August 16th 2017, just four days after the tragedy in Charlottesville. Prager and Orchestra director Guido Lamell responded to criticism by claiming that conducting Haydn is not a political statement. Yet Prager, who claims that Classical Music glorifies the supremacy of White Western Culture made a huge political statement by telling his supporters to buy all the tickets available in the hall. http://musicologynow.ams-net.org/2017/09/does-music-trump-politics-dennis-prager.html
In conclusion, Music is incredibly powerful as a political tool. Music can inspire suppressed people to speak out against the oppressive, and it can enable the oppressive and hateful to gain influence. Any patriotic tune can be used as propaganda by political party, and any folk song can become an anthem of resistance. “Strange Fruit” was an incredibly powerful piece of music that