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
Dorothy Thigpen
Self
Milton Gabler
Self
Farah Jasmine Griffin
Self
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May 20, 2002
57m
9.0
Joel Katz
N/A
1
Pete Seeger
Self
Ethel Rosenberg
Self
Julius Rosenberg
Self
Billie Holiday
Self
Cassandra Wilson
Self
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