Opinion
Extra History on MSNOpinion

Why the US government hunted Billie Holiday over a song called “Strange Fruit”

When Billie Holiday dared to sing Strange Fruit — a haunting protest against lynchings — she became a target. The head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), Harry J. Anslinger, used the “war on ...
Phys.org

Strange fruit: How Billie Holiday's performance of the anti-lynching song politicized Black consciousness

Billie Holiday's recording of the anti-lynching song "Strange Fruit" has stirred and haunted generations of listeners. A new article in the Journal of African American History, titled "Professional ...
Fast Company

Why Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ still echoes injustice

Singer Billie Holiday records her penultimate album, Lady in Satin, at the Columbia Records studio in December 1957 in New York City. [Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images] Abel Meeropol, a New ...
Rolling Out

Deborah Jane’s film revisits past for racial healing

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Deborah Jane’s vision of her stage play turned, short film began when she was just 12 years old. While still a pre-teen she says she expierienced a vision of slavery days ...
The Conversation

Decades after Billie Holiday’s death, ‘Strange Fruit’ is still a searing testament to injustice – and of faithful solidarity with suffering

Tracy Fessenden has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the American Council of Learned Societies. Today, Holiday is revered as one of the ...