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
as Self
Milton Gabler
as Self
Farah Jasmine Griffin
as Self
Pete Seeger
as Self
Ethel Rosenberg
as Self
Julius Rosenberg
as Self
Billie Holiday
as Self
Cassandra Wilson
as Self