Billie Holidays Strange Fruit changed the world; of that there is no doubt.

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Andre Foote

IB1 English

28 November 2011

Strange Fruit

        Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ changed the world; of that there is no doubt. Born in an America deeply enveloped in its own rapid metamorphosis, Holiday placed herself at the vanguard for change and equality in 1939 upon her initial performance of the song in Café Society, New York’s first integrated nightclub. Like any other act of defiance, it was met with resistance by many and in some instances even violence; illustrating clearly the division between the people this song addressed and their interpretations of its message.

        The song’s message was hidden behind the analogy of fruit on trees which in fact symbolized the lynching of black men and women in America’s southern states; the blacks, different and foreign to the white people who had occupied the land before them were themselves the strange fruit which swung from the poplar trees and were plucked by crows. For African Americans, the emotions initially inspired by Strange Fruit may have been predominantly senses of disgust wrought by the vivid imagery painted by Holiday’s simple and harsh sounding words and contempt for those who perpetuated the act described. But that was not all the song was for it had a purpose greater than that of merely describing an injustice or inspiring even more negativity between the two ethnicities. For all the African Americans who had known oppression and prejudice at the hands of their white bosses, co-workers and strangers both seen and unseen, Strange Fruit existed as a brave embodiment of the truth they all knew and felt in their bones in a time when the truth was not permitted. It enabled finally, defiance without fear of direct repercussion for it itself was too subtle an assault.

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        For ‘white’ Americans, the interpretation of and more importantly, reaction to Strange Fruit depended on one’s level of education, thoughtfulness and exposure to concepts uncommonly present in white society. For those with morals and education, Strange Fruit would have inspired shame but more importantly, the desire to change and eradicate the kinds of injustice portrayed; as was the song’s very purpose. Unfortunately, people such as these were far from the majority at the time. The more common reaction however, was that of the plainly ignorant: anger. It may have dawned on some, the immorality of the kinds of atrocities their society ...

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