Strange Fruit

IMDb 0.0 2002 • 57 min • MusicDocumentary

Director

Joel Katz

Country

US

Plot Summary

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

Top Cast

Dorothy Thigpen
Dorothy Thigpen Self
Milton Gabler
Milton Gabler Self
Farah Jasmine Griffin
Farah Jasmine Griffin Self
Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger Self
Ethel Rosenberg
Ethel Rosenberg Self