Strange Fruit (2002)

In 1937 after seeing a photo depicting the lynching of a black man in the south Bronxborn 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