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Strange Fruit
A song made popular by Billie Holiday in 1939 called “Strange Fruit” was the inspiration for this print. Strange Fruit was a protest and was originally written as a poem by Abel Meeropol in 1937. Strange Fruit is considered an early marker of the U.S. Civil Rights movement.
Billie Holiday’s 1939 recording of Strange Fruit eventually sold a million copies. Strange Fruit has been covered by many famous artists — Billie Holiday’s rendition is beautiful, reaches through time and touches your soul.
This work can never do justice to Meeropol’s words or Holiday’s voice but perhaps we can honor their efforts, consider where we are today in the world and how much there is left to do.
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Listen to Billie Holiday’s original rendition of Strange Fruit
Listen Up
Music about protest and dissent has the ability to shake us from complacency and force us to confront uncomfortable truths — Billie Holiday’s rendition of Strange Fruit is one of those songs. Protest music might lead to Gabriel then to Biko, Marley to Garvey, Garvey to Pan Africanism, Grandmaster Flash to the meaning of The Message and so on…
Before music players became small and personal, for a while, they were big and loud for everybody to hear even if they didn’t want to listen — They defined rebellion. Music and words about liberation, revolution, struggle, solidarity, hope and love boomed from their speakers. This print is a tribute to the power of music and the power of protest.
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Strange Fruit / Listen Up - Behind The Scenes
Strange Fruit and Listen Up were printed using the letterpress process. This classic relief printing method which was the best way to do this project justice. Special thanks to Cary and the team at Aardvark Letterpress in Los Angeles. We produced 100 limited edition prints. Photography: Errisson Lawrence Support the cause / buy a print →
