Theme Of The Poem Strange Fruit

In society there is a lot of misconception of the term racism. According to the merriam-webster dictionary members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of others race which many people would agree with. What is racism? The normal person if asked will simply reply, not liking someone for their color of their skin. Racism from my attitude which is substantiated by historically events is a system of power .Thus is a system of power i.e. to control the world and its people. Employed by Europeans to subjugate and discriminate against other groups, in particular Africans/black people. Racism is a power which ran thru a systemic way to hinder and sabotage other groups. The system is so elaborate that it almost seems nonexistence

Strange Fruit is extremely valuable today and especially in the 1930’s. The 1930’s was a rough time for society. No one should have to live through the deaths of innocent humans but unfortunately that happened in the past and still happens today in different forms. Strange Fruit was the first controversial song that ever spoke out about the cruelty of the lynching of African Americans. It gained attention throughout the years of Holiday performing it, which gives it tremendous value. The sadness and disturbing imagery portrayed in the song, gave it a positive effect considering it gained support towards the Civil Rights Movement. The song sends out a clear message in an unusual way. Painting a disturbing picture into the listener’s mind through words makes the person perceive the message to be to end lynching. “Strange fruit hanging from the poplar tree” (line 4). The strange fruit is a black person being hanged from the tree. That is a deep message that was made to get into everyone’s head to push for a change in the unfair society.

Racism is an ideology that is based on the principle that human beings can be subdivided and ranked into categories as being inferior or superior. It’s worth mentioning that in recent years the concept or notion of racism has changed. Racism in the post-racial twenty-first century is now marked by subtlety that discriminates against individuals through unnoticeable or seemingly passive methods. Although overt racism has decreased since the 1960s, it has been supplemented by what is called colorblind racism,” which refers to “contemporary racial inequality as the outcome of nonracial dynamics” (p. 455-456).

To bolster the white supremacy, "lynching became a major tool to subordinate African Americans" (Semmes 2). During the time period, lynching is mostly given to African American. Even the person is completely innocent; his life will never escape the ice-cold scythe from the grim reaper. Such helplessly feeling can be understand by the line where it says "My voice was drowned in the roar of their voices, and my black wet body slipped and rolled in their hands as they bound me to the sapling." The teller is experiencing what the unknown man had gone through. Between the words, the person is quite passive. He is silenced by the whites forcefully. It can be seems that the people had no rights but the right to remain quiet.  Also, he has no control of his body and is constrain by the terrorists; and these terrorists are depicted in a predominant tone. Moreover, by bounding the teller with sapling, Wright brings in the religious figure again. Since the sapling symbolized the nature and nature is God's grandeur, by bounding the man with the sapling and burned them down, the speaker is saying that the terrorists violated the God when they performed the lynching. In a deeper sense, the line not only shows the gloominess, annoyance, and helplessness of African Americans but also inquiry the righteous of such merciless behaviors from Whites.

Racism is the belief centralized in the idea that a certain race is considered to be superior or inferior to another. It is a belief that labels a person’s worth, social, and moral traits based on his/her inherent nationality or biological features (Anti-Defamation League). This mentality has been around for centuries and still exists today. There are several theories about how such came about and why it continues to thrive. Racism can only be thoroughly studied by tracing its roots and history. Knowing the relevant events prior to and after the peak of a racist manifestation in the society during a certain period of time is one of the keys in understanding the nature of racism. It is important to note that the attempt to understand the nature of racism is not necessarily equivalent to the attempt to justify it. The main purpose of racism studies should be directed towards the attempt to lessen, if not eradicate such mentality. The Holocaust, the infamous racist manifestation which took place in Germany is a great example of what happens when racism is not stopped or prevented. Taking such infamous racist events in history under an extensive look, reveals some of the major arguments/concepts/causes of racism that could lead to understanding racism as a whole and thereby help address this issue in the modern-day society. Extreme ethnocentrism, rivalry for supremacy, and people lacking information are some of the causes of racism deemed to be important in studying

The prejudice dilemma is exasperated by the distinctive treatment black people receive from the world, consequently strengthening the feeling of mediocrity in the colored community and forming their negative perspectives on whites. As Jablonski noted, associating “skin color with inferiority has been one of the most powerful and destructive intellectual ideas of all time, leading directly to slavery, civil war, and, more recently, segregation and apartheid.” Racial discrimination still causes hardships suffered by many people. Wilkins expresses deep concern regarding racial integration “not only because of the past but also because of the future.” Even though the former segregation laws have been done away

The world is a constantly judgmental place. This can be seen through the segregation of the Blacks and Whites, media being dominated by the majority and racism against the Blacks.

In the music video/song “Strange Fruit”, the phrase strange fruit doesn’t really refer to a fruit that is strange. It actually refers to people being lynched and hanging from trees. More specifically, the term strange fruit applies to the lynching of African Americans. This song was performed by Billie Holiday in 1939 at the Cafe Society in New York. The music video was actually a recorded performance from 1959. The song was written and performed because the purpose of was to raise awareness and fight against African American lynching because during that time, African Americans were being discriminated and abused. Billie Holiday in the music video/song “Strange Fruit” displays logos through context and imagery, pathos through her sorrowful tone and facial expressions, and lastly, ethos because she won many awards during her career in singing, and Strange Fruit is one of them.

What is racism? The word racism is defined as “the belief that a particular race is inferior to another race or races.” The Anti-Defamation League defined the word racism as “the hatred of one person by another, or belief that another person is less, because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nation and legal codes”

Racism can be “defined as the hatred of one person by another or the belief that another person is less than human because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes” (“What”). The face of racism over the past 50 years has changed but yet, some still stay the same. People made laws against racism and it is not as blunt anymore. But opinions and stereotypes will remain which will cause others to still be treated differently.

“Southern trees bear a strange fruit / Blood on the leaves and blood at the root / Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze” (Meeropol 1-3). “Strange Fruit” is written by Abel Meeropol and published in 1937. Abel Meeropol is a jewish teacher; he adopted two boys whose parents were executed. When Meeropol saw an image of a lynching he got inspired to write an anit-lynching poem. It is a dark poem that creates a gruesome image to make you realize the truth of lynching.

Racism is the negative treatment of a person based off their race. Throughout history African Americans are the minority group that has faced the most racism and oppression. African Americans began as slaves in this country after slavery ended they were still inferior due to segregation. Race is what has caused this oppression for African Americans making this form of oppression racism. As stated in the lecture “Racism can refer to personal or social beliefs, practices, and different institutions that discriminate against people based on their perceived or attributed race.” (Reali, 2017) Today in society the way that African Americans are

“Racism the belief to distinguish a race with beliefs that they are superior to another”. As racism remains a major setback in America, it is in no Comparison to how it was like back in the days. From the pain it caused and the poor innocent people being tarnished on just cause of the color on their skin, this was a horrific phase to those who lived upon it. We have accomplished enormously but then again we still have much to improve. With the most discreet subtle form, modern racism is slowly catching up to us.

Racism is a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. This trend has been around for a long time, from slaves, to discrimination, etc. Although in many cases, people in the time period

Imagine racism taking over the world, with overwhelming thoughts about how you might be the next victim. Quarrels about whether the best skin is black or white, but always resulting that white is right. Hope would evaporate from an evanescent cloud and Faith became instinct as it was replaced by agony. Everywhere you turned around for help, all you saw were the bodies of those neglected and lynched. Abel Meeropol published the poem Strange Fruit in 1937, after seeing a drastic picture of lynching that traumatized him ever since then. As a result, the poem became a memory to all those who died and is momentous to our history.