Abel Meeropol

The poem Strange Fruit by Abel Meeropol, could be described as dark and graphic, as it embodies Southern violence in America. The poem describes the lynching of black slaves, which was generally presented to an audience of whites. Billie Holiday, a black female artist, would sing the poem to a predominantly upper-class white club. But strangely, the poem was written by a white man, Abel Meeropol. Although the last confirmed lynching was in 1968, there are other forms of racially motivated killings

human population is often oblivious to the discrimination many other individuals face. For those who are aware, many remain hesitant to help and are even willing to turn a blind eye to such iniquity. Within the written pieces “Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol and “The Flowers” by Alice Walker, this situation is approached in different styles through the utilization of several literary devices. However, “Strange Fruit” exhibits

Meeropol created tons of imagery while writing this poem. He starts off the poem with the line “Southern trees bear a strange fruit”, saying that black bodies are like strange fruit that only “grow” on southern trees, which was true. The next line saying

school teacher named Abel Meeropol decided to transpose the feelings the photo evoked and wrote a poem that uses an eerie metaphor to convey those feelings. Then a song was created using the poem. After it was sung by the famous singer, Billie Holiday, the world heard the message that started with a simple photo. The image that the original poem was based on was a lynching in Marion, Indiana, of two young black men. “Strange Fruit” is a captivating poem that was written by Abel Meeropol and published in

“Strange Fruit” was originally written as a poem by Abel Meeropol and was later made into a song by Billie Holiday in 1939. The song was written in protest of racism in the United States which at the time included lynching, segregation, and groups that supported racism such as the KKK. When the song first came out in 1939, it was considered one of the most powerful songs at the time. It was so powerful, that the cafe that she performed at came up with rules about her live performances. The

lynchings were such a gruesome image, and was meant to be a “protest against the inhumanity of racism”(Blair) . The poem “Strange Fruit” was published in 1937 by Abel Meeropol after he viewed an image of a lynching that occurred in the south. Meeropol was “‘haunted’” by the image and was inspired to write and publish the poem (Meeropol). Abel Meeropol was already against racism in America and when he saw the appalling image of two African American people being lynched

The 1930’s was a decade of extremely hard times, following the stock market crash and an extreme depression. In spite of the tremendous hardships in America during this decade, it also became a time of great music that is still remembered today. Jazz music was highly popular in this time, and Billie Holiday was a famous jazz performer. She stood out from many other musicians because of her intense and passionate performances. Jazz arose from “unacceptable” segments of society, but quickly grew like

Strange Fruit, written by Abel Meeropol, and The Hanging Tree, written by Suzanne Collins, are two powerful poems that are both deeply rooted within the theme of racism and the inhuman treatment imposed upon innocent African Americans. The authors of both texts encompass a large variety of stylistic features and literary techniques that enriches and helps convey the key messages contained within the context of both texts. The contrasting elements also present in these two texts create a further added

Strange Fruit is a poem written by Abel Meeropol and was later performed by the famous Billie Holiday, Nina Simon, and recently sampled by Kanye West. The poem started off by Meeropol seeing a picture, taken by Lawrence Beitler, of two colored men being lynched that haunted him for days and lamentably inspired him to write Strange Fruit. Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith were the two colored men hauled out of jail by a multitude of Caucasians and were lynched the night of August 7, 1930. Additionally

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. “Black bodies swingin' in the