What is most important for a person’s resilience? Students on Strike by John Stork “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday

Students on Strike by John Stokes Stokes and his classmates rallied together to end segregation at Robert Russa Moton High School; this strike led to Stokes being a plaintiff in the civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education. As stated on “Book Wizard” (Scholastic 2013), this book “gives readers an insider’s view of a momentous time in American history, as well as a look at how a few determined young people can impact a nation. Richmond News Leader, 1951.

Because of his mental toughness, Stokes and others like him were able to end the inequality and injustice of Jim Crow laws. Warren Leffler, 1957, US News and World Report.

Holiday had to be mentally tough to sing “Strange Fruit”. …”Strange Fruit” was not by any means the first protest song, but it was the first to shoulder an explicit political message into the arena of entertainment…It did not stir the blood, it chilled it. ‘That is about the ugliest song…in the sense that it is violent and tears at the guts of what white people have done to my people in this country.’ “Strange Fruit” proved [protest songs] could [also] be art (Lynskey 2011). William Gotlieb, “Bilie Holiday”, 2011.

“Strange Fruit” perf. Billie Holiday

Literary Devices in “Strange Fruit” O RHYME: “Southern trees bear a strange fruit/Blood on the leaves and blood at the root” O METAPHOR: “Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.” O IMAGERY: “Pastoral scene of the gallant south/ The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth O ALLITERATION & IMAGERY: “Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh” O PERSONIFICATION: “For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck” O ANAPHORA: “For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop” O EXTENDED METAPHOR: Lynched bodies are compared to fruit on a tree

Works Cited Gottlieb, William. “Billie Holiday”, PNG. 17 Nov Holiday, Billie (perf). “Strange Fruit”. Ken Burns Jazz: Billie Holiday iTunes. Leffler, Warren. “An Integrated Classroom in Anacostia High School Washington, D.C.”U.S. News and World Report, Web. 17 Nov Lynskey, Dorian. “Strange Fruit; the First Great Protest Song”. The Guardian, Web. 17 Nov Meeropol, Abel. The Lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abe Smith Associated Press. Web. 17 Nov Richmond News Leader. “Protest Sign at Robert Moton High School The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Web. 17 Nov Stokes, John. Students on Strike: Jim Crow, Civil Rights, Brown, and Me. 1st. Des Moines, IA: National Geographic, Print. Students on Strike: Jim Crow, Civil Rights, Brown, and Me. Book Wizard. Scholastic, Web. 17 Nov 2013.

Rubric 1. _____/5 Title page includes the essential question, novel title, song title, and group members’ names. 2. _____/20 Includes a summary of the novel and how the novel relates to the essential question. 3. _____/20 Includes at least 5 literary devices used in the lyrics and how the song relates to the essential question. The song is imbedded into the presentation. 4. _____/15 At least two different types of in text citations are used (paraphrase, quote, block quote) and are cited correctly. 5. _____/10 At least two graphics are used to support the ideas within the novel and/or song and include a cited caption. 6. _____/10 A Works Cited page is included. There are at least 5 sources and all are cited correctly. 7. _____/10 Each member presents at least one slide. Presenters speak clearly, using Standard English, and do not merely read from the slide. 8. _____/5 Font and colors are both easy to read and aesthetically pleasing. Type is formatted so that all words fit on the slide. 9. _____/5 A printout of the slide presentation is included with two slides per page, as well as the rubric. TOTAL: _____/100