“Strange Fruit” Lyrics by Lewis Allan aka Abel Meeropol (Jewish teacher from New York) Lyrics by Lewis Allan aka Abel Meeropol (Jewish teacher from New York) Sung by Billie Holiday in 1939 Sung by Billie Holiday in 1939

Lyrics Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant south, The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh! Here is fruit for the crows to pluck, For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop.

Southern trees bear a strange fruit,

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,

Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,

Then the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,

For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,

Here is a strange and bitter crop.

What is lynching? Lynching is an act of mob violence which results in the death or maiming of a person often suspected, charged, or convicted of a serious crime. Lynching is an act of mob violence which results in the death or maiming of a person often suspected, charged, or convicted of a serious crime. Lynching is a group killing under the justification of serving justice, race or tradition. Lynching is a group killing under the justification of serving justice, race or tradition. Lynching often occurs outside of the legal justice system. Lynching often occurs outside of the legal justice system.

Were only men lynched? Laura Nelson lynched with her son in Okemah, Oklahoma on May 25, Nelson’s son was initially accused of stealing meat, but she tried to take the blame for him so they were both killed.

Were the victims always hung? William Brown lynched in Omaha, Nebraska on September 28, Brown was accused of molesting a white girl. The Mayor pleaded with the mob, but the mob set the courthouse on fire, seized him, hung him from a lamppost, mutilated him, rattled his body with bullets and then burned him.

Why did people take pictures of lynching? Thomas Shipp & Abram Smith lynched in Marion, Indiana on August 7, These teenagers allegedly shot a white couple during an attempted robbery. James Cameron escaped this lynching.

Why were blacks lynched publicly from the 1880s to the 1960s? To maintain the racial order in the south and elsewhere across the country after the end of slavery To maintain the racial order in the south and elsewhere across the country after the end of slavery “To protect white women” “To protect white women” To teach children racism To teach children racism To stop blacks from taking full advantage of their legal freedoms & new economic opportunities given during Reconstruction To stop blacks from taking full advantage of their legal freedoms & new economic opportunities given during Reconstruction

Why were blacks lynched publicly from the 1880s to the 1960s? Waud, Alfred R. “The First Vote.” Harper’s Weekly, November 1867.

Why were blacks lynched publicly from the 1880s to the 1960s? Blacks were elected to office in the South during Reconstruction. These are Black congressmen from the late 1800s, including the first black person to serve in the United States Senate, Hiram Revels ( ).

What crimes were non-black lynching victims accused of?

What crimes were black lynching victims accused of?

Where did lynching occur? Lynching by State & Race: (States with the highest lynching rates+IL) StateWhitesBlacksTotal Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Missouri North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia (Illinois151934) TOTAL1,2973,4464,743

Why were non-blacks lynched? Leo Frank, 1913; Jewish, northern-born factory owner in Atlanta accused of raping & murdering a 13-year-old girl

How did people respond to lynching? “Our country’s national crime is lynching. It is not the creature of an hour, the sudden outburst of uncontrolled fury, or the unspeakable brutality of an insane mob. It represents the cool, calculating deliberation of the intelligent people who openly avow that there is an “unwritten law” that justifies them in putting human beings to death without complaint under oath, without trial by jury, without opportunity to make defense, and without right of appeal…” - Ida B. Wells, former slave & black journalist

Ida B. Wells ( )

Who else fought to end lynching? NAACP Advertisement. “The Shame of America.” New York Times, 23 November 1922.

Who else fought to end lynching? James Weldon Johnson, Walter White (NAACP) James Weldon Johnson, Walter White (NAACP) Jessie Ames Daniel (ASWPL) Jessie Ames Daniel (ASWPL) Many senators and congressmen wrote bills to pass a federal anti-lynching law, but out of more than 200 bills, none could get past the southern Democratic voting bloc in the Senate. Many senators and congressmen wrote bills to pass a federal anti-lynching law, but out of more than 200 bills, none could get past the southern Democratic voting bloc in the Senate. Organizations of northern blacks, white & black journalists, and middle-class white women strove to end lynching. We will read about them more in class Organizations of northern blacks, white & black journalists, and middle-class white women strove to end lynching. We will read about them more in class