This week (April 20) marks the 86th anniversary of Billie Holiday's first recording of "Strange Fruit," the anti-lynching protest song written by Abel Meeropol (RFC founder Robert Meeropol's father… Read More
On this day in 1915, the talented, iconic blues singer Billie Holiday was born. The activist artist performed and popularized Abel Meeropol's powerful and haunting anti-lynching protest song, "… Read More
Happy birthday to James Baldwin, the extraordinary Black queer author, poet and civil rights activist, whose life and legacy we celebrate today.
In his honor, we share this intriguing article by The… Read More
Today marks 65 years since the death of Billie Holiday, whose famous rendition of "Strange Fruit" was named Time Magazine's "song of the 20th century". Written by Abel Meeropol, father of RFC Founder… Read More
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day via Harlem World Magazine tells the origin story of the protest song, "Strange Fruit." It begins with Abel Meeropol's penning of the original poem, "Bitter… Read More
Last weekend marked the 85th anniversary of Billie's Holiday's recording of "Strange Fruit," a protest song against the lynching of Black Americans, written by Abel Meeropol (father of RFC Founder,… Read More
Happy (almost) birthday to activist artist Billie Holiday, born on April 7, 1915. The talented, iconic blues singer performed and popularized Abel Meeropol's powerful and haunting anti-lynching… Read More
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day is uber local to the RFC office. It comes from Northampton, MA where a literary gathering, the WriteAngles Conference, organized by the Straw Dogs Writers… Read More
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day is an event on Thursday, February 8th that we've really looking forward to attending. There's still time to register for "The Billie Holiday Symposium," at… Read More
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day comes from Miami, Florida where a new art exhibit “Strange Fruits: Homage to Purvis Young” debuted, featuring a collection of works by local and international… Read More
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day is courtesy of The Black Wall Street Times and highlights a fascinating upcoming in-person and virtual program at The Guthrie Center: "Tri-City Collective, in… Read More
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day comes from MSN's "20 songs that changed the course of musical history."
Billie Holiday's recording of "Strange Fruit" kicks off the list:
"Inspired by Jewish… Read More
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day comes from singer Amahla, whose latest single, "Enough," deals with "inter-generational truths from Black communities, it deals with trauma, but also unity,… Read More
Today’s Strange Fruit Mention of the Day comes from The Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma courtesy of a new photo exhibit focused on Billie Holiday. According to the Director of The Center,… Read More
Today's Strange Fruit mention comes from The Tennessee Tribune, highlighting a visual art project by Stanley Campbell Sr., the Memphis "Foot" Man. Campbell films himself in character to "remind,… Read More
Born on this day in 1924, James Baldwin would have turned 99 years old this year. Baldwin was once a pupil of Abel Meeropol, the high school English teacher who wrote "Strange Fruit" and, along with… Read More
Today’s #StrangeFruitMOTD reports on the premiere of a new film, “Deborah Jane, the screenwriter and Executive Producer of 'Strange Fruit: The Hip-Hopera,' is the first Black woman filmmaker to ever… Read More
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day: Protest songs in honor of Black Music Month (in June), featuring Joe Hinton and Billie Holiday.
"In 1939, singer Billie Holiday recorded a song called '… Read More