Baker, Nancy K. Spring 2002. "Abel Meeropol (a.k.a. Lewis Allan): Political Commentator and Social Conscience." American Music 55. This source, taken from the Spring 2002 Journal of American Music, explores how Abel Meeropol used his music to support his political activism. Abel Meeropol and his wife, Anne, were the adoptive parents of Robert and Michael Rosenberg. This secondary source covers the Meeropol's membership in the communist party in the 1940's to explain the relationship to Julius and
Strange fruit is a poem about a lynching, where two colored men were forced out of their cells by an angry mob and the men were lynched. The author, Abel Meeropol, wrote this poem when he saw a disturbing picture of two young colored men lynched and white people were amused by the event of the black’s death. It was published in 1937 and became famous when the famous singer, Billie holiday, sang the song on television. This poem is very dark and makes me feel curious about why they would act that
explicit political agenda, “Strange Fruit” oddly provides no identifiable perspective. Written by Abel Meeropol in 1937 and first published under the title “Bitter Fruit”, the poem was initially intended as a harsh indictment of racial violence and as propaganda for the passage of an anti-lynching bill. “Strange Fruit” is often considered Meeropol’s most famous and influential piece; with music composed by Meeropol himself in 1939, his words would eventually have their greatest impact
“Strange Fruit” “Strange Fruit” is a poem that was written in 1937 by Abel Meeropol, who was inspired to write this poem when he looked at a picture of two teens, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, who were broken out of their jail cells, by a mob, and lynched. Meeropol "’was very disturbed at the continuation of racism in America, and seeing a photograph of a lynching sort of put him over the edge.’" (Npr.org) After reading the poem, I was mortified. The poem gives you a very graphic picture of the
African Americans. “Strange Fruit”, a poem written by Abel Meeropol, and the song being performed by Billie Holiday, is a poem that demonstrates the horror of the author to discover the happenings of a lynching and to see the image of one taking place. The poem was widely known as a song sung by Billie Holiday in 1939 and was written and published by Abel Meeropol in 1937 being the first literary writing to publicly object lynching. Abel Meeropol was a Jewish man and an English teacher for 17 years
the leaves and blood on the root” (Meeropol 1-2). These were the first two lines used in Abel Meeropol’s famous poem “Strange Fruit.” Published in 1937, Meeropol got his inspiration from the 1930 lynching of two negro teenagers. A famous photo was taken the horrific night and seven years later when it landed in Abel’s hand, he found it so disturbing and he realized he had to write something about it, thus the poem, “Strange Fruit” was born. In the poem, Meeropol describes of a “strange fruit” hanging
Strange fruit is and amazing dark poem told by Billie Holiday as very powerful song. Strange Fruit is a terrifying protest against the inhumane acts of racism. Strange Fruit was about the murders and lynching going on in the south at the time from public hangings to burnings. The south has a cruel and terrifying past that haunts the very people who still live down there and remind them that only a short time ago was no one prosecuted for killing someone of dark skin since whole towns were involved
Strange Fruit is a song that was written by Abel Meeropol and performed by Billie Holiday in 1939. A dark and meaningful ballad with an underlying message about the grim reality of most black people in the 1930’s. At this time, slavery was at its worst, and a wildfire of torture and slaughter was rapidly consuming America and poisoned the impressionable minds of civilians. When I listened to Strange Fruit a couple of times and began to investigate the song at a deeper level, I came to a startling
Nineteenth century people defined lynching as violence sanctioned, endorsed, or carried out by a neighborhood or community acting outside the law. Today lynching is defined as the act of taking someone’s life without legal authority. It was frequently done by mobs and it occasionally took place by hanging the victim. Lynching begin to materialize in the south of the United States after the Reconstruction Era in the late eighteenth century all the way out to the 1960s. Lynching was mostly done against
The Voice of Billie Holiday A woman stands before you, and although she isn't a politician, she expresses her moving thoughts on issues that affect all Americans. Her voice isn't harsh or demanding in tone. Her stature is slender and traced in a shimmer of light that reflects from her dress. A southern magnolia is lying comfortably above her ear. She sings. She sings of incomprehension, of hate, and of a race's pain. She sings low and confused. She sings as "Our Lady of Sorrow"(Davis 1)
a big issue in history in the past and have affected many African-Americans lives. Billie Holiday was able to bring out this tragic enslavement of African-Americans and describe how they were treated back in the 20's. Strange Fruit, a poem by Abel Meeropol, which was later picked up by Billie Holiday and formed into a song is one way jazz has incorporated into political discourse. This song describes the lynching of African-Americans in the south and a protest against the inhumanity of racism. Billie
There are many issues today that we don’t understand as well because of the lack of information we have about them. Poverty, discrimination, and how women are treated are the few issues we face today. Tupac’s “Keep Your Head Up” and Holliday’s “Strange Fruit” gives us a deeper look into these problems. Many of people are living in poverty. They are struggling with the little money they have to take care of their children and themselves. People are struggling and trying to survive, along with their
However, the text is what stands out to me; it is what makes it come to life, the hand in the glove. The text utilizes the tree and fruit motif as the literal setting of lynching as well as a metaphor for something bigger than each individual event. Abel Meeropol’s poignant words nail the atrocities to the people responsible for committing them. He doesn’t haphazardly mention trees in a general sense, but “Southern trees”. It is not simply in the air, but the “southern breeze” that black bodies swing
Strange Fruit By Abel Meeropol published in 1999s. Strange Fruit a poem written by Abel Meeropol, was written about an experience that probably none of us have experienced before. This Poem was based on our world where people like us hated the colored, and blamed them for no reason. Abel Meeropol a poet and a social activist was disturbed by a picture of two African American teenagers who were hung (lynched) on a tree. Abel stated that he was haunted for days, he stated how cruel and how fast racism
years back, but most of the evidence proves that Julius and Ethel were innocent victims of the Cold War hysteria. Larsen, Anita. The Rosenbergs. New York:Crestwood House, 1992. Meeropol, Robert and Michael. "Michael Meeropol Statement on Ethel and Julius Rosenberg."1995. http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/meeropol/-on-rosenbergs.html (15 Jan. 1998). Moss, Joyce. "George Wilson." Profiles in American History. Ed. Carol DeKane Nagel. Vol.7. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1995. Okun, Rob A
of drama to impose a certain posture or attitude on another” (46). Elsewhere in his book, Abel argues implicitly that Shakespeare, though he often used metadramatic techniques more in the interest of developing character than creating “an event,” the way later playwrights do, nevertheless composed plays which “are theatre pieces about life seen as already theatricalized” (60). In making such statements, Abel laid the groundwork for a number of subsequent studies, from Thomas F. Van Laan’s Role-Playing
Can You Define Murder? "And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." (Genesis 4:8) Back in those days, murder was pretty clear cut. If you killed someone, it was called murder. Of course, if you had a reason, then it was justifiable. Back then, it was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Or a life for a life. But in these fast paced and politically correct times, is there
"It is usually admired for its ‘atmosphere' and for its exquisitely artificial manipulation of Gothic claptrap and decor"(Abel, 380). Bringing forth the symbolism of death is a major part of this writing. All of the characters in "The Fall of the House of Usher" are linked to death; by physical objects or by other people. "There are no symbols of absolute good" (Abel, 382). The physical aspect of the House of Usher symbolizes death, in the chain of events, during the story. Even Poe's
Hermann Hesse's Demian The biblical story of Abel and Cain was deeply rooted in this novel. This theme was used to explore the life of a young man growing up in Germany. Compared to the novel Siddhartha, Demian had a more surrealistic quality to it. Some of the physical events that occurred would not have been possible in reality. In Siddhartha, only the mental events were surreal. The theme of self-discovery was explored with a Jung approach. Hermann Hesse was obviously under the influence
The Contradictory Nature of Soft Determinism I. Introduction “There is a continuum between free and unfree, with many or most acts lying somewhere in between.” (Abel, 322) This statement is a good summation of how Nancy Holmstrom’s view of free will allows for degrees of freedom depending on the agent’s control over the situation. Holmstrom’s main purpose in her Firming Up Soft Determinism essay was to show that people can have control over the source of their actions, meaning that people can have