Abel Meeropol

burnin’ flesh” (Meeropol). The poem “Strange Fruit” was written by Abel Meeropol and published in 1937 was a poem that not only disturbed many, but made them realize the appalling actions of the whites encouraging to lynch many blacks on August 7, 1930. After the poem was published on April 20,1930, it was soon sung by famous singer Billie Holiday who originally brought the poem to many people's attention and was named her most iconic song. Abel Meeropol began high school at Dewitt Clinton High School and graduated in 1921. He later taught English at the same high school for seventeen years. Meeropol was said to be very disturbed at the photo of whites lynching black people that he wrote a poem about it. Overall, the poem made me very…

“Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol displays great example of acceptance. Although this poem refers to specific events that occurred several years ago, this poem captures a great feeling of acceptance since it shows how African-Americans of the past were not accepted or treated as people; which is something relevant and relatable to this day. “Strange Fruit” protests against African-American lynching during the 1930s as it was common in the South. It narrates the sadness, desperation, and sorrow…

/ Strange fruit hangin’ from the poplar trees” (3-4). The poem “Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol was published in 1937. It sets a deep tone on how racism occurred back in the 1930s. Meeropol was an ordinary high school teacher who went on to teach English for seventeen years. He was also a poet and social activist. Meeropol was troubled at the racism going on in America. He was inspired to write this poem after seeing a photograph of two teenagers; Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, get lynched. “The…

Strange Fruit In the mid 1930’s, a New York teacher by the name Abel Meeropol was stunned by an eerie photograph taken at a lynching on August 7, 1930. The revolting glimpse of the lifeless bodies hanging helplessly on a maple tree was said to “haunt” Meeropol “for days.” The sight disturbed him so much, it led him to write a poem titled, “Strange Fruit” in 1937, which was published and later converted into a song reperformed by Billie Holiday in 1939. “Strange Fruit” was significant to the…

The man behind "Strange Fruit" is a man from New York City named Abel Meeropol. In The Guardian news article by Caryl Phillips He says, "Meeropol was motivated to write the poem after seeing a photograph of two black teenagers, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, who had been lynched in Marion, Indiana on August 7 1930. Their bodies were hanging limply from a tree" (Phillips 5). Harold heft says in The Jewish Daily Forward, "The poem “Bitter Fruit” was first published in the union journal The New York…

Strange Fruit is a poem by Abel Meeropol written in 1939 was written to inform people about racism in an obvious fashion that explains the racism at the lynching in Marion killing two boys and harming another. The two boys were Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith were both African Americans who were lynched by a mob full of generally peaceful citizens who had been induced into mob mentality. Strange Fruit tells how cruel people could be when they are convinced that racism is the way to purge the land…

The song Strange Fruit was first sang by Billie Holiday, who was a new performer on stage at Cafe Society, a new and popular cabaret club. The song was written in 1937 by a man named Abel Meeropol to criticize the racial discrimination in American South. Abel Meeropol, who was a Jewish-American school teacher from New York City, wrote Strange Fruit after seeing a shocking photograph of a lynching in a magazine. This song became very popular in 1939, the year where racial tension was at its…

“Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root.” this is an excerpt from the poem “Strange Fruit”. In this poem, the main point that the authors, Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol, wrote about is the “strange fruit” which is actually a metaphor. The metaphor is comparing the fruit and slaves, and how they were hung from trees during the pre-Civil Rights times. Along with the metaphors, the literary devices that the author Billie Holiday uses in the poem “Strange…

When I first heard Billie Holiday sing Strange Fruit, I was immediately saddened by her tone. It instantly gripped my attention because she started the song off referring to a “strange fruit.” This reference automatically made me listen closely to see what “fruit” she was speaking of. The next line talked about blood on the trees’ leaves and roots which instantly stirred up feeling of sadness. This song describes the lynching of African Americans in the South. I asked myself, what could a man…

In the year of 1939, singer Billie Holiday sang and recorded the song “Strange Fruit.” The song centered on racism towards the African-American Community, and the lynching of American-American men. Years later, Kanye West released a song in 2013 called “Blood on the Leaves”. West’s song sampled singer Nina Simone’s version of “Strange Fruit”. Even though both of these songs are decades apart, they both have similarities and differences and each has their own story. In the song “Strange Fruit”…