Independent Lens
Ratified
Ratified brings to life the push to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution through the legal battle in Virginia—the final state needed to ratify the amendment.
Strange Fruit
An exploration of the history and legacy of "Strange Fruit," the song first recorded by Billie Holliday in 1939 which has become an enduring anthem of American civil rights.
- Series
- Independent Lens
- Premiere Date
- April 8, 2003
- Length
- 60 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Open Call
Producer
Joel Katz
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The Film
Radio stations banned it, but when Billie Holiday sang "Strange Fruit" the whole world listened anyway. Sprung from the pen of a Bronx schoolteacher, the hit continues to mesmerize musicians and civil rights advocates alike with its chilling vision of a lynching. Strange Fruit shows how a little-known Jewish songwriter and an African American icon created a song that changed America.
