Скачать или смотреть Billie Holiday and 'Strange Fruit'

Billie Holiday, one of the most iconic jazz singers of the 20th century, faced immense struggles after performing “Strange Fruit,” a haunting song that exposed the horrors of lynching in America. The song’s stark imagery drew the attention of government officials, who saw her as a threat for daring to challenge racial violence through music. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics, led by Harry Anslinger, relentlessly targeted Holiday, exploiting her struggles with addiction and hounding her with arrests and surveillance. Despite her immense talent and cultural impact, Holiday’s career and health were crushed under this pressure, making “Strange Fruit” not only a landmark protest song but also a source of persecution that haunted her until her death.