Why Strange Fruit?

Aside from it being one of the coolest and probably most powerful songs ever written, the name "Strange Fruit", has carried such significance meaning to African Americans.  The metaphor gave an insight into the atrocities of living in the south if you were a person of color, wrapped in the imagery of something so pure to life.  It brought truth to power.

That's the significance of this blog for me. I hope to give some insight into what it means to be a young African American working in the world of politics and policy.  I hope to bring truth to power. For those that may not be familiar with the particular song that I am referencing I have included the lyrics below:

Writer: Lewis Allen


Southern trees bear strange fruit,

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.



Pastoral scene of the gallant south,

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,

Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,

Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.


Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,

For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,

Here is a strange and bitter crop.