Strange Fruit

This was one of the first songs to protest the violence in the South. This violence was a tactic of maintaining white superiority in the South long after the passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. Segregation and the systematic submersion of black Americans in the South still reverberates today.

Above is a clip from "To Kill a Mockingbird," in which Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) defends Tom Robinson who is accused of raping and assaulting Mayella Elwell. The Elwells are a stereotypically redneck white family from the South. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Tom is ultimately convicted of raping May, even though she recants on the witness stand. The black people in attendance at the trial, sitting in the balcony of the segregated courtroom, stand in silence to respect Atticus Finch and the job he did in his representation of Tom. The legal system was another method of black suppression.