"Strange Fruit" is a haunting song originally written as a poem by Abel Meeropol in 1937, highlighting the lynching of African Americans in the South. The lyrics describe the bodies of Black men and women hanging from trees, symbolizing the brutal racism and violence of the time. Billie Holiday's iconic 1939 recording of the song made it a powerful protest anthem, though she was often banned from performing it in certain venues due to its controversial content, yet she continued to sing it, knowing its emotional impact.