Abel Meeropol was an English teacher in New York City in the 1930s who, purportedly upon seeing a photograph of two black men lynched in Indiana, wrote a poem about it called “Strange Fruit.” He set ...

The story behind the song "Strange Fruit" is well-known. Shocked by a postcard bearing a photograph of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abraham Smith in Marion, Ind., Bronx schoolteacher Abel Meeropol ...

Last year, North Carolina rapper Rapsody was searching for an introductory track for her new album, Eve, a concept LP about the history and power of black women. Her producer suggested a song she didn ...

Hulu's The United States vs. Billie Holiday opens with titles stating a historic fact: "In 1937, a Bill to finally ban the lynching of African-Americans was considered by the Senate. It did not pass." ...

The old adage “fruits of your labor” is meant to be instructive, but instead, the pressure to deliver tangible results can feel insurmountable. Singer-songwriter Peter Wise expresses his frustrations ...

For some reason, lemons are the go-to fruit for nutsack metaphors. (Seems big, doesn’t it?) It may have begun with Robert Johnson, who allegedly sold his soul in exchange for lyrics like “You can ...