Silence

That was the response at Cafe Society the first time Billie Holiday performed a song called "Strange Fruit."

In the 1930s, Billie was known as a performer of jazz and blues music, but this song wasn''t either of those things. It was a song about injustice, and it would change her life forever.

Discover how two outsiders—Billie Holiday, a young black woman raised in poverty, and Abel Meeropol, the son of Jewish immigrants—combined their talents to create a song that challenged racism and paved the way for the Civil Rights movement.