2. Strange Fruit by Abel Meeropol
Southern trees bear a 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 magnolia sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop
3. Lynching
Lynching is an
extrajudicial execution
carried out by a mob,
often by hanging, but
also by burning at the
stake or shooting, in
order to punish an
alleged transgressor.
4. History of Lynching
The etymology of the word leads to the
name of a historic figure named Charles
Lynch (1736-1796)
5. History of Lynching
After the Civil War in 1860s
the first Ku Klux Klan appeared
consisting of white vigilantes, who
hanged or whipped the black population
of South
