I heard through a certain vine that there were some not-so-kind. Stories tell of how they hung many out to dry. Generations struggled, yet still we got by. Swinging in that heat, over time, our fruit became sweet. Became wise. To their surprise, our now aged raisins improvised. Strange to them, we capitalized on the given time and reseeded to reproduce. To become a sweeter, wiser, race of abundant, delicious fruit.
Narrative points:
- A carved hand from the tree of humanity, the color distinguishes the who.
- A noose made of vine. Faces of those who contributed to their careers, making it possible for newer generations to achieve greatness.
- The title “Strangely Fruitful ” is written in the vines.
- The umbilical cord of new growth attached to the infant.
M. Jackson, E. Till ,I.B. Wells ,S. Chisholm, N. Simone, J. Owens, P.Robeson, R. Foxx, M. L. King Jr., B. Holiday, F. Douglass, H. Tubman, L. Hughes, R. Parks, and me.
The inspiration for the painting comes from a song entitled “Strange Fruit” with a positive spin.
“Strange Fruit” is a song performed most famously by Billie Holiday, who released her first recording of it in 1939, the year she first sang it. Written by the teacher Abel Meeropol as a poem, it exposed American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans. Such lynchings had occurred chiefly in the South but also in all other regions of the United States.