Inside History: Protest. Revolt & Reform
For our next issue we take a closer look at the theme of Protest from the events of Peterloo to the fall of the Berlin. Inside we cover a whole range of historical protests and the individuals who led the charge for change. This issues includes:
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, The Suffragettes, Billie Holiday and the role music has played in protests, The Civil Rights Movement, Protest and Sport, We are the People: The Fall of the Berlin Wall, Bloody Sunday at Trafalgar Square, and much much more.
For our next issue we take a closer look at the theme of Protest from the events of Peterloo to the fall of the Berlin. Inside we cover a whole range of historical protests and the individuals who led the charge for change. This issues includes:
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, The Suffragettes, Billie Holiday and the role music has played in protests, The Civil Rights Movement, Protest and Sport, We are the People: The Fall of the Berlin Wall, Bloody Sunday at Trafalgar Square, and much much more.
BILLIE HOLIDAYIt wouldn’t take long for those involved withthe song to begin facing the authorities.There was concern that the song and thepower that it held could incite hostilities.Strange Fruit had put Holiday and Meeropolon the government’s radar. For Meeropol, hewas called to testify before the committeeinvestigating communism where he wasasked if the US Communist Party had paidhim to write the song. Club promotors hiringHoliday would be strongly urged not to allowHoliday to sing her now famous song. ForHoliday, the repercussions would be moreintense.Harry Anslinger, head of the Federal Bureauof Narcotics, had made Holiday his PublicEnemy number one. He knew exactly how tosilence her in what would become anobsessive and long campaign againstHoliday. Rumours about Holiday’s drug usewere circling. All Anslinger needed was theproof. Realising that his own white agentscouldn’t infiltrate Holiday’s circle, Anslingersent Jimmy Fletcher, one of the FBI’s fewBlack agents at the time, to follow Holiday togather the evidence. It worked and Holidaywas later arrested for the possession ofNarcotics in 1947. She would later faceprison despite pleading guilty and asking tobe sent to hospital. The drug possessionconviction also caused her to lose her NewYork City Cabaret Card meaning that shecould not perform anywhere that soldalcohol.Holiday’s career would continue after hertime in prison even selling out Carnegie Hallsoon after her release but Anslinger wouldcontinue his campaign against her until herdeath in 1959 at the age of 44.Strange Fruit may have been a song from1939 but it continued to make its mark asthe racial tensions in America grewthroughout the 1950’s. Ahmet Ertegun, whowould later co-found Atlantic Records calledthe song: “a declaration of war...thebeginning of the civil rights movement.” Itwas a song that stirred emotions, highlightedthe tensions, and in attempting to silenceHoliday, proved that once a song hits thepublic’s imagination so fiercely, nogovernment prevent its power.Ahmet Ertegun, who would later co-foundAtlantic Records, called the song:“a declaration ofwar...thebeginning of thecivil rightsmovement.”46 INSIDE HISTORY
Southern trees bear a strange fruit,Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,Black body 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,And the sudden smell of burning flesh!Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop,Here is a strange and bitter crop.INSIDE HISTORY 47
- Page 1: ISSUE 7VOLUME 1HISTORYbraveryUK £6
- Page 4 and 5: INSIDETHIS ISSUE06Peterloo: How wom
- Page 6 and 7: PETERLOOA coloured print of the Pet
- Page 8 and 9: PETERLOOAt previous meetings, the a
- Page 10 and 11: REBECCA RIOTSPROTEST &PETTICOATSTHE
- Page 12 and 13: To some, John Brown was a revolutio
- Page 14: For Brown, the continued talk of th
- Page 17 and 18: Bringing Shields Green to life is D
- Page 19 and 20: cynical about their motives. Their
- Page 21 and 22: Bloody Sunday, 1887. This engraving
- Page 23 and 24: 20th CenturyIn 1909, Clara Lemlich
- Page 25 and 26: or risk a hard cold winter without
- Page 27 and 28: “Remember thedignity of yourwoman
- Page 29 and 30: (Above) Christabel Pankhurst, Flora
- Page 31 and 32: months previously and been utterly
- Page 33 and 34: WSPU’s newspaper, Suffragette, wa
- Page 35 and 36: The drive behind Rosa’s fight was
- Page 38 and 39: FIGHTING TO VOTEPhoto: Rokeby Venus
- Page 40 and 41: "I know you will sentence me, but i
- Page 42 and 43: sticks and umbrellas - were bannedf
- Page 44 and 45: BILLIE HOLIDAY& THE IMPACT OFSTRANG
- Page 48 and 49: WORDS: Ben PurdieWHEREWORDSFAIL...4
- Page 50 and 51: When the war in Vietnam began, many
- Page 52 and 53: PROTEST &SPORT52 INSIDE HISTORY
- Page 54 and 55: PROTEST & SPORTfrom the 1972 Summer
- Page 56 and 57: Demonstrators marching in the stree
- Page 58 and 59: “Let us notseek tosatisfy ourthir
- Page 60 and 61: WIR SINDDASVOLK!WEARETHEPEOPLE!Mond
- Page 62 and 63: internment camps” including Ranis
- Page 64: sticks and umbrellas - were bannedf
BILLIE HOLIDAY
It wouldn’t take long for those involved with
the song to begin facing the authorities.
There was concern that the song and the
power that it held could incite hostilities.
Strange Fruit had put Holiday and Meeropol
on the government’s radar. For Meeropol, he
was called to testify before the committee
investigating communism where he was
asked if the US Communist Party had paid
him to write the song. Club promotors hiring
Holiday would be strongly urged not to allow
Holiday to sing her now famous song. For
Holiday, the repercussions would be more
intense.
Harry Anslinger, head of the Federal Bureau
of Narcotics, had made Holiday his Public
Enemy number one. He knew exactly how to
silence her in what would become an
obsessive and long campaign against
Holiday. Rumours about Holiday’s drug use
were circling. All Anslinger needed was the
proof. Realising that his own white agents
couldn’t infiltrate Holiday’s circle, Anslinger
sent Jimmy Fletcher, one of the FBI’s few
Black agents at the time, to follow Holiday to
gather the evidence. It worked and Holiday
was later arrested for the possession of
Narcotics in 1947. She would later face
prison despite pleading guilty and asking to
be sent to hospital. The drug possession
conviction also caused her to lose her New
York City Cabaret Card meaning that she
could not perform anywhere that sold
alcohol.
Holiday’s career would continue after her
time in prison even selling out Carnegie Hall
soon after her release but Anslinger would
continue his campaign against her until her
death in 1959 at the age of 44.
Strange Fruit may have been a song from
1939 but it continued to make its mark as
the racial tensions in America grew
throughout the 1950’s. Ahmet Ertegun, who
would later co-found Atlantic Records called
the song: “a declaration of war...the
beginning of the civil rights movement.” It
was a song that stirred emotions, highlighted
the tensions, and in attempting to silence
Holiday, proved that once a song hits the
public’s imagination so fiercely, no
government prevent its power.
Ahmet Ertegun, who would later co-found
Atlantic Records, called the song:
“a declaration of
war...the
beginning of the
civil rights
movement.”
46 INSIDE HISTORY
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