Today's #StrangeFruitMOTD comes from Austin, TX where a Houston native high school student, Douglas Mills, Jr. auditioned for this season of American Idol with a powerful rendition of "Strange Fruit."
The song, written by Abel Meeropol and made famous by Billie Holiday, protests lynchings of Black Americans and is a staple of the civil rights movement.
The emotional and captivating performance left the judges in awe. After giving Mills a standing ovation, country music singer Luke Bryan said, "I'm speechless about it."
According to Mills, "I picked this song especially for the Black community because they have gone through so much pain over the past few centuries. It’s time to bring awareness to it.”
Read more and watch the performance here: https://parade.com/1354633/paulettecohn/douglas-mills-jr-american-idol-…
#StrangeFruit #AbelMeeropol #ArtistsAsActivists #activistartists