56. The United States v. Billie Holiday

This week we take a look at musical icon and the focus of the movie, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, now streaming on Hulu. We discuss Billie's childhood and the events leading up to the start of her career. After getting famous, Billie was targeted by Harry Anslinger and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics after she refused to stop singing the song, Strange Fruit, inspired by a poem called Bitter Fruit, written about lynching by Jewish educator and anti-racist activist Abel Meeropol. Since they could not arrest her for singing, they decided to go after her drug addiction, sending agent Jimmy Fletcher to investigate. After her arrest, Billie pleaded guilty with the hopes she would be sent to the hospital to get the help she needed. Instead, they sent her to prison. After her release, Billie was not allowed to perform in clubs that served alcohol. This significantly impacted her income and ability to perform. Billie continued to struggle with her addiction and continued to be unfairly targeted by Harry and the FBI. Even after Billie was hospitalized for complications due to her addiction, they arrested her while in her hospital bed. Billie died at the age of 44 but would go on to posthumously receive 23 Grammy nominations and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the ASCAP Jazz Hall of Fame. Rachel's Sources https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-02-27/united-states-vs-billie-holiday-strange-fruit-fbihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/drug-war-the-hunting-of-billie-holiday-114298/ https://slate.com/culture/2021/02/billie-holiday-movie-true-story-accuracy.html https://www.hulu.com/movie/the-united-states-vs-billie-holiday