"Silence. That was the response at Cafe Society the first time Billie Holiday performed a song called "Strange Fruit." In the 1930s, Billie was known as a performer of jazz and blues music, but his song wasn't either of those things. It was a song about injustice, and it would change her life forever. Discover how two outsiders- Billie Holiday, a young black woman raised in poverty, and Abel Meeropol, the son of Jewish immigrants- combined their talents to create a song that challenged racism and paved the way fro the civil rights movement." -- inside book cover.