Strange Fruit by Naomi Westwater

Update: This song raised over $1,000 for The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Nation’s first memorial dedicated to “people terrorized by lynching.” The fundraiser is over, but you can learn more about the memorial here: https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial

Naomi Westwater recorded “Strange Fruit” in March 2019 as part of her Post Master’s Fellowship at Berklee College of Music. It is a song Naomi has been singing for over a decade, ever since she saw historic photos of Black lynchings for a college assignment. “It breaks my heart to sing this song. I feel emotionally exhausted after working on it, but it is part of a dark history of racism in the United States, and a story that needs to be retold until Justice has been served.”

Originally written by Lewis Allan as a poem, Naomi is proud to join Billie Holiday, Nina Simon, and many other Black women who have been singing this song since the 1930s.

Naomi Westwater (they/she) is a queer, Black-multiracial singer-songwriter from Massachusetts. Their work combines folk-rock music, poetry, and spirituality. Their hope is that through ritual and storytelling they can aid nature in the end of capitalism and the return to community, creativity, and collective joy.

naomiwestwater.com
Instagram