<p>The new film details how the United States government tried to destroy Billie Holiday's career because she sang a song about the horrors of lynching. </p><p>The song, <em>Strange Fruit</em>, was sampled by <a href="https://celebritypage.com/tag/kanye" target="_blank">Kanye West</a> in 2011 for his song <em>Blood on the Leaves</em>, and has been covered by other legendary artists like <a href="https://celebritypage.com/tag/nina-simone" target="_blank">Nina Simone</a>, <a href="https://celebritypage.com/tag/annie-lennox" target="_blank">Annie Lennox</a>, and sampled in <a href="https://celebritypage.com/tag/rapsody" target="_blank">Rapsody's</a> song <em>Nina</em>. </p><p><br></p>
<p>We sat down with <a href="https://celebritypage.com/tag/andra-day" target="_blank">Andra Day</a>, who captures the role of Holiday in the upcoming biopic. </p>
<blockquote>"and to remember that it was her singing Strange Fruit, in defiance of the government, and the death of Emmett Till that reinvigorated Thurgood Marshall and the Civil Rights Movement as we know it."</blockquote>
<p>Day is making her acting debut as Holiday, which is fitting, because she actually chose her stage name of Day as a tribute to Billie, who was nicknamed "Lady Day". </p>
<blockquote>"I want people to understand that she was a Civil Rights leader, and I want people to think of her when they think of Martin Luther King, when they think of Malcolm X, and Bobby Seale, when they think of these leaders, peaceful or militant. Billie Holiday's name should be at the forefront, if not one of the geneses of that movement." </blockquote>
<p>Andra is already earning <a href="https://celebritypage.com/tag/golden%20globes" target="_blank">Golden Globe</a> and <a href="https://celebritypage.com/tag/critics-choice">Critics Choice</a> nominations for the role, with her co-stars also singing her praises, like Da'Vine Joy Randolph, who we also talked to. </p>
<blockquote>"I'm very overjoyed that people are having the opportunity to bear witness to some of what we experienced with her"</blockquote>
<p>Miss Lawrence, another one of Day's co-stars, said of the film, <em>"I know what I got from it just filming it, and it's made me a better person and I hope that when the world sees it the world will become even better"</em></p>
<p><em>The United States vs Billie Holiday </em>is streaming now on <a href="https://celebritypage.com/tag/hulu" target="_blank">Hulu</a>. </p>
<p class="">For more from our Equality Spotlight, click <a href="https://celebritypage.com/tag/equality-spotlight" target="_blank">here. </a></p>From Your Site Articles
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