About halfway through the song, however, it occurred to me that before she would grow to truly appreciate this song and its sentiment I would have to explain to her the history of pain and suffering that the song so poetically captures. This realization made my heart hurt. There is no way to shield her from the shame and guilt she is likely to feel as a white person in this country. There is no way to erase the immense suffering that has occurred throughout history and still lives with all of us to this day. I'll have to try and help her makes sense of this. I suppose that I consider this an honor, and my hope is that someday she will allow herself to feel ashamed, to feel responsible in some way and to experience forgiveness. My hope is that someday she will hear "Strange Fruit" and will know a deeper empathy for those that have suffered at the hands of white people. My hope is she will use that empathy to ensure she prevents such suffering from occurring again.
Friday, November 15, 2013
strange, indeed.
When I'm home with my soon-to-be two-year old daughter we usually listen to music during mealtimes, mostly as a way to preserve my sanity while she tosses food all over the kitchen but also because I enjoy exposing her to a variety of singers and sounds. This morning while she was slinging oatmeal we were soothed by Billie Holiday's Ultimate Collection and I found myself impatiently awaiting "Strange Fruit" because, I confess, it is really the only Holiday song that I am familiar with. Beyond that it's also beautiful and sorrowful and haunting and powerful and emotional and just about everything I think good music should be. When the wait was finally over and the first few notes started playing I said to my daughter, "This is a great, great song, my dear." I imagined that someday she might agree.
About halfway through the song, however, it occurred to me that before she would grow to truly appreciate this song and its sentiment I would have to explain to her the history of pain and suffering that the song so poetically captures. This realization made my heart hurt. There is no way to shield her from the shame and guilt she is likely to feel as a white person in this country. There is no way to erase the immense suffering that has occurred throughout history and still lives with all of us to this day. I'll have to try and help her makes sense of this. I suppose that I consider this an honor, and my hope is that someday she will allow herself to feel ashamed, to feel responsible in some way and to experience forgiveness. My hope is that someday she will hear "Strange Fruit" and will know a deeper empathy for those that have suffered at the hands of white people. My hope is she will use that empathy to ensure she prevents such suffering from occurring again.
About halfway through the song, however, it occurred to me that before she would grow to truly appreciate this song and its sentiment I would have to explain to her the history of pain and suffering that the song so poetically captures. This realization made my heart hurt. There is no way to shield her from the shame and guilt she is likely to feel as a white person in this country. There is no way to erase the immense suffering that has occurred throughout history and still lives with all of us to this day. I'll have to try and help her makes sense of this. I suppose that I consider this an honor, and my hope is that someday she will allow herself to feel ashamed, to feel responsible in some way and to experience forgiveness. My hope is that someday she will hear "Strange Fruit" and will know a deeper empathy for those that have suffered at the hands of white people. My hope is she will use that empathy to ensure she prevents such suffering from occurring again.
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