The United States vs. Billie Holiday

film by Daniels [2021]

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July 22, 2026

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The film The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021), directed by Lee Daniels, focuses on the later years of the iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday. The movie highlights her struggles with drug addiction and the persecution she faced from the U.S. government. A significant part of the narrative revolves around her powerful anti-lynching protest song, "Strange Fruit", which brought increased public awareness to racial terrorism against Black Americans. Holiday, known as "Lady Day," was a celebrated singer from the 1930s to the 1950s, renowned for her deeply moving and individual singing style.123

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Suzan-Lori Parks
…on Richard Wright’s novel; and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021), adapted from a book by Johann Hari. Parks’s first novel, Getting Mother’s Body, was published in 2003.
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…on Richard Wright’s novel; and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021), adapted from a book by Johann Hari. Parks’s first novel, Getting Mother’s Body, was published in 2003.
Read More