[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 23, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN HONOR OF BILLIE HOLIDAY'S LIFE AND LEGACY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 23, 2021

  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
extraordinary achievements in the life of Billie Holiday--a gifted 
vocalist, a dedicated activist, and a cultural icon.
  Billie Holiday's story is one of perseverance and resiliency. Born 
into modest means and harsh circumstances, she suffered through a dark 
and difficult childhood in the face of poverty, parental absence, and 
trauma. But it was music--specifically, that of Louis Armstrong and 
Bessie Smith--that reignited her dimming spark. Through song, she found 
the uncanny ability to express her pain through her true voice. And 
what a voice it was.
  Amid heightened racial tensions in the 1930s, Billie Holiday 
introduced a new genre of protest--melody. In her hit rendition of 
``Strange Fruit,'' she posed an unapologetic and uncensored challenge 
to the injustice of lynching of black Americans at one of the darkest 
moments of history in our nation. Burdened by the weight of the song's 
message and facing public backlash, she continued to perform and record 
it to reach a greater audience. Despite the vitriolic backlash, Strange 
Fruit quickly became the unofficial anthem of the anti-lynching 
movement and was an early mantra towards the success of the larger 
civil rights movement.
  Madam Speaker, until her passing at only 44 years old, Billie Holiday 
had already established a legacy that would survive for generations to 
come. As she fortuitously predicted, her lyrics remain a main stay in 
modern pop culture. May we be confident in her everlasting influence, 
because ``life dies but forever there will be music.''

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