Estimated reading time: 4 minute(s)
Originally published 3.5.10
LOL!
You know every so often I have to drop in a blog like this to see what you think and to see if it’s really a big deal.
Or if its just another case of “majoring in minor things” moment.
Well this one comes courtesy of the OffBeat Magazine. Their latest cover has received some backlash from the public because of the use of the headline Strange Fruit alongside a white band hanging from bars.
Ok, before I go any further, what comes to mind when you hear the words ‘Strange Fruit’ and ‘hanging’ in the same sentence? Uhmm, maybe Billie Holiday? Lynching? Slavery? Or maybe you don’t think of anything.
Well the reason I am laughing out loud as I write this blog is because I just finished reading the apology posted by the OffBeat staff on their website. One particular part of it stood out:
“We believed that in 2010, the phrase “strange fruit†could be used without automatically evoking the Billie Holiday song and its subject matter.”
Wow, are you serious?
Check out extra commentary by Jordan Flaherty at Local Outrage at New Orleans Music Magazine Over Racially Insensitive Cover.
What do you think? Did OffBeat really need to apologize or is this a “majoring in minor things” moment?
