AchievementJanuary 1939· music
Billie Holiday Performs 'Strange Fruit' at Café Society, New York's First Integrated Nightclub
Café Society in Greenwich Village, founded by Barney Josephson as New York's first racially integrated nightclub, was where Holiday first performed Strange Fruit. The club itself was a landmark in integration, hosting Black and white performers and audiences together when most American entertainment venues were segregated.