Billie Holiday | Icons

Duration: 12'45''

Synopsis

Raised in abject poverty, Holiday's unique singing technique saw her become one of the world's great recording artists before she chose to shine a light on one of the darkest corners of humanity when she released Strange Fruit.

Further Information

More clips from Icons

Charlie Chaplin | Icons

Charlie Chaplin | Icons

BBC Two | 2019 | 12'07''

Chaplin spent much of his childhood in poverty, before becoming the world's first international movie star. Chaplin took on the powers of the studio ...

David Bowie | Icons

David Bowie | Icons

BBC Two | 2019 | 12'42''

David Bowie landed on the London music scene and, with the help of Ziggy Stardust, transformed it at once giving rise to an army of young, previously dis...

Marilyn Monroe | Icons

Marilyn Monroe | Icons

BBC Two | 2019 | 12'29''

Marilyn Monroe used her image to propel her from starlet status to that of arguably the most iconic film star in the world. She pushed to expand the f...

Charlie Chaplin | Icons

Charlie Chaplin | Icons

BBC Two | 2019 | 12'07''

Chaplin spent much of his childhood in poverty, before becoming the world's first international movie star. Chaplin took on the powers of the studio ...

David Bowie | Icons

David Bowie | Icons

BBC Two | 2019 | 12'42''

David Bowie landed on the London music scene and, with the help of Ziggy Stardust, transformed it at once giving rise to an army of young, previously dis...

Marilyn Monroe | Icons

Marilyn Monroe | Icons

BBC Two | 2019 | 12'29''

Marilyn Monroe used her image to propel her from starlet status to that of arguably the most iconic film star in the world. She pushed to expand the f...

More resources about Civil rights movement in the USA

Martin Luther King Jr | Icons

Martin Luther King Jr | Icons

BBC Two | 2019 | 12'52''

Martin Luther King Jr was arguably the most influential figure of the civil rights movement, King masterminded a campaign which fought not only...

George Floyd: A Killing That Shook the World | Panorama

George Floyd: A Killing That Shook the World | Panorama

BBC One | 2020 | 28'51''

Thousands of people have joined marches against racism after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Clive Myrie ...

KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy

KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy

BBC Three | 2015 | 57'30''

Documentary investigating the Ku Klux Klan. Film-maker Dan Murdoch witnesses first-hand their secretive rituals and hears why their member...

Martin Luther King: American Prophet

Martin Luther King: American Prophet

BBC Two | 2008 | 59'19''

Since his assassination in 1968, Martin Luther King has become known as a champion of freedom. Oona King goes on a journey through the D...

Martin Luther King and the March on Washington

Martin Luther King and the March on Washington

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'09''

Documentary commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's March on Washington, speaking to the people who organis...

Rosa Parks | Face to Face

Rosa Parks | Face to Face

BBC | 1961 | 3'09''

Martin Luther King tells the story of Rosa Parks, the ''Bus Boycott'' and how this lead to his rise a civil rights leader.

S11E03: Rosa | Doctor Who

S11E03: Rosa | Doctor Who

BBC One | 2018 | 49'25''

The Doctor and her friends find themselves in the Deep South of America. As they encounter a seamstress by the name of Rosa Parks, they begin to wo...

Muhammad Ali | Icons

Muhammad Ali | Icons

BBC Two | 2019 | 12'54''

Muhammad Ali's talent and charisma secured the love of his fans, but his attitudes towards race, religion and America's role in the Vietnam War all chal...

Non-violence | Face to Face

Non-violence | Face to Face

BBC | 1961 | 1'21''

Martin Luther King talks about the importance of non-violent protest in the civil rights movement.

Segregation and violence | Face to Face

Segregation and violence | Face to Face

BBC | 1961 | 4'21''

Martin Luther King speaks of his experiences of segregation and violence as a child.

04: More Angry Than Afraid | Promised Land

04: More Angry Than Afraid | Promised Land

BBC Two | 1996 | 49'10''

The story of four of the most tumultuous years in Chicago's racial history, from 1965 to 1968. Martin Luther Kingcame to Chicago a...

Colour discrimination | Face to Face

Colour discrimination | Face to Face

BBC | 1961 | 2'32''

Martin Luther King recalls his first instance of being discriminated for his race at the age of six.

Experience of living with Jim Crow | Rick Stein Tastes the Blues

Experience of living with Jim Crow | Rick Stein Tastes the Blues

BBC Four | 2014 | 1'42''

Rick heres how some of his Blues heroes grew up under the Jim Crow laws and how they defined the genre itself.

Living in the USA | Face to Face

Living in the USA | Face to Face

BBC | 1961 | 1'38''

Martin Luther King explains why he doesn't move to a less discriminatory country and why it is important that he fights for equality in the US.

Non-violent success | Face to Face

Non-violent success | Face to Face

BBC | 1961 | 1'29''

Martin Luther King speaks to the success of non-violent protest.

01: Any Place But Here | Promised Land

01: Any Place But Here | Promised Land

BBC Two | 1996 | 48'55''

The first part begins the story of the greatest peacetime migration in history when, between 1940 and 1970, five million African-Ameri...

02: Sweet Home Chicago | Promised Land

02: Sweet Home Chicago | Promised Land

BBC Two | 1996 | 49'01''

This second programme examines the magnetic pull of Chicago and the North. Migrants' letters home promised a better life of freedom an...

03: We Stand at the Crossroads | Promised Land

03: We Stand at the Crossroads | Promised Land

BBC Two | 1996 | 48'54''

This third programme tells the story of black Chicago between the end of the war and the early sixties. With thousands of migr...

05: The Walls of Jericho | Promised Land

05: The Walls of Jericho | Promised Land

BBC Two | 1996 | 49'13''

The exodus from Mississippi to Chicago has resulted in a sizeable and prosperous black middle class living in the Windy City. Howeve...

Billie Jean King | Icons

Billie Jean King | Icons

BBC Two | 2019 | 12'19''

Billie Jean King is tennis' greatest talents, and also a tireless campaigner for equality. She fought for prize-money parity, was instrumental in th...