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Classroom · Grades 9–12

Billie Holiday

Holiday made popular song a vehicle for protest, and her life shows how the power of the state could fall hardest on a Black woman who would not be silent.

Lesson at a Glance

Grades
Grades 9–12
Time
One class period (20–40 minutes)
Standards
NCSS Themes 1 (Culture), 4 (Individual Development and Identity), and 6 (Power, Authority, and Governance); C3 D2.His.2, D2.His.4, D2.His.10
Reading
Billie Holiday (profile)

Big Idea

Holiday made popular song a vehicle for protest, and her life shows how the power of the state could fall hardest on a Black woman who would not be silent.

Before Class

Students read the profile of Billie Holiday, including the Key Dates and Sources.

Discussion Questions

  1. “Strange Fruit” addressed lynching at a time when few popular performers would. What risks did Holiday take by recording and performing it, and why did the song matter?
  2. Holiday had no formal training. What does her influence on later singers suggest about how artistic skill is learned and passed on?
  3. The profile describes a federal narcotics campaign that pursued Holiday until her death. How should historians weigh her personal struggles alongside the way the government treated her?
  4. What do William Gottlieb’s photographs suggest about how Holiday presented herself, and about how photographers presented jazz musicians?

Activity

Show students three of William P. Gottlieb’s photographs of Holiday from the Library of Congress collection, including one taken at the Downbeat club in 1947. Students first describe what they see, then use the profile to place the photographs in the context of her career, her arrest in May 1947, and her Carnegie Hall concert of March 1948. Discuss how knowing her story changes the way the images read. Finish with a short written reflection on how photographs can reveal, or conceal, a public figure’s experience.

Primary Sources

Cite this page
MLA
“Classroom lesson: Billie Holiday.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/classroom/billie-holiday/.
APA
Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Classroom lesson: Billie Holiday. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/classroom/billie-holiday/
Chicago
Black-History.com Editors. “Classroom lesson: Billie Holiday.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/classroom/billie-holiday/.
Editorial Note

By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.

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