Lillian Smith

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Lillian Smith (1897–1966) was the internationally acclaimed author of the controversial novel Strange Fruit, which was a #1 New York Times bestseller and translated into fifteen languages worldwide. In all her writing, Smith was one of the most liberal and outspoken of the white, mid-twentieth–century Southern writers on issues of social and racial injustice. For her persistence in calling for an end to segregation, Smith was often scorned by more moderate Southerners, threatened by arsonists, and denied the critical attention she deserved as an author. She remained an advocate for social justice throughout her life.