Smith, Lillian, 1897–1966, American writer and social critic, b.
Jasper, Fla. She was a social worker in Georgia for several
years. Her best-selling novel Strange Fruit (1944) is set in the
South and depicts the tragic love of a white boy for a black
girl. Smith was active in the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
but resigned when CORE supported the use of violence as a means
to its ends. Her nonfiction works include Killers of the Dream
(1949), Now is the Time (1955), and Memory of a Large Christmas
(1962). See more Encyclopedia articles on: American Literature:
Biographies