What is blood on the leaves meaning?

"Blood on the leaves" is a recurring phrase in the song "Strange Fruit," which was performed by Billie Holiday and written by Abel Meeropol in 1939. The song describes the horrific reality of lynching in the American South, likening the strange fruit hanging from trees to death and blood. The phrase "blood on the leaves" refers to the sight of leaves stained red with the blood of the victims, and it is used to symbolize the senseless violence and brutality of racism and oppression. The phrase has since been used in other artistic works as a metaphor for the deep-seated legacy of racial violence and injustice in America, both in the past and present.