James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson. Photo Credit: Yale Library
Issue #254 Education February 15, 2023
On Sunday, February 12, 2023, the 214th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln, Emmy Award-winning actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph performed a stirring rendition of "Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing," also known as the "Negro/Black National Anthem," prior to the start of Super Bowl LVII.
The lyrics of "Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing" were first recited as a poem by school children at a segregated school in Jacksonville, Florida, exactly 123 years ago on February 12.
That song was followed by the singing of "America the Beautiful," an unofficial U.S. national hymn, by Grammy Award-winning singer and producer BabyFace. That performance was signed by Colin Denny, a deaf member of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, in a blend of American Sign Language and North American Indian Sign Language.
"The Star-Spangled Banner," the official United States National Anthem, was sung by country music star Chris Stapleton, a multiple award-winning singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and vocal Black Lives Matter supporter.
Not unexpectedly, many MAGA right wingers lost their minds.
Arizona 2022 Republican Gubernatorial election loser Kari Lake defiantly and rudely stayed seated during the performance of the "Black National Anthem."
Georgia U.S. House member Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene said she only enjoyed the performance by (white) Chris Stapleton and called the other (non-white) performances "woke" and uncalled for.
Colorado’s GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert tweeted her objections: “America only has ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM. Why is the NFL trying to divide us by playing multiple!? Do football, not wokeness.”
The True History of the Black National Anthem
Do you know the true history of the Black National Anthem? "Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing" has a rich and powerful history that is often unknown to many people. It is also called either the "Negro National Anthem" or the "Black National Anthem," and has been an important part of the African American experience for over a century.
Originally written by James Weldon Johnson in 1899 as a poem to celebrate the freeing of slaves after Abraham Lincoln's birthday, the song “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing" has a long-standing history that continues today.
James Weldon Johnson was an educator, author, civil rights activist, attorney, diplomat, and educator, among many other positions he held in his life.
In 1899, while he was a teacher and principal at the segregated Stanton Institute in Jacksonville, Florida, he wrote a poem honoring the esteemed visitor to the school, Booker T. Washington, on the occasion of the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln. The poem was recited in 1900 by 500 students at the school.
In 1901, Johnson moved to New York City along with his younger brother, consummate composer J. Rosamond Johnson, where both of them worked in musical theater. J. Rosamond Johnson, an accomplished songwriter, actor, educator, and theater producer, composed the music for "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," and the song was eventually adopted by the NAACP as the "Negro National Anthem" in 1919 after delegates sang the song at meetings in 1905.
The song was renamed the "Black National Anthem" in 1972, around the same time that "Negro History Week" was renamed "Black History Week" just before that initiative was expanded to "Black History Month."
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"Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" has become an important symbol of Black pride, unity, collective struggle, and resistance. The song embodies the crusades of generations who have had to overcome tremendous challenges due to institutional racism. The words are a powerful reminder of the perseverance that is required to keep fighting for our rights until we are all equal.
The song soon became seen as an anthem of hope for African Americans everywhere. Its words evoke pride and convey strength.
Despite speaking of the history of oppression, the song manages to be uplifting, proclaiming proudly that hope is alive in every generation. To this day this stirring melody is regularly sung at protests and demonstrations, reminding us all that injustice should never be forgotten nor accepted.
The song includes thanksgiving for devotion and deliverance, with symbolism referring to the biblical Exodus from slavery to the freedom of the "promised land".
"Lift Every Voice and Sing" is included in 39 various Christian hymnals and is used in churches throughout North America.
"Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing" was an inspirational and unifying song for people of all colors who were fighting for civil rights during the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. It soon became seen as an anthem of hope for African Americans everywhere. With its passionate lyrics encouraging freedom and equality for all, this historical anthem still rings true today.
The lyrics to "Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing"
Verse 1:
Lift ev’ry voice and sing,
’Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song, full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song, full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on ’til victory is won.
Verse 2:
Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers died.
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
’Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
Verse 3:
God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.
The Black National Anthem performed by Sheryl Lee Ralph
(The NFL has blocked the sharing of the actual YouTube Video. Photo Credit: Getty Images).
“Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing” performed by Kirk Franklin
What are your thoughts about the history, significance, and performance of “The Black National Anthem?”
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Lift Every Voice and Sing would be a very good replacement for our present national anthem, with some modification to verse three to make it less religious.
Lift Every Voice and Sing would be a very good replacement for our present national anthem, with some modification to verse three to make it less religious.