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Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing
Written by James Weldon Johnson in the late 19th century, Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing has come to be known as the Black National Anthem.
Recited first by a group of 500 students in Jacksonville Florida, Weldon’s poem was further transformed into a musical masterpiece by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson and sung proudly throughout the community at large.
Weldon initially set out to create a poem that commemorated President Lincoln’s birthday but decided to go in another direction as Black Americans continued to face struggles throughout the Reconstruction era and the passing of Jim Crow laws in the South. The hymn was written as a prayer of faithfulness and freedom, capturing the pain, determination, and triumphs of the formerly enslaved and free people.
“Lift ev’ry voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning 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 till victory is won.”
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) officially dubbed Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing as the Negro National Anthem in 1919, appointing Weldon as the first executive secretary shortly after. Since then, the song has been performed and referenced by influential and historic Black Americans like: Maya Angelou, Kim West, James Brown, Stephanie Mills, Freddie Jackson, Anita Baker, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jeffrey Osborne, Howard Hewett, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Take 6, The Clark Sisters, Rene Marie, Beyoncé.
Learn more about the poem and lyrics at: www.naacp.org
Find out how the poetry of James Weldon Johnson and words of Benjamin Franklin together inspired the exhibition.
Image credit: Courtesy of Smithsonian Institute Open Access Images and the National Portrait Gallery
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) officially dubbed Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing as the Negro National Anthem in 1919, appointing Weldon as the first executive secretary shortly after. Since then, the song has been performed and referenced by influential and historic Black Americans like: Maya Angelou, Kim West, James Brown, Stephanie Mills, Freddie Jackson, Anita Baker, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jeffrey Osborne, Howard Hewett, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Take 6, The Clark Sisters, Rene Marie, Beyoncé.
Learn more about the poem and lyrics at: www.naacp.org
Find out how the poetry of James Weldon Johnson and words of Benjamin Franklin together inspired the exhibition.
Image credit: Courtesy of Smithsonian Institute Open Access Images and the National Portrait Gallery
