Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson (1900)

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Lift Every Voice and Sing Cover

Lift Every Voice and Sing is a song which was written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson in 1900. In the United States, the song is also referred to as the "Black national anthem". His brother, J.Rosamond Johnson, set the music for Lincoln's birthday in 1905.

The song was publicly performed as a poem in a celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The NAACP, in 1919, dubbed it "the Negro national anthem" for its powerful messages for voicing liberation and affirmation for African-American community. [1]

James Weldon Johnson

Key Lyrics

Lift every 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 faith that the dark past has tought 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. [2]

Black Empowerment

The song became one of the most cherished songs of the African American Civil Rights Movement and often referred as the Black National Anthem. Originally, Lift Every Voice and Sing was originally written as a poem and set to music, performed for the first time in celebration of President Lincoln’s birthday by a choir of 500 schoolchildren on February 12, 1990 at the segregated Stanton School. [3] [4]

The song contained powerful messages, as a history lesson, a pledge of unity, a teary song, and for people gathered to fight for equality and justice. [5]

For over 100 years, the song has been used and performed at important civil rights events around the world, from the early 20th century until today at protests and marches in the United States.

Rio Chanae sang the song when walking on the City Hall to a crowd of thousands, commemorating a week of marches protesting for police brutality. For Chanae, it represents the Black American culture and Black American voices, “I don’t know how much you know about the current National Anthem,” Chanae says, “but it speaks despairingly about slaves and black people hired by the British side during the Revolutionary War.” [6]

References