Often referred to as "The Black National Anthem," Lift Every Voice and Sing is a hymn with lyrics by James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954).
Sheet music of "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
At the turn of the 20th century, Johnson's lyrics eloquently captured the solemn yet hopeful appeal for the liberty of Black Americans. Set against the religious invocation of God and the promise of freedom, the song was later adopted by NAACP and prominently used as a rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
James Weldon Johnson, Principal of the Edwin M. Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida, had sought to write a poem in commemoration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. However, amid the ongoing civil rights movement, Johnson decided to write a poem which was themed around the struggles of African Americans following the Reconstruction era (including the passage of Jim Crow laws in the South).
Why we "Lift Every Voice and Sing" | The story behind the 'black national anthem'
The Origins of the Hymn
Many people are surprised to learn that "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was first written as a poem. Created by James Weldon Johnson, it was performed for the first time by 500 school children in celebration of President Lincoln's Birthday on February 12, 1900 in Jacksonville, FL.
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His brother, John Rosamond Johnson, composed the music for the lyrics.
In 1900, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was first recited by 500 students. The poem was set to music by Johnson's brother, John Rosamond Johnson, and soon adopted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as its official song.
After the Great Fire of 1901 in Jacksonville, the Johnsons moved to New York City to pursue a career on Broadway. In the years that followed, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was sung within Black communities; Johnson wrote that "the school children of Jacksonville kept singing it; they went off to other schools and sang it; they became teachers and taught it to other children.
Lyrics of "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
The lines of this song repay me in an elation, almost of exquisite anguish, whenever I hear them sung by Negro children.
Lift every 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.
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 sighed?
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.
God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast 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.
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Adoption and Cultural Impact
Premiered in 1900, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was communally sung within Black American communities, while the NAACP began to promote the hymn as a "Negro national anthem" in 1917 (with the term "Black national anthem" similarly used in the present day). It has been featured in 49 different Christian hymnals, and it has also been performed by various African American singers and musicians.
A sculpture by Augusta Savage named after the song was exhibited at the 1939 New York World's Fair, taking the form of a choir of children shaped into a harp. Savage was the only Black woman commissioned for the Fair, and the sculpture (which was retitled "The Harp" by organizers) was also sold as miniature replicas and on postcards during the event.
Notable Performances and Recognition
- In 1923, the male gospel group Manhattan Harmony Four recorded the hymn as "Lift Every Voice and Sing (National Negro Anthem)".
- In 1972, Kim Weston sang the hymn as the opening number for the Wattstax Festival at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This performance was included in the film Wattstax which was produced by Wolper Films.
- In 1990, singer Melba Moore released a modern rendition of the hymn, which she recorded with the assistance of other singers, including R&B artists Stephanie Mills, Freddie Jackson, Anita Baker, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jeffrey Osborne, and Howard Hewett; and gospel artists BeBe & CeCe Winans, Take 6, and The Clark Sisters, after which, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was entered into the Congressional Record by Del.
- On January 20, 2009, the Rev. Joseph Lowery recited the third verse of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" during the benediction for Barack Obama's first inauguration.
In 2008, jazz singer Rene Marie was asked to sing the national anthem at a civic event in Denver, Colorado, where she caused a controversy by substituting the words of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" into the song.
Efforts to Make it a National Hymn
In response to Askew's remarks, the NAACP's then-senior vice president of advocacy and policy Hilary O. Shelton stated that while the organization supports the singing of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" alongside the U.S. national anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance during public events, "It is evident in our actions as an organization and here in America it is evidence that we are about inclusion, not exclusion.
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