Lift Every Voice and Sing
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.
Credits: Lyrics from a poem by James Weldon Johnson. Music by John Rosamond Johnson.
Notes: Often referred to as "The Black National Anthem," *Lift Every Voice and Sing* was a hymn written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900. His brother, John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954), composed the music for the lyrics. A choir of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School, where James Weldon Johnson was principal, first performed the song in public in Jacksonville, Florida to celebrate President Abraham Lincoln's birthday. 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.