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Lift Every Voice and Sing, often referred to as "The Black National Anthem," was a hymn written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900. Johnson's brother, John Rosamond Johnson, composed the music for the lyrics.
The lyrics of Lift Every Voice and Sing eloquently captured hope for the liberty of Black Americans during the 20th century. In 1919 the NAACP adopted the song.
Lift Every Voice and Sing Lyrics
Lift every voice and sing,
'Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the 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 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,
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 president and CEO of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, expressed how the Lift Every Voice and Sing has impacted African-Americans.
"It spoke to the history of the journey of African-Americans and for many Africans in the diaspora who struggled through to get to a place of hope."
There's a lot of history behind Lift Every Voice and Sing. Here's a look at the history behind Lift Every Voice and Sing and how it plays a role in the NFL.
The history of Lift Every Voice and Sing
Lift Every Voice and Sing was performed at a segregated school in Jacksonville, Florida. A group of 500 children were celebrating the anniversary of the birth of President Lincoln.
The poem turned into a song was written at a pivotal time when Jim Crow was replacing slavery and African-Americans were searching for their identities.
Shana Redmond, an Activist, Author, and Scholar, explained what the Lift Every Voice and Sing is saying to its listeners.
"It allows us to acknowledge all of the brutalities and inhumanities and dispossession that came with enslavement, that came with Jim Crow, that comes still today with disenfranchisement, police brutality, dispossession of education resources. It continues to announce that we see this brighter future, that we believe that something will change."
The world today has had its ups and downs. Unfortunately, there have been more downs than ups recently. The NFL is looking to contribute to the meaning of the Lift Every Voice and Sing by playing it before games during the 2021-2022 NFL season.
