February 12, 2020 is the 120th anniversary of the first performance of the song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”. I first became aware of this tune as a member of the local NAACP chapter in Rutland, VT, at a fund-raising dinner in 2018. Soon after at a Sunday service, I noticed this hymn in the New Century hymnal, one of our hymnals at Grace Congregational Church in Rutland.
The 6/8 time signature and melody have a powerful “anthem” quality to it. In fact, this song is often referred to as the “The Black National Anthem” by the NAACP and African Americans.
The lyrics to this song were written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson. His words were set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson in 1899.
This song was first performed in public as part of a celebration of President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12, 1900. The singers were a choir of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School, in Jacksonville, FL, where James Weldon Johnson was principal. You can view the lyrics and history for this anthem.
What an interesting history this song has!!! I had fun reading about it and learning about how you came to know the song as well.
Thank you so much for directing me to this page.