![]() ![]() Something so contentious, you’d probably imagine the lyrics were horrific. The Lyrics of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” While written with the Black experience in America in mind, according to Askew, Johnson also penned “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as a message that could resonate with every sufferer-with every human being. Timothy Askew, an African American professor at Clark Atlanta University, just released the book “Cultural Hegemony and African American Patriotism: An Analysis of the Song, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing.’” He researched over 700 boxes of James Johnson’s works, and found letters of appreciation to Johnson from individuals of all different ethnic backgrounds. ![]() “Recently I spoke for the summer labor school at Bryn Mawr College and was pleased to hear it fervently sung by the white students there.” Johnson never intended “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to be a “Black National Anthem.” That designation was given to the song in 1920 by the NAACP. It’s included in at least 39 Christian hymnals. The song caught on immediately and was frequently performed at churches and school assemblies. Hundreds of African American children performed it in 1900 at a celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday at Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida, where Johnson was principal. Johnson asked his brother, John Rosamond Johnson, to set the poem to music. The words form an invitation to join in lamenting their sufferings, to celebrate their God-given freedom, and to identify with their faith and hope in God. He crafted it in hopes of communicating to Whites something of the Black experience in America. James Weldon Johnson wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as a poem in 1899. Something so contentious, we might imagine that the background to the song is somehow subversive. ![]() This will become more divisive than helpful.” The Story of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” Plus, most Whites are not ready for this-they’ll stay away, or walk out, or turn their backs-doing a tit-for-tat for players kneeling during ‘The National Anthem’. “We’re asking for concrete changes to address real issues like Black men being killed by police, and you patronize and demean the issues by trying to placate us! By singing one song, one week? You’re going to trivialize the song and the issue. The most common refrain I’ve heard on social media from African Americans sounds something like this: “That’s divisive! There’s only one National Anthem! What’s next? Singing the Hispanic National Anthem? The Asian National Anthem? Is there a special White National Anthem!? This is nothing but ‘woke,’ ‘virtue signaling,’ ‘Kumbaya-singing,’ ‘Social Justice Warriors’ influenced by ‘Neo-Marxist’s’ ‘Critical Race Theory’!’” The most common refrain I’ve heard on social media from Caucasians goes something like this: My Twitter and Facebook feeds have blown up over this. “…also known as the Black National Anthem…” So…where’s the controversy? What’s the big deal? It’s in this phrase: Not replacing “The National Anthem.” The Controversy The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because plans have not yet been finalized and announced by NFL officials.” 10, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem, will be performed before every Week 1 kickoff, before “The Star-Spangled Banner,” according to a person familiar with ongoing discussions. “Starting with the nationally televised regular-season opener between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. Have you heard about the report that the NFL plans to play “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before week-one games? Here it is from the USA TODAY: ![]()
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