BRO. JAMES WELDON JOHNSON'S
"LIFT EVERY VOICE"
continues to impact culture
more than 120 years later
|
|
The hymn known as the Negro national anthem, written by Brother James Weldon Johnson and his brother Rosamond in 1899, continues to impact culture to this very day. “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a prayer of thanksgiving, faithfulness and freedom, that spans the pain and promise of Black history, has long been a source of inspiration and comfort to African Americans. It was first recited in 1900, and since then, sang communally within Black communities. In 1917, the NAACP began to promote the hymn as a "Negro National Anthem."
Since then, the hymn has taken on a life of its own! It's been featured in 42 different Christian hymnals and performed by various African American singers and musicians.
Just last week, a video of students singing "Lift Every Voice" went viral on social media. Last year, the NFL began airing the song, as part of its TV broadcasts before games following the worldwide racial justice protests held after the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Though the decision was met with pushback and criticism, the NFL says it will continue. As a result, many media outlets, including The Washington Post, and Billboard, wrote about the song history and significance, since many white Americans were hearing it for the first time.
Vanessa Williams and Public Broadcasting also sparked intense backlash when she performed the song during the annual 2021 Capitol Fourth program held every July.
While “Lift Every Voice” has been woven through the fabric of Black cultural life for more than a century, the song penned by Bro. Johnson continues to grow in power and influence has become an unshakable anthem for social justice.
|
|
Some Los Angeles Rams players take a knee on the sidelines during the National Anthem before the game against the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. The NFL has pledged $250 million to support social justice causes. |
|
Mary Mary to sing "Lift Every Voice" at today's Super Bowl |
|
The Black National Anthem is set to be performed by the duo, accompanied by the Los Angeles Philharmonic's YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). |
|
Alicia Keys and the Florida A&M choir perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The NFL premiered the unity video at the season opener in 2020. |
|
Brother James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) was born in Jacksonville, Florida into a middle-class home. His mother was a musician and a public school teacher; his father was a preacher and the headwaiter at the St. James Hotel, a luxury establishment. At the age of 16, he enrolled in college at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta) and received his bachelor’s in 1894.
Bro. Johnson and his brother Rosamond, a composer, moved to New York City as young men, joining the Great Migration out of the South. They collaborated on songwriting and achieved some success on Broadway in the early 1900s.
Bro. Johnson established his reputation as a writer, and was known during the Harlem Renaissance for his poems, novels, and anthologies collecting both poems and spirituals of black culture. While in New York, he also became involved in politics. In 1904, he served as treasurer for the Colored Republican Club. In 1906, the Roosevelt Administration appointed him as the U.S. consul in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. In 1909, he served as consul in Corinto, Nicaragua until 1913. During this time, Johnson anonymously published his popular novel, The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (1912).
Over the next 40 years, Bro. Johnson served in several public capacities, working in education, politics, and civil right activism. He married civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson and in 1920, he was the first African American to be chosen as executive secretary of NAACP. He served in that position from 1920 to 1930.
In 1934 he became the first African-American professor at New York University. Later in life, he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University.
Bro. Johnson developed his own philosophy on lessening racism in America. While W.E.B. Du Bois advocated intellectual development and Booker T. Washington advocated industrial training to combat racism, Bro. Johnson believed that it was important for blacks to produce great literature and art. By doing so, he held that blacks could demonstrate their intellectual equality and advance their place in America. Over his lifetime, he published numerous books, anthologies, papers and a sociological study, Black Manhattan in 1930.
The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in his honor, exactly 34 years ago this month.
|
|
A Black History Month Celebration |
|
In observance of Black History Month, the Chicago Bulls honored the leaders of the Divine 9 during the halftime show. They designated their home game against the Phoenix Suns at the United Center on February 7, 2022, to celebrate and honor the rich heritage of Black excellence and achievements. "It continues to be my greatest honor to represent my fraternity," said International President,
|
|
NEW YEAR, NEW CAREER!
Click the image below to visit the new SIGMALink Job Board. See who's hiring. Upload your resume and search for jobs today.
|
|
Now you can submit news and articles for the Crescent Newsletter directly from the International website! Click on 'Publications' from the homepage for instructions!
The Crescent Newsletter is published every 1st and 3rd Sunday; please submit information by Tuesday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
