This week in Christian history: ‘Black National Anthem’ debuts, naked protest, missionary is born
'Lift Every Voice and Sing' first performed – February 12, 1900
This week marks the anniversary of when “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a well-known Christian song that is commonly known as “The Black National Anthem,” was first performed.
The song began life as a poem written by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson. Johnson's brother, John Rosamond Johnson, eventually set the words to music in 1899.
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A choir of 500 children sang the song in Johnson’s hometown of Jacksonville, Florida as part of a celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday at Stanton School, where James was principal.
Strongly associated with the African American struggle for civil rights in the United States, the song includes a religious message, as most overtly showcased in the third verse:
“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,
Lest, 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.”
Earlier this year, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., called for “Lift Every Voice and Sing" to become the official hymn of the U.S.
