Lift every voice and sing choir9/4/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the ensuing protests and demonstrations held nationwide and echoed across the globe, the hymn received further public attention. Lyrics from the song were also incorporated into Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration ceremony by the Reverend Joseph Lowery, and in 2018 Beyoncé sang the hymn during her ground-breaking headline performance at the Coachella music festival in California. Acclaimed writer Maya Angelou recalled it being sung during her eighth-grade graduation ceremony in her 1969 autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and James Brown quoted lyrics from the song as part of his performance of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ ahead of the historic boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner in 1975, which inspired the film Rocky the following year. The last century has seen an abundance of significant appearances for the hymn. Stevie Wonder Performs The Star Spangled Banner As Jon Batiste, leader of the band Stay Human, has said, the hymn “connects us to the history of all the people who we stand on the shoulders of – who have marched and fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy and that we’re trying to improve upon.” ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ has a historical and meaningful place in the hearts of many Black Americans. With lyrics that speak of faith and freedom, paying homage to the endurances of their ancestors, the hymn is a hopeful look to a future of equality. ![]() The song slipped from the Johnson brothers’ memories after they moved across the country to New York, but Black communities in the South continued to sing the hymn and share it with others, and it rapidly gained popularity.Īround 20 years later, the NAACP began to promote the hymn as ‘the Black national anthem’ and it was widely used as a rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement in America throughout the 1950s and 60s. It was taught to 500 school children in Jacksonville, Florida, who sang it at the birthday celebrations. ![]() Rosamond Johnson, the pair initially wrote the song in 1900 to celebrate the birthday of the late 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. With words by the American writer and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson, and music written by his brother J. What is the history behind ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’? Rosamond Johnson (left) with singer Taylor Gordon. Underside: "Reproduction of a Work of Art / Created by / AUGUSTA SAVAGE / "LIFE EVERY VOICE AND SING" / NOW ON EXHIBIT / AT THE / NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR / Augusta Savage Studios, Inc. Inscribed On base: "Augusta Savage" and "Worlds Fair 1939" Printed paper label on bottom designating publication by Augusta Savage Studios, Inc., at 143 West 125th Street. Incised signature and “Worlds Fair 1939” at the base. It survives only through small-scale replicas like this one.ĭescription Sculpture (white metal cast with black patina) depicting 12 singers in the form of a harp. It was demolished after the event-smashed by bulldozers as part of the fair’s cleanup. Savage lacked the funds to cast the original work in bronze and to pay for a facility to store it. One of the most popular works of art at the fair, it was seen by over 5 million visitors and received high praise in the press. The sculpture stood prominently near one of the entrances to the fair in the court of the Contemporary Arts Building. It was the only commission at the 1939 World’s Fair from a black woman artist. Savage’s original 16-foot sculpture was an extraordinary accomplishment that defied systemic period sexism and the institutionalized racism of Jim Crow. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was written as a poem by Savage’s friend James Weldon Johnson in 1900, set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson in 1905, and declared the “Negro National Anthem” by the NAACP in 1919. The composition casts the singers as instruments of God and in so doing highlights the religiosity of its source material. And the hand and arm of God stand in for the sounding board. The folds of choir robes worn by twelve stylized young black singers in graduated heights form the strings of the harp. A kneeling man holding a rectangular plate represents the foot pedal. Lift Every Voice and Sing is the signature work by Harlem Renaissance artist, activist, and educator Augusta Savage. ![]()
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