I had never heard of the song dubbed the “Black National Anthem” by the NAACP, the poem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson, written in 1900 and set to music by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson in 1905.

I only heard about it because the NFL is discussing it being performed before the national anthem at upcoming season games in September. I am happy that I now know about what is a deeply important song for so many Americans. I will be reflecting on why I, especially as a singer growing up, never learned of the song before now.

I wanted to pass this on. So the link below is a playlist, first of a quick explainer, and then a couple versions that I connected with. The last one is Aretha Franklin.
Lift Every Voice and Sing – YouTube

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