The “Black National Anthem” First Performed on This Date in 1900

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February 12, 2013

From Wikipedia

John Rosamond Johnson, was an American composer and singer during the Harlem Renaissance. He was trained in music at the New England Conservatory and active in various musical roles during his career.

ames Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 – June 26, 1938) was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is remembered best for his leadership within the NAACP, as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and collections of folklore and folksongs. — James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 – June 26, 1938) was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist.
Johnson is remembered best for his leadership within the NAACP, as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and collections of folklore and folksongs.
Aged around 30 at the time of this photo, James W. Johnson had already written Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing and been admitted to the Florida bar.

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” — sometimes referred to as “The Negro National Hymn” or “The African-American National Anthem”—is a song written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) in 1899 and set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954) in 1900.

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was publicly performed first as a poem as part of a celebration of Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, 1900, by 500 school children at the segregated Stanton School. Its principal, James Weldon Johnson, wrote the words to introduce its honored guest Booker T. Washington. The poem was later set to music by Johnson’s brother John in 1905.

Read more about the multitalented and prolific brothers, James Weldon Johnson and J.Rosamond Johnson.

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