An Amazing Rendition by Granny Award Music Director, Pastor and Worship Leader, Kirk Franklin “ as he rendered “Lift Every Voice and Sing” for the Independence Day.
Songwriters: J. Rosamond Johnson / James Johnson Many people are surprised to learn that “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was first written as a poem. Created by James Weldon Johnson, it was performed for the first time by 500 school children in celebration of President Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, 1900 in Jacksonville, FL. The poem was set to music by Johnson’s brother, John Rosamond Johnson, and soon adopted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as its official song. Today “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is one of the most cherished songs of the African American Civil Rights Movement and is often referred to as the Black National Anthem.
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Lift Every Voice and Sing Lyrics
Lift every voice and sing
‘Til Earth and Heaven ring.
Ring with the harmonies of liberty.
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies.
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us.
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.
Facing the rising sun
Of our new day begun,
Let us march on
‘Til victory is won.
Now God of our weary years,
And God of our silent tears.
Thou who has brought us thus far on our way.
Thou who has by thy might
Led us into the light.
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us.
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.
Facing the rising sun
Of our new day begun,
Let us march on
‘Til victory is won
Song by BeBe Winans
Writers: Rosamond J. Johnson and James Weldon Johnson
