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Words:James Weldon Johnson, 1899
Born: June 17, 1871, Jacksonville, Florida.
Died: June 26, 1938, Wiscasset, Maine, in a car accident.
Buried: Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.
Music:John Rosamond Johnson
Born: August 11, 1873, Jacksonville, Florida.
Died: November 11, 1954, New York, New York.
Brother of composer John Johnson, James studied literature at Atlanta University (graduated 1894, M.A. 1904), and went on to become a song writer, anthologist, teacher, and lawyer; he was the first African American to pass the bar in the state of Florida. In 1906 he became the American consul in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, and in 1909, consul in Corinto, Nicaragua. In 1920, he was appointed Executive Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. His works include: - The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, 1920
- The Book of American Negro Poetry, 1922
- Gods Trombones, 1927
- Along This Way, 1933
John R. Johnson attended Atlanta University and the New England Conservatory of Music. He and his brother James belonged to the song writing team of Cole and Johnson Brothers, writing over 200 songs. He also edited a number of collections of African American music.
The Negro National Anthem
"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
by James Weldon Johnson
Originally written by Johnson for a presentation in celebration of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. This was originally performed in Jacksonville, Florida, by children. The popular title for this work is:
'THE NEGRO NATIONAL ANTHEM'
Lift every voice and sing
Till 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 till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears have been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
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 James Weldon Johnson June 17, 1871 - June 26, 1938
Timeline - 1871 Born in Jacksonville, Florida, June 17
- 1894 Graduated from Atlanta University
- 1897 First black admitted to Florida bar
- 1899 Wrote "Lift Every Voice and Sing" with his brother
- 1906 US consul, Puerto Cabello, Venezuela
- 1909 US consul, Corinto, Nicaragua
- 1920 Appointed executive secretary of NAACP
- 1921 Wrote first novel: "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man"
- 1922 Collected poems of black poets in "The Book of American Negro Poetry."
- 1927 With brother Rosamond, published "God's Trombones"
- 1930 Became professor at Fisk University
- 1933 Wrote autobiography, "Along This Way"
- 1938 Died in automobile accident in Maine
James Weldon Johnson Biography
"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
Negro National Anthem - Gospel Version
James Weldon Johnson referred to his song as the "Negro National Hymn."
Photo: Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library John Rosamond Johnson wrote the music for "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
Photo: Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Audio Clip:
"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
Women of the Calabash. The Kwanzaa Album. 1823-2. Bermuda Reefs Records, 1998. CD 8750
QuickTime MP3
John Rosamond Johnson. Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing: Official Song of the N.A.A.C.P. Lyrics by James Weldon Johnson. New York: Edward B. Marks Music Corporation, 1949.
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