Even though many rights for black Americans had been swept away by Jim Crow laws, the first stanza’s lyrics are surprisingly optimistic: “Lift every voice and sing / Till earth and heaven ring ...

The Black National Anthem – “Lift Every Voice and Sing” – is a hymn written as ... and composed the music and arrangements ...

The Black National Anthem — “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — is a hymn written as ... and composed the music and arrangements for the lyrics. American history tells us that there has always ...

"Lift Every Voice and Sing" is a hymn with lyrics written by James Weldon Johnson. The hymn is also known as "The Black National Anthem." According to the NAACP, where Johnson served as executive ...