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 ...

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was a hymn written as a poem by ... His brother, John Rosamond Johnson, composed the music for the lyrics. A choir of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton ...

"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 ...