!! NFL to play Lift Every Voice and Sing before Star Spangled Banner every game!

[bobbieinok]

This song is know as the Black National Anthem

Many of my white students wanted to know why blacks wanted a Black National Anthem. They were shocked when a predominatly black HS visited and sang this.


Found this info about planned singing of the anthem at joemygod

Eta---words written by James Weldon Johnson, set to music by his brother. Johnson also wrote God's Trombones, great poem complex avaiable free online

Johnson based this complex on a version of the traditional style of black preaching. Do read it if you're unfamiliar with it. My favorite segment is The Creation, truly awesome

[Wounded Bear]

1. Sounds good...nt

[raging moderate]

2. Lift Every Voice and Sing is very beautiful!

I think lots of white people would like it, if they would give it a chance.

[bobbieinok]

3. First time I heard it found it very beautiful

. Very surprised blacks had a Black National Anthem

[Ms. Toad]

21. Absolutely lovely - much much better than the white national anthem.

but challenging to sing - at least for my voice where it is usually pitched.

I've been singing it periodically since I taught in an inner city high school in the late 70s through the 80s.

Here's one of my favorite versions of it:

(I think part of it is that, aside from loving the harmony, one of the singers reminds me a lot of one of my favorite law students. Everytime I watch it I, I "see" and "hear" him and another student chatting away in Spanish about whatever I had asked them to work on.)

[sheshe2]

4. Dayum.

That would be beautiful. Every time I hear it and listen to the words it brings tears to my eyes.

Lift Every Voice and Sing – often called “The Black National Anthem” – was written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) and then set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954) in 1899. It was first performed in public in the Johnsons’ hometown of Jacksonville, Florida as part of a celebration of Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, 1900 by a choir of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School, where James Weldon Johnson was principal.

https://www.naacp.org/naacp-history-lift-evry-voice-and-sing/

[bobbieinok]

11. Will Trump still want to hold HIS convention in Jacksonville if he hears this?!

Poor man just can't get a break! First Juneteenth. Now a Black National Anthem first performed in Jacksonville---that will be played at sacred-to-Trump FOOTBALL GAMES!

Maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut about 'taking a knee'. Ja think?

[sheshe2]

18. Agreed...

If I might add one more. Jacksonville has made masks mandatory.

Jacksonville changes course, issues face mask mandate

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A week after Mayor Lenny Curry said he didn’t think it was “prudent” to require the wearing of face masks in Jacksonville, the city did an about-face Monday and issued a face-covering mandate.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2020/06/29/jacksonville-issues-face-mask-mandate/

That is gonna hurt. Perhaps he will take his ball/balls home and pout.

[struggle4progress]

5. Lift every voice and sing

[gratuitous]

7. Our lily white congregation of wheezing geezers has to do it a little faster

Holding some of those notes can tax us. But we sure like singing it, and our wonderful pianist really enjoys it.

[Ms. Toad]

22. I have that reaction too, then I quickly remind myself that it is not my song to change. n/t

[chillfactor]

16. thank you so very much for the post!

It is the first time I heard that song and it brought tears to my eyes. tRUMP is going to dirty his depends when he learns the NFL will feature this beautiful song.

[GulfCoast66]

20. Thanks a lot. I had to try and explain the tears in my eyes

When she just walked in to ask me something. Not something she see often at all.

I first heard this in our Southern Baptist Church in Arkansas. It was a real big one.

It’s been almost half a century so I may have my memory wrong. But back then before the SB got involved in politics and were taken over by hard core fundamentalist, they would have an event where all the Baptist conventions would join for, maybe a week? Each type would run the service one night. Believe it or not, back then the National Baptist would get a night. It was always the most packed. Incredible preaching but the music! It was so much different and more beautiful than the stodgy songs we sang so poorly. I only saw it once.

Anyway, I’m no longer a believer but some of the songs still stir me.

I apologize if I got any of the facts wrong here. But I was a kid not even 12 years old.

[wryter2000]

6. I love Lift Every Voice and Sing

We sing it routinely in my church. I sing with the choir. I love that song! It would be so awesome if all of American learns it.

[wryter2000]

10. Damn

Now I miss singing in our choir all over again.

[Ilsa]

15. I miss congregational singing.

And I miss this this hymn.

[BannonsLiver]

8. Still waiting for a practical reason why the National Anthem is played before sporting events.

This is not common practice in other countries.

[StarfishSaver]

9. That's nice. But I'd rather they apologize to Colin Kaepernick and give him his job back

[wryter2000]

12. Amen

I don't know if giving him a job is a league decision, but some team ought to pick him up. The league could certainly apologize to him.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

13. This. And also hire Black people in the front offices.

[StarfishSaver]

14. Yes!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. .

Black people: Stop killing us.

Powers That Be: Write "Black Lives Matter" on the street for a month?

Black people: Stop killing us.

PTB: Take away Golden Girls facemask episodes?

Black people: No, how about stop using state power to kill us disproportionately.

PTB: ...Lift Every Voice And Sing?

[StarfishSaver]

19. Perfect

[Ms. Toad]

23. Yup.

It is a nice gesture - and I really wish it would replace the white national anthem (which I can't stand for completely unrelated reasons).

But far more than gestures are required.

[Awsi Dooger]

24. Partial progress...this will only happen during week one

I'd say good chance it is so well received that some teams will make it a habit.

Not Jerry Jones