Lift Every Voice and Sing was written in 1900 by lyricist James Weldon Johnson and set to music by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson. The song is a prayer of thanksgiving to God and a prayer for faithfulness and freedom.
After its premiere in 1900, the hymn was sung within Black American communities and the NAACP began to promote it as a "Negro national anthem" in 1919.
In 1923, the Manhattan Harmony Four, a male gospel group, recorded Lift Every Voice and Sing. Their performance was added to the National Recording Registry in 2016.
In 2021, Representative Jim Clyburn sponsored a bill which proposed that Lift Every Voice and Sing be designated as the "national hymn" of the US, although other songs have been proposed to become the national hymn. The Star Spangled-Banner will remain as the national anthem.
Lift Every Voice and Sing was sung on September 24, 2016 at the opening ceremonies of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, where President Obama gave the keynote address.
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