AMERICA 250: How ‘Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing’ became Black National Anthem

By Corey Williams Contributing Writer JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In 34 lines, James Weldon Johnson told of the pain, anguish, frustration, faith and hope that former slaves and their descendants experienced in a land and country they were forced to call home. He did it in “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” a poem that later became …

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