Five hundred Black students at a Jacksonville, Florida, school sang a new song, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” written by their principal, James Weldon Johnson. The song, which became known as the “Negro National Anthem,” continues to resonate today and is now played at NFL games alongside the National Anthem.
Five hundred Black students at a Jacksonville, Florida, school sang a new song, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” Their principal, James Weldon Johnson, had written the words, and his brother had finished the tune in time to honor Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
The brothers moved on to New York City, but the children kept on singing the new song and soon others joined them. “Within 20 years, it was being sung over the South,” soon gaining the nickname, the “Negro National Anthem,” Johnson recalled. He became executive secretary for the NAACP, a crusader against lynchings and an important voice in the Harlem Renaissance, coining the phrase “Red Summer” to describe the 1919 summer filled with race massacres. But he remains best known for the song, which talks of the exodus from brutal slavery to the promised land. The lyrics continue to resonate today: “We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, out from the gloomy past, ’til now we stand at last where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.” The song continues to be recorded by top celebrities, including Beyoncé, and is now being played at NFL games, alongside the National Anthem.As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on support from readers like you to make our work possible and keep our storiesIf you enjoyed this article, please consider donating today to support our award-winning journalism. We may write the stories, butLook for the"Republish This Story" button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System . Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the"Republish This Story" button option. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.You have to credit Mississippi Today. We prefer “Author Name, Mississippi Today” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by Mississippi Today” and include our website, You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection.On this day in 1900 by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today February 12, 2025 Feb. 12, 1900 Andra Day, who portrayed jazz singer Billie Holiday, performed the Negro National Anthem at Super Bowl LVIII. The brothers moved on to New York City, but the children kept on singing the new song and soon others joined them. “Within 20 years, it was being sung over the South,” soon gaining the nickname, the “Negro National Anthem,” Johnson recalled. He became executive secretary for the NAACP, a crusader against lynchings and an important voice in the Harlem Renaissance, coining the phrase “Red Summer” to describe the 1919 summer filled with race massacres. But he remains best known for the song, which talks of the exodus from brutal slavery to the promised land. The lyrics continue to resonate today: “We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, out from the gloomy past, ’til now we stand at last where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.” The song continues to be recorded by top celebrities, including Beyoncé, and is now being played at NFL games, alongside the National Anthem. This <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org/2025/02/12/on-this-day-in-1900-500-black-florida-high-schoolers-sang-negro-national-anthem/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org">Mississippi Today</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/06074517/MT_icon-logo-favicon-1-200x200.png" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1132384&ga4=G-VSX4B701MS" style="width:1px;height:1px;"><script> PARSELY={ autotrack: false, onload: function { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView; } } </script> <script id="parsely-cfg" src="//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mississippitoday.org/p.js"></script>The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and a winner of more than 30 other national awards, including a $500,000 MacArthur “genius” grant. After working for three decades for the statewide Clarion-Ledger, Mitchell left in 2019 and founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.
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