a popular song that is often called the ‘African-American National Anthem’. It was written in 1900 for Lincoln’s Birthday celebrations by James Weldon Johnson, a writer who was the first African American to be leader of the NAACP (1916–30), with music by his brother J Rosamond Johnson. The song begins:
Lift every voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty.
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.