Sing a Song: How Lift Every Voice and Sing Inspired Generations

In Jacksonville, Florida, two brothers, one of them the principal of a segregated, all-black school, wrote the song ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ so his students could sing it for a tribute to Abraham Lincoln’s birthday in 1900. From that moment on, the song has provided inspiration and solace for generations of Black families. Mothers and fathers passed it on to their children who sang it to their children and grandchildren. Known as the Black National Anthem, it has been sung during major moments of the Civil Rights Movement and at family gatherings and college graduations.