lift every voice and sing lyrics

lift every voice and sing lyrics

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.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast’ning rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered.
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by Thy might,
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.

What is the message in Lift Every Voice and Sing?

The verses of Lift Every Voice and Sing act as a poignant reminder to Black Americans that throughout each generation, they’ve had to unite with their community, raising their voices to assert and safeguard their fundamental human rights.

Why is Lift Every Voice and Sing considered the black national anthem?

In 1919, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) officially designated “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the “Negro national anthem,” recognizing its powerful expression of a call for liberation and affirmation for the African American community.