The lyrics to ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ and James Weldon Johnson on how it came to be

By: James Weldon Johnson

Outlets: Minnesota Reformer

Published: June 19, 2026

Words: 432

Last Updated: 1 month ago

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A group of young men in Jacksonville, Florida, arranged to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday in 1900. My brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, and I decided to write a song to be sung at the exercises. I wrote the words and he wrote the music. Our New York publisher, Edward B. Marks, made mimeographed copies for us, and the song was taught to and sung by a chorus of five hundred colored …

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