Negro National Anthem

The moderate-conservative Republican commentator defends Rev. Joseph Lowery against conservative criticism: "The Rev. Joseph Lowery's inaugural benediction - which began with the words from 'Lift Every Voice And Sing,' often called the Negro National Anthem - underscores how far the nation has come.

Booker Rising 2009

Yet the failure of much of the media to recognize the words of the Negro National Anthem as the first words of Reverend Joseph Lowery's benediction at the inauguration was truly pitiful.

Jill Nelson: The Audacity of Whiteness: Framing Barack Obama 2009

Joseph Lowery, a civil rights icon and a pastor known to speak his mind to power, opened his benediction with the first words of the Negro National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing

New comments post for the inauguration. Ann Althouse 2009

His somber voice didn't seem to follow Aretha Franklin's letting loose, and his tone turned Reverend Joseph Lowery's down-home benediction that opened with lyrics from the Negro National Anthem into a consolation.

What He Really Said Pinckney, Darryl 2009

And he started it with the third stanza of the Negro National Anthem.

CNN Transcript Jan 20, 2009 2009

For now, as part of the blessing of our nation and our new young, brilliant President who reflects the DNA of our nation and globe, the Negro National Anthem has become -- at long last -- part of the larger American hymn.

Marian Wright Edelman: Black History, American History 2009

When you could hear the third stanza of the Negro National Anthem before the National Anthem was sung and it made sense.

CNN Transcript Jan 20, 2009 2009

The singer announced that the Negro National Anthem would be our "marching-out music," but nobody in the audience wanted to leave.

What's In A Name? A Legacy Of Slavery. 2007

The thing I remember about that, I had never heard James Weldon Johnson's Negro National Anthem sung as beautifully as it was sung that day by a high school audience which was impressed by our presentation so much that the audience was virtually inspired.

Oral History Interview with Igal Roodenko, April 11, 1974. Interview B-0010. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) 1974

Johnson's brother set it to music in 1905 and the NAACP adopted it as the Negro National Anthem in 1919.

Latest Articles 2009