In my lifetime, songs have played an important role in protest movements. From “If I Had a Hammer” to “We Shall Overcome” to Bruce Springsteen’s recent anthem for Minneapolis written on January 28, 2026, protest songs bind us together and give us something to hold on to when other words fail.

The Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” was not originally written as a protest song. Its lyrics began as a poem by Black poet James Weldon Johnson in 1900, composed to honor Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. His brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, later set the poem to music. Today, almost every Black American knows the words to this powerful anthem. Many white Americans, however, have never heard it. That’s a shame, because the song carries a universal message—calling all of us to persistence in the pursuit of freedom. Its lyrics are filled with hope, reminding us that each day offers another opportunity to rise, to begin again, and to keep moving toward justice.

As we honor Black History Month and the devotion of our Black siblings to freedom for everyone, we lift up the words of the first verse of the Black National Anthem.

"LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING"

Lift every voice and sing,

’Til earth and heaven ring,

Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;

Let our rejoicing rise

High as the listening 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 ’til victory is won.

Listen to a powerful rendition of this anthem with video and lyrics: