"That's the beauty of the poem." "Lift every voice and sing" begins the song. But when Johnson originally wrote the poem, he intended to celebrate the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln.

Gwendolyn Brooks grew up in a South Side house full of books and was a poet from an early age, eventually becoming the first ...

There might not be a more polarizing pre-event song these days than “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which is also referred to as the “Black National Anthem.” The MAGA crowd tends to hate it ...

A Milwaukee-based choir, the James Weldon Johnson Foundation's 'National Hymn Choir', performed 'Lift Every Voice and Sing,' ahead of the draft in Green Bay Thursday night. The choral ...

The James Weldon Johnson Foundation’s "National Hymn Choir" sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing." NFL fans waiting for the draft to begin took it all in before NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ...

Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan sit side by side on the Mount Rushmore of great North American songwriters. Their poetry and poise have had a transformative effect on music, making crumby couplets about ...

The Courant’s arts picks for April 27 through May 3 include music competitions, a Christie Brinkley book signing, a concert based on “Labyrinth,” comedians and jazz musicians.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. A Wisconsin-based youth choir will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing" under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Redding. Singer-songwriter ...

Poet laureate Gwendolyn Brooks put the same thought in these terms: “we jazz June/we die soon,” she wrote in her seminal poem “We Real Cool ... Rosamund Johnson composed “Lift Every Voice and ...