The House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties met Friday to discuss a bill that would make “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” the national hymn of the United States.
The famous song written by Jacksonville’s James Weldon Johnson is often called the “Black National Anthem.” The hymn was written as a poem by the NAACP leader, lawyer and educator in 1900, and his brother, John Rosamond Johnson, wrote the music.
At Friday’s hearing, Leon Russell, chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, and Melanie Edwards, grand-niece of Johnson, spoke.
They described the song as a theme for the modern civil rights movement being played at stadiums to churches across the country for decades.
“Like the Black men who created it, ‘Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing’ comments eloquently and accurately about history, hope vision and perseverance,” Edwards said.
“The Johnson brothers captured the story of the African American experience, acknowledging the emotional and physical toll of enslavement and the strength and faith it took to survive it and persevere,” Russell said.
No major decisions were made Friday on the bill (H.R.301), which was introduced by U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-South Carolina and has been backed by more than 40 Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, D-Florida.
News4JAX spoke with civil rights activist Rodney Hurst about the bill. He led the NAACP Young Council that carried out sit-in protests in Jacksonville in the 1960s.
Hurst said the push to have this song as the national hymn is encouraging for many reasons.
“It is still magnificent enough to say to this generation—after more than a century that, let’s keep on fighting, let’s keep on working and let’s keep on having faith,” Hurst said.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry has also thrown his support behind the bill. NAACP Jacksonville Chapter President Isaiah Rumlin praised Curry for writing a letter to Congress this week expressing support for the bill and the Jacksonville icon at the start of Black History Month.
“Most of us like to call it the ‘Negro National Anthem,’ but it’s not an anthem, it is a hymn that James Weldon Johnson penned. And that’s what Rep. [James] Clyburn put in his bill, that let this be our hymn, not an anthem for this country,” Rumlin told News4JAX on Thursday.
In the letter that Curry sent to Clyburn expressing his support, he wrote: “For too long the legacy of the Johnson brothers was neglected and ignored by city leaders. We have renewed our commitment to honoring Jacksonville’s history and significance in the lead up to and the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement.”
As mayor of @CityofJax & on this 1st day of Black History Month, I am pleased to support the House of Representatives Bill 301 to ratify James Weldon Johnson & J. Rosamond Johnson’s song, Lift Ev-‘ry Voice and Sing as the United States of America National Hymn #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/fmva3reu6Q
— Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) February 1, 2022
Curry noted that under his administration Hemming Park was renamed to James Weldon Johnson Park and Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park is now coming to life in LaVilla.
RELATED: Jacksonville celebrates birthday of James Weldon Johnson, writer of ‘Black National Anthem’
Rumlin hopes Johnson’s legacy lives on forever in Jacksonville.
“He was born right here in the city of Jacksonville. And as a result of his intellect, he was able to do so much for this city, for this state and for this country,” Rumlin said.
According to the Senate Historical Office, six songs have been proposed in Congress to become official national hymns, including “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America,” but none of them passed.
