A few months later their publisher printed the work as “The National Negro Hymn.” Little more thought was given to it. Satisfied, the brothers hurried on to other things. Over the following weeks the brothers taught the Stanton School’s chorus their new “song.” And on Februthese youngsters gave the first performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing!” These elements perfectly joined, the Johnsons mailed the manuscript to their publisher in New York, requesting mimeographed copies for use by their students. Rosamond was busy creating music every bit as powerful as his brother’s poetry-triumphant, noble, uplifting. Feverish ecstasy was followed by that contentment-that sense of serene joy-which makes artistic creation the most complete of all human experiences.” I was experiencing the transports of the poet’s ecstasy. repeating the lines over and over to myself, going through all of the agony and ecstasy of creating. Then the floodgates opened: “I paced back and forth. James’s first phrase came easily- Lift every voice and sing! The rest of the first stanza was harder. James paced the front porch working out the words, handing each finished stanza to John, who sat inside at the piano. Then a better idea occurred: Since his composer brother was at hand, why not have a poem with music? Together at the family home in Jacksonville, the Johnsons set to work. Johnson decided to write a poem for the occasion. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a truly great work, and an impromptu one: In January 1900 James Weldon Johnson, principal of Jacksonville, Florida’s segregated Stanton School, was casting about for student assembly ideas to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday. There in early 1900 the two wrote a new song for their students-“Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”-which has since become the virtual black national anthem. But when the fall school term arrived, the Johnsons dutifully headed south to get back to their teaching posts. While they did not succeed in finding one, the trip did result in the Johnsons meeting several of the elites of black show business-Bob Cole, Will Cook, and Bert Williams and George Walker, among others. During the summer school break in 1899, the brothers made the long trip to New York City to see about finding a producer for their show. Thus the brothers began work on their first musical, Toloso. Rosamond’s first taste of show business had inspired him to ask his man-of-letters brother to write a show with him. But around 1897, he returned to Jacksonville to become music supervisor for the public school district. Rosamond took to the road singing with John W. After his Stanton School education, he traveled to Boston to attend the New England Conservatory of Music. As a very small boy he demonstrated outstanding talent at the keyboard. John Rosamond Johnson was born on August 11, 1873. James Weldon then decided to become an attorney he taught himself law, and became the first African-American ever to be admitted to the Florida bar. In 1895, as a sideline he founded and edited the nation’s first black daily newspaper- The Daily American. After James Weldon’s graduation from the college, he returned to Florida and became superintendent of the Stanton School. He received his education at the Stanton School, and then attended Atlanta University. As a child he studied both piano and guitar, and learned how to read and write music. James Weldon Johnson came into the world first, on June 17, 1871. It was into this setting that their two remarkably talented and determined sons were born. The father was a minister, and the mother, Helen, was Florida’s first black female schoolteacher. The James Johnson family of Jacksonville, Florida, was exceptional in many ways: They were middle class, educated, and had been free since before the Civil War. Martin Luther King Jr.THE JOHNSON BROTHERS: JAMES WELDON & J. In 2010, the dynamic duo of Trecina Atkins-Campbell and Erica Campbell recorded a rendition of the powerful ballad - also known as the “Black National Anthem” - alongside fellow gospel singer Smokie Norful for the compilation album A Dream Realized: A Gospel Tribute to Dr. Grammy-winning gospel sister duo Mary Mary will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing” ahead of the 2022 Super Bowl on Sunday.
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