STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
JOINT RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE THE 125TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE POEM "LIFT EVERY VOICE AND
SING" BY JAMES WELDON JOHNSON
WHEREAS, James Weldon Johnson was a novelist, poet, songwriter, educator, attorney,
journalist, diplomat and civil rights leader; and
WHEREAS, Johnson's gifts in poetry and music led him to join his younger brother's
popular music trio in New York City in 1901, where he helped to write many of the trio's songs;
and
WHEREAS, Johnson became a key artistic figure in the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s,
continuing to publish notable collections of poems and spirituals, and is known in particular
for writing the poem "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which he wrote in 1900 to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation; and
WHEREAS, the poem, written from the perspective of African Americans in the late 19th
century, includes imagery that evokes the biblical Exodus from slavery to freedom and is an
exhortation to all to become active participants in the struggle for freedom; and
WHEREAS, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was converted into a song by James Weldon
Johnson's brother John Rosamond Johnson and became known as the Black National Anthem
due to its enormous importance to African Americans; and
WHEREAS, embedded within its lyrics are stories of triumph, struggle and freedom that
resonate deeply for African Americans, especially during the reconstruction and civil rights
eras, and the lyrics of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" serve as a reminder for Black Americans
that each generation has had to lift their voices, along with those within their community, to
demand and protect their human rights; and
WHEREAS, the song was performed for the first time on February 12, 1900 in
Jacksonville, Florida by 500 school children in celebration of President Abraham Lincoln's
birthday; and
WHEREAS, at the turn of the 20th century, Johnson's lyrics eloquently captured the
solemn yet hopeful appeal for the liberty of Black Americans, and, set against the religious
invocation of God and the promise of freedom, the song was later adopted by the NAACP and
prominently used as a rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s;
and
WHEREAS, the song includes the lyrics "… Let our rejoicing rise / High as the list'ning
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…"; and
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 WHEREAS, not only do the lyrics reflect how violence has been inflicted on the Black
community, but it affirms and encourages the Black collective to remain faithful in its vision
despite the struggles it has endured over the centuries; and
WHEREAS, the core message of the poem is that, through strong faith and solidarity, the
Black community can move forward and reimagine a world where true liberty is achievable;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Legislature
now assembled in the First Regular Session, take this occasion to recognize the 125th
anniversary of "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
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