Lift Every Voice and Sing

Description

A moving history of the African-American struggle for equality, "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" was written for schoolchildren to sing at an Abraham Lincoln birthday celebration in 1900 and was named the official African-American anthem in 1949. With linocuts of renowned Harlem Renaissance artist Elizabeth Catlett, this text and art pairing captures the achievements, spirit, joy, and struggle of the African-American experience. This reissue will feature new backmatter contextualizing the history of the song as well as the significance of Ms. Catlett as an artist.

James Weldon John was the principal of a school for African-American children in Florida when he was asked to participate in a birthday celebration for Abraham Lincoln. He decided to write a song and asked his brother, Rosamond, to write he music. The result was one of the most spiritually uplifting songs ever written. He died in 1938. Elizabeth Catlett was an artist whose work is displayed around the world. The illustrations from Lift Every Voice and Sing were originally part of the collection she created with the Julius Rosenwald Foundation grant she was awarded in the 1940s. She died in 2012.

A moving celebration and interpretation * Kirkus Reviews, starred review * The production of this anthem is big on reverence. * Publishers Weekly *