You might know the name James Weldon Johnson. In addition to being one of the black folks occasionally acknowledged by American history books for his myriad professions and achievements, he’s also the 1900 writer of one of the most treasured songs in African-American culture, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” Adopted in 1919 as the NAACP’s “Negro National Anthem,” it celebrates African-Americans’ victory over enslavement and righteous claim to a better future. The song’s endured generations since as a staple of the African-American church, a mainstream hymn, a symbol of solidarity expressed by allies, and perhaps most endearingly, a spontaneous outburst of joy among African-American people (see a sweet example in the comments) for the way it speaks directly to our unique historical experience.

Here, real-life sisters Chauntee and Monique Ross of SistaStrings beautifully perform the musical arrangement composed by Johnson’s brother, John Rosamond Johnson. Between the tightly-angled shots of the sisters’ modern style and their classical instruments, all juxtaposed against such profound lyrics, the whole package becomes a poignant example of just how far US brothers and sisters have come, and an inspiration to keep the faith.

𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘:
[In the weeks ahead, expect this section to feature just a line or two that’ll stay with you, but today, the whole second verse may move you to tears.]
“Stony the road we trod
Bitter the chastening rod
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died
Yet with a steady beat
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered
Out from the gloomy past
‘Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast”
(The SistaStrings version here doesn’t include the song’s third verse, but I encourage you to seek out the full arrangement if you enjoy it.)

𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗥 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬 | 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗥 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬