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I quickly read through the majority of this while working on a paper exploring the history and theodicy of "Lift Every Voice and Sing." It was a phenomenal resource and a truly masterful piece of scholarship. Perry writes in a tone that seems to easily balance being engaging and expert on the subject at hand. It's obvious that robust research went into the writing process and so many different primary and secondary sources are interwoven beautifully with her own insightful analysis and interpola...
On February 12th, 1900, when 500 students at the Edward M. Stanton School in Jacksonville, FL, debuted "Lift Every Voice and Sing," few in the audience could have guessed that they were hearing the first performance of what would become the Black National Anthem. But lyricist James Weldon Johnson—and his brother, composer J. Rosamond Johnson—created the song with definite purpose. They were, as Imani Perry states in her book May We Forever Stand, “race men”; that is, any and all of their individ...
A fascinating look at how black civic, social and cultural history are inextricably tied to somg that became known as the Negro National Anthem.
May We Forever Stand by historian Imani Perry tells the history of how the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” became the Black National Anthem and covers its rise and fall since its composition in the early 20th Century. The song was a collaboration effort by two brothers James Weldon Johnson who wrote the words and John Rosamond Johnson who composed the music. Perry mentions that the song tells “the story of black life in terms that were epic, wrenching, and thunderous”. Her central argument is t...
A beautiful, understated call for a return to communal life through the thorough history and deeply researched lens of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which turns out to be a fantastic through line for the tenuous emotional & psychological bonds between Black & Brown America and America as its best self.
While the book looks at the Anthem itself (the brothers who wrote it, some poetic and musical references, and their purpose) it's more of a history of the black community and how the song became a powerful symbol - then nearly faded, only to regain its power in recent decades. I learned a lot, and was quite moved by how the song reflected, comforted, and inspired so many people in good times and bad, during celebrations and mourning. FMI see my blog post at A Just Recompense.
Read most, skimmed some. Learned a lot. Kept humming to myself
