“Lift Every Voice and Sing was originally written in 1900 as a poem by James Weldon Johnson about struggle, faith, hope, and survival in the Negro community. John Rosamund Johnson, his brother, set the words to music. First sung by 500 children as a celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, it was officially designated as the "Negro National Anthem" by the NAACP in 1919 for its powerful message of hope and liberation.”