Savagely Celebrating the Negro National Anthem

 

The Star Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the great United States of America. As a country, we have our flaws, but I still believe it is great to live in this land. Once known as the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is currently the African-American National Anthem. Lift Every Voice and Sing was penned by James Weldon Johnson, an intellectual of the early twentieth century and one of the most important leaders in the study of Black History. Today, I will look over the history of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and challenge whether or not a Black National Anthem is still appropriate in this country.

The poem Lift Every Voice and Sing was first performed publicly at the segregated Stanton School on February 12, 1900. On that day, Booker T. Washington was an honored guest of the school, and the poem was recited to commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s “freeing” of black slaves in 1862. Though James Weldon Johnson was the author, his brother John Rosamund Johnson turned the poetry into melody in 1900.  The lyrics begin with:

Lift every voice and sing, Til earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Much of the twentieth century was a tumultuous and dangerous time for the African-American community, and the Negro National Anthem offered a sense of peace, solace, unity, and hope for the future.

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.

Because of the sense of unity and hope this lyric inspired in the hearts of African-Americans nationwide, the NAACP made “Lift Every Voice and Sing” the Negro National Anthem in 1919.  Later, the Negro National Anthem came to be called the Black National Anthem, and is currently known the African-American National Anthem.

Please listen to the Black National Anthem here: Lift Every Voice and Sing

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was so powerful and formed a connective tissue between African-Americans across the United States, throughout the twentieth century and into the present. The anthem even inspired black sculptor Augusta Savage.

Augusta Savage, a Floridian born on February 29th, 1892, went on to become an important figure in the civil rights movement.   (She was born during Black History Month before it was even designated!) Augusta expressed an early interest in art but was physically punished by her religious father who believed that creating sculpture was not in sync with his religious beliefs. Good thing a young girl’s heart is not easily broken!  Savage continued creating sculptures, despite the abuse of her father.   In 1907, Savage set up a booth at the West Palm Beach County Fair where her piece not only won her a $25 award, but  also brought her an additional $175 for selling her works of art.

At the age of 25, Augusta was already a widow with a young daughter named Irene. She is a model for young mothers everywhere. Her success at the West Palm Beach County Fair led to her application and attendance of New York’s acclaimed Cooper Union arts program in October of 1921. Within a few months, Augusta had married and divorced James Savage.  Luckily, Augusta kept the  last name as it gives her such an edgy side!

By 1923, Savage had married Robert Lincoln Poston, an associate of famed civil rights leader Marcus Garvey.   In that same year, Augusta applied for an art program abroad in France, but was rejected because she was a black woman. She did not go gently into that good night, though,  and would become the voice of black artists struggling for equality. Her rejection was heard world wide, acting as a call to action following the blatant discrimination she endured.

Later, Augusta studied with American sculptor Hermon Atkins McNeil. To support herself and her family who suffered greatly following a devastating hurricane in Florida, Augusta become a laundress in New York City. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must have been for such a talented black artist to launder clothes. Money was a continuous barrier to Savage and would inhibit her from following future dreams.

A break came for Augusta in 1923 when she was given a commission to create a bust of Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. Du Bois. This work solidified Augusta’s place on the scene of the Harlem Renaissance in New York in the early 1920′s. In 1924, Augusta was widowed for a third time when her husband died on the Black Star Line ship returning from Liberia. The following year, Augusta won a prestigious scholarship at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Again, money was a problem, as the scholarship provided by the Royal Academy would not help with travel and living expenses.  As a result, Augusta was not able to study in Rome.

In 1929, due to the gracious contributions of the Julius Rosenwald Fund (implicated in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study), teachers at Florida A&M, and the fund-raising efforts of African-Americans in Harlem and elsewhere,  this talented young woman was able to continue her work.  She was finally able to study art in France, a dream denied to her in 1923.

Augusta’s work was highly regarded in the black community. In 1939, she received a commission for the New York World’s Fair where she created a 16 foot plaster of Lift Every Voice and Sing. Her sculpture was a hit at the exposition. Because Augusta was low on funds, her work was bulldozed after the World Trade’s Fair. A part of me feels that this may also have been a result of the powerful message that her piece evoked in people. Funds may have been found if people  had found the sculpture important enough to preserve.

The Negro National Anthem had morphed from an etching on paper, to a nation-uniting sound, and ultimately, into a phenomenal piece of work that was savagely celebrated.

In 1934, Augusta became the first African-American artist in the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. The Great Depression hit her hard,  and as money was always a source of worry, Augusta left the art scene from 1940-1960. For Augusta, it was not merely an economic depression, but a depression of spirit, weariness at constantly being given the short end of the stick.

Augusta lived in New Jersey with her daughter Agnes and is said to have lived a full life. Us Jersey folks finally have a reason to feel proud! Augusta Savage died March 26, 1962, leaving the world before seeing the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1964 and other milestones of the Civil Rights Movement.

Controversy on the singing of the Black National Anthem emerged as recently as 2008, when Rene Marie sung the anthem in place of the Star Spangled Banner. Barack Obama, still a candidate at the time,  said that Marie should have sung the Star Spangled Banner. The Black National Anthem was sung several times throughout the Obama campaign and election. Is the Black National Anthem still important? When and were is it appropriate to sing? Is singing The Black National Anthem somewhat savage?

Please stay involved in our Black History Month Series.

Other Posts by Eryn on Black History Month:

Black History’s Leading Literary Lady

Making a Madam

Burning Black Wall Street

The Black Panther Party For Self Defense

In the name of Science…

Intelligence of Interference? COINTELPRO and the Black Panther Party

“How they sold Marcus Garvey for rice”-LH

Trippin on X

Yes you’re a woman…just a different kind

Justin Bua and Urban Realism

And then there was hip hop

Vote to Discontinue Black History Month

So Soulful

Black and Gay? No Way!

Colored People’s Time

Where’s my Forty Acres and a Mule

Too black to be white, too white to be black

I don’t date outside my species!

Caging the Khosian Woman

Branding the Black Woman