“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a song many African-Americans know from school or church. But if you didn’t hear it there, you may know it from one of a few landmark performances.
Motown’s Kim Weston sang it to nearly 100,000 people at the historic Wattstax concert in 1972. In 1990, singer Melba Moore released an all-star version that included Anita Baker, Stevie Wonder and Dionne Warwick. Gladys Knight and Bebe Winans added their own rendition in 2012. And this April, Beyoncé sang it at Coachella, highlighting black culture to a largely white audience.
So what is it about “Lift Every Voice and Sing” that speaks to a people, so much that it’s become known as the “black national anthem”?
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
