'Lift Every Voice' concert dives into history of African-American spirituals and gospel music

Some history behind the song “Lift Every Voice:”

“It became known as the Black National Anthem in 1919 when the NAACP adopted it as such. Incidentally, that was two years before ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ became the American National Anthem,” said Clegg. “It’s interesting to note that famous African-American poet James Weldon Johnson of Florida initially wrote the text in 1900, and it was recited as a poem by 500 students that year. But it was later that his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, wrote the music for it… and then the song just swiftly spread through the African-American communities across the United States and became just a rallying cry in the face of adversity and strife. So here we are, celebrating it today in such a powerful way.”

How the Trey Clegg Singers preserve and elevate Black spiritual singing:

“I began the chorus in 2016 as a way of bringing wonderful people together with a commonality through music, with a mission of using music as a healing force to inspire the passion for reconciliation, unity and equity,” said Clegg. “Black sacred music is interwoven into the fabric of American history from the get-go. From the initial transatlantic slave trade, we know that spirituals were first created by the enslaved Africans, many of them double-entendre spirituals – the obvious meaning of the text, and then secret meanings of the text by ways of communicating with one another. And so to preserve that history is critical, and to teach it to the broad spectrum of humanity is very necessary, so that we understand and respect all of our shared history.”

Musical moments, enlightening talks and community leaders:

“We’re singing the song ‘Ella’s Song (We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest),’ that was initially written by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, and performed by Sweet Honey in the Rock, her group,” Clegg said. “We’ll be singing two Moses Hogan spirituals, his arrangements of ‘There is a Balm in Gilead’ and ‘Elijah Rock.’ Dr. Uzee Brown, my friend at Morehouse College, who will be one of the presenters and lecturers prior to the concert, has arranged two pieces that will be formed – the one, ‘Ain’t It that Good News,’ the spiritual which will be performed by soloist soprano Laura English-Robinson, and the grand finale of the program is Dr. Brown’s mighty arrangement of ‘We Shall Overcome.'”

An auxiliary event teaching kids about empowered civic engagement:

“‘What Do You Stand For?’ is a wonderful opportunity for children and families to learn about the power of protest,” explained Hammond. “We ask families and their children to use their creative energies and their critical thinking skills to choose from topics that they are very passionate about and then to make protest posters out of those subjects. It creates an avenue where children are able to find another medium of expressing some of the things that they feel very strongly about, and… being supported by their parents.”

“The key is to begin having children understand the connection between their passions and their voice,” Hammond continued. “By having [simulated] elections, they get a chance to see just how many voices there are, how many votes there are, to begin to become familiar with the process of speaking up and speaking out through their vote.”

“Lift Every Voice: a Black History Concert” takes place Feb. 25 at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. More information and the RSVP link for this free concert can be found at https://www.civilandhumanrights.org/program/lift-every-voice-a-black-history-concert/