James Weldon Johnson and the Black National Anthem

Olivia and Raven talk about activist and educator, James Weldon Johnson, the details and significance of the Silent Protest Parade, and their views on “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also called the Black National Anthem.

 

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Discussion Summary:

01:05: Topic intro, and the failure to adequately cover the contributions of Black people in curriculum.

03:57: James Weldon Johnson’s life, career, writings, and beginnings in the NAACP.

17:20: Details and significance of the Silent Protest Parade, organized by James Weldon Johnson.

24:35: Johnson’s subsequent activism.

27:46: How “Lift Every Voice and Sing” became the Black National Anthem, and thoughts on the choice to commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.

35:46: Differences between The Black National Anthem and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

44:49: Commemorations of James Weldon Johnson.

52:24: Outro.

 

Episodes Referenced:

How Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Is Weaponized and Sanitized

https://isquared.podbean.com/e/how-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-is-weaponized-and-sanitized/

Why Is Pro-Black Anti-American?

https://isquared.podbean.com/e/why-is-pro-black-anti-american/

Police Brutality In the US: History, Stats and Studies

https://isquared.podbean.com/e/police-brutality-in-the-us-history-stats-and-studies/

Augusta Savage Black Beauty Highlight

https://isquared.podbean.com/e/black-beauty-highlight-an-artist-and-activist-of-the-harlem-renaissance/

Zora Neale Hurston Black Beauty Highlight

https://isquared.podbean.com/e/black-beauty-highlight-a-writer-and-anthropologist/

 

Learn More!

JAMES WELDON JOHNSON

https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/civil-rights-leaders/james-weldon-johnson

 

James Weldon Johnson Biography

https://www.biography.com/writer/james-weldon-johnson

 

James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection

https://beinecke.library.yale.edu/collections/curatorial-areas/james-weldon-johnson-memorial-collection

 

JAMES WELDON JOHNSON (1871-1938)

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/johnson-james-weldon-1871-1938/

 

Till Victory Is Won: The Staying Power Of 'Lift Every Voice And Sing'

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/16/638324920/american-anthem-lift-every-voice-and-sing-black-national-anthem

 

Behind the Song: “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

https://etmonline.org/stories/bhm2020lifteveryvoice/#newsletter