Have you heard about the report that the NFL plans to play “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before week-one games? Here it is from the USA TODAY: 

“Starting with the nationally televised regular-season opener between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 10, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem, will be performed before every Week 1 kickoff, before “The Star-Spangled Banner,” according to a person familiar with ongoing discussions. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because plans have not yet been finalized and announced by NFL officials.”

Unconfirmed. One week. One song. Not replacing “The National Anthem.”

The Controversy

So…where’s the controversy? What’s the big deal? It’s in this phrase:

“…also known as the Black National Anthem…”

My Twitter and Facebook feeds have blown up over this.

The most common refrain I’ve heard on social media from Caucasians goes something like this:

“That’s divisive! There’s only one National Anthem! What’s next? Singing the Hispanic National Anthem? The Asian National Anthem? Is there a special White National Anthem!? This is nothing but ‘woke,’ ‘virtue signaling,’ ‘Kumbaya-singing,’ ‘Social Justice Warriors’ influenced by ‘Neo-Marxist’s’ ‘Critical Race Theory’!’”

The most common refrain I’ve heard on social media from African Americans sounds something like this:

“We’re asking for concrete changes to address real issues like Black men being killed by police, and you patronize and demean the issues by trying to placate us! By singing one song, one week? You’re going to trivialize the song and the issue. Plus, most Whites are not ready for this—they’ll stay away, or walk out, or turn their backs—doing a tit-for-tat for players kneeling during ‘The National Anthem’. This will become more divisive than helpful.”[1]

The Story of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” 

Something so contentious, we might imagine that the background to the song is somehow subversive. But that’s not the case.

James Weldon Johnson wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as a poem in 1899. He crafted it in hopes of communicating to Whites something of the Black experience in America.[2] The words form an invitation to join in lamenting their sufferings, to celebrate their God-given freedom, and to identify with their faith and hope in God.

Johnson asked his brother, John Rosamond Johnson, to set the poem to music. Hundreds of African American children performed it in 1900 at a celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday at Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida, where Johnson was principal.

The song caught on immediately and was frequently performed at churches and school assemblies. It’s included in at least 39 Christian hymnals.[3]

Johnson never intended “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to be a “Black National Anthem.” That designation was given to the song in 1920 by the NAACP. Johnson wrote in his autobiography:

“Recently I spoke for the summer labor school at Bryn Mawr College and was pleased to hear it fervently sung by the white students there.”[4]

Timothy Askew, an African American professor at Clark Atlanta University, just released the book “Cultural Hegemony and African American Patriotism: An Analysis of the Song, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing.’” He researched over 700 boxes of James Johnson’s works, and found letters of appreciation to Johnson from individuals of all different ethnic backgrounds. While written with the Black experience in America in mind, according to Askew, Johnson also penned “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as a message that could resonate with every sufferer—with every human being.[5]

The Lyrics of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” 

Something so contentious, you’d probably imagine the lyrics were horrific. Not so.

Could I ask each of us to step back from the NFL controversy at least for a moment, and reflect on the actual words of the original poem?

Lift every voice and sing, till 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.

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 till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet,
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered;
Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by thy might, led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee.
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee.
Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand,
True to our God, true to our native land.[6]

Interestingly, or ironically, or providentially, two weeks before the NFL plan hit the news, I blogged about the song and its faith meaning. You can read that post at RPM Ministries here: Following the North Star: The African American Faith Journey. In that post, I summarized the message of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” like this: 

“We’ve come this far by faith. The journey has been dark, but it’s taught us great faith lessons leading us toward the light. The journey isn’t over yet. Our path remains strewn with obstacles, but the goal is in sight. God calls us on our voyage to live an emancipated spiritual life. Whatever bondage the world, the flesh, and the Devil hurl at us, through Christ’s power at work within us, we can stand, as one, true to God and true to our native land.”

I was shocked that the NFL might play this song because it has such a powerful message of faith in God as the Deliverer of the oppressed. I thought:

“The NFL is going to play a song about faith in God!?”

Johnson grew up in a believing Christian home. He noted that he derived the words and imagery of the song from the Bible teaching of his youth, with a special emphasis on the Exodus narrative of God delivering His enslaved people to the freedom of the Promised Land. It is both a prayer of lament in suffering and a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness to His people.

Subversive? Read again how Johnson ends his poem with words of commitment to America—even with all its historical failures and present flaws.

“Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand, true to our God, true to our native land!”

2 Positive Ways We Could Respond 

All of this provides background for 2 main takeaways. While there’s plenty of controversy about the NFL’s reported plans, here are 2 positive ways we could respond—if we’d each take a breath, pray, care, and listen…

1. Let’s Humbly & Lovingly Invite Gospel Conversations

Christians get excited when they see a football fan displaying a “John 3:16” sign in the end zone. I get excited thinking about 100 million people hearing a song about faith in God as our only Deliverer!

Does it bother me that it will be played in a “secular setting”? Not in the least. We are to take the gospel to the streets.

Think about the seeds that could be planted and the gospel conversations that could develop from talking to a friend about the actual words of the song. We could begin a discussion about faith in God as our only Deliverer—not only from earthly enslavement, but also from spiritual enslavement to sin.

Here’s my concern. If our first reaction is to start a debate because the NFL is “woke,” then we miss a wonderful opportunity to start a Colossians 4:3-6 conversation.

“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

We could respond to the NFL’s plan by making the most of every opportunity to share gospel hope through words that are full of grace and seasoned with salt.

So…before we react to the NFL’s plans, according to Colossians 4, we could:

• Pray.
• Ask God for door openers to gospel conversations.
• Pray for clarity and wisdom in how we communicate gospel truth in love.
• Seek to make the most of this unique gospel conversation opportunity.
• Pray that our conversations about race relationships would be full of grace and seasoned with salt.
• Pray to be able to wisely, humbly, and lovingly give an answer to anyone who asks us about the hope that is within us.

2. Let’s Humbly & Lovingly Commit to Gospel Listening and Gospel Empathy 

Proverbs 18:13 cautions, challenges, and confronts us:

“To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.”

This issue is so controversial that it can tempt us to speak before listening. Three days ago I mentioned on social media that I’d be posting my thoughts about the NFL’s plans. People provided detailed critiques of my perspective—before I had ever posted a word. But this is not about me.

This is especially about our African American brothers and sisters. What if, in conversations about the NFL’s plans, we listened and empathized? What if we engaged in these sorts of dialogues with our African American friends?

“What are your thoughts about the NFL having ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ played in week one? Do you think it’s helpful? Beneficial? Patronizing? Are you encouraged? Discouraged? I’d love to hear and understand your perspective…”

“Hearing the words to ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ was very moving for me. Especially words like, ‘We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered.’ What’s it like for you to hear those words…?”

“The words to the song were also hope-giving. Words like, ‘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.’ How do those words impact you…?”

“The controversy over this song brings up all the discussions and debates over the past several months since George Floyd was killed. I’ll be honest. I sometimes only see all of this through my own eyes, my own culture, my own grid. I’m sometimes tempted to place negative, maybe even hurtful labels on other people’s views. But I want to change. I want to listen. Would you be willing to share with me how you see all of this? How you feel about these vital issues…?”

Join the Conversation 

So…to be honest, I hesitate a bit to include my typical “Join the Conversation” ending. Such a heated issue. But, in the spirit of Proverbs 18:13 and Colossians 4:3-6, let’s start a gospel conversation…

I listed 2 positive ways we could respond to the NFL playing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” What are additional positive responses we could make?

In our discussions about race relationships and racial reconciliation, how could Proverbs 18:13 and Colossians 4:3-6 guide our conversations?

Endnotes

[1]See https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-fans-call-nfl-s-plan-play-lift-every-voice-n1233164

[2]See https://faculty.georgetown.edu/bassr/heath/syllabuild/iguide/johnson.html

[3]See https://hymnary.org/text/lift_every_voice_and_sing#instances

[4]See https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/03/us/lift-every-voice-and-sing-history-trnd/index.html

[5]See https://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/07/21/black.national.anthem/index.html

[6]McLain, Songs of Zion, Song 32.