Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Pictorial Tribute to the Negro National Anthem - Hardcover

Johnson, James; Egan-Chin, Debbie

4.24

172 ratings by Goodreads

9780786806263: Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Pictorial Tribute to the Negro National Anthem

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786806265 ISBN 13: 9780786806263

Publisher: Jump At The Sun, 2000

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Vintage and modern black-and-white photographs accompany this version of the song that has come to be considered the African American national anthem, in a book which celebrates the one-hundredth anniversary of the song's creation.

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From Publishers Weekly:

In honor of this song's centennial anniversary, this volume collects 22 often stirring black-and-white archival photographs to illustrate Johnson's powerful lyrics, set to music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. Smith's rather spotty introduction offers a brief biographical sketch of the siblings and outlines the genesis of the song (though it is the back jacket flap that suggests that James W. Johnson was asked by the Florida high school where he served as principal to compose the song for a celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday). Two decades later, in 1920, the NAACP proclaimed the composition "The Negro National Anthem." Crisply reproduced photographs ranging from the sobering to the uplifting correspond to the words of the anthem. "Out from the gloomy past,/ Till now we stand at last/ Where the white gleam/ of our bright star is cast" shows an enchanting toddler girl in a white wool coat and matching hat holding hands with two adults among a crowd. A photograph of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is paired with "Lest our feet stray from the places,/ Our God, where we met Thee.... " Other memorable shots include the scarred back of a captive man ("Stony the road we trod,/ Bitter the chastening rod"), an exhausted boy cotton-picker asleep in the fields and a girl learning to read. Unfortunately, though the photos are credited, they neither include the year nor the context in which they were taken. The melody line concludes the book, and the many children featured in the photographs will draw a young audience into this affecting volume. All ages. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 3-6, younger for reading aloud. The year 2001 marks the centennial of the song that the NAACP designated "Negro National Anthem." This book celebrates the song with 22 beautifully reproduced black-and-white photographs that mark the life and times of African American people from slavery to now. Except for the cute greeting-card cover photo, the pictures are as stirring as the words. Many of the photos are classic; some are new. Whether close-ups of individuals or panoramas of marching crowds, they make you hear the music. In a short introductory essay, Henrietta M. Smith (whose picture-book bibliography appears on p.1160) describes Johnson's career and explains that the song was created for a high-school chorus, with Johnson writing the words and his brother composing the music. It's the centennial of a song for all of us: parents and grandparents will share the history and the music with their children. Music notation is at the back of the book. Hazel Rochman
Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved

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