Lift every voice and sing

Since it is Black History Month, let’s take a look at the complete lyrics based on the poem that was written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900.

Lift every voice and sing, ‘Til 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 ‘til 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, ‘Til 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 has brought us thus far on the way;

Thou who has 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.

Wow. Fire up YouTube and check out a few performances of this amazing song. Read about its history. When I sing this song in church or hear it performed I am reminded of our past and present faults but my spirit still soars over what we have overcome so far, my determination to create a more perfect union is strengthened, and my faith in our mutual future is fortified. Yes, the song is affectionately referred to as the Black national anthem and is the official song of the NAACP. Why would that bother someone? The Super Bowl audience was also powerfully moved by Chris Stapleton’s rendition of the national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” performed in front of a massive U.S. flag and accompanied by an all-women pilot Navy flyover (Go Navy!). Cool! And later the halftime crowd was treated to a great performance by Rihanna (which yet another headline reported DJT raging against). Football, music, fried food, military pomp, the American flag, crazy costumes, what’s not to like? Well, there are the concussions and heart attacks to avoid and could we please retire the tomahawk chop?

Let’s lift our voices and tell the Lauren Boeberts of the world that we, in fact, are united in our love for this country, AND united against hate and racism, AND no matter how much she and her followers rage, the overwhelming majority of us will forever stand true to our God, true to our native land, and we ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around, we’re gonna keep on moving the ball towards first and 10 even if they grab our jerseys. Yeah, Bradberry says he grabbed it. Full Disclosure: This gay columnist has never worn a jersey and knows absolutely NOTHING about football. Go Niners!

Craig Wiesner is the co-owner of Reach And Teach, a book, toy and cultural gift shop on San Carlos Avenue in San Carlos.