Music Library Association Conference 2019

The song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” written by James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson at the turn of the twentieth century, is often known today as the Black National Anthem and is sung in schools, churches, and civic settings throughout the United States. It is the school song of the Edgewood Magnet School in New Haven, Connecticut, a kindergarten through eighth grade school with special focus on the arts. Nearby Yale University Library houses primary source documents pertaining to the song in the papers of the lyricist James Weldon Johnson (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library) and the composer J. Rosamond Johnson (Irving S. Gilmore Music Library). Collaborating with educators at the school, librarians and archivists at the university have created an online exhibit of documents that illustrate the history of the song and the lives of its creators (a first draft is available to view at http://exhibits.library.yale.edu/exhibits/show/lift-every-voice). The exhibit helps teachers introduce the song in other areas as well, for instance in art or fashion. The poster session will cover details of the collaboration as a model of engagement between schools and universities and publicize the online availability of original documents pertaining to this important song.