When the NFL decided to play "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" during the first week of games, conservatives became outraged. But is their furor misplaced? //

An understanding of the history of the song reveals that it has nothing to do with segregation or bigotry. In fact, it is a piece of music that illustrates the struggle that black Americans were facing shortly after the Reconstruction era. The song also highlights the struggle of a nation to live up to the values upon which it was founded. It is an integral part of black history, which means it is a part of American history.

In 1899, James Weldon Johnson, a member of the NAACP, wrote the lyrics to “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” as a poem. He gave the poem to his brother John Rosamond Johnson, who was a classically-trained musician, to put the words to music. The song was first performed in public by a group of 500 children at a segregated school in Jacksonville, FL, to honor the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln. //

When you read the lyrics to the song, which I have included at the end of this article, you will see that there is nothing divisive about “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” It is a call for liberty. It is a heartfelt plea to God to lead people out of dire circumstances and into freedom. Put simply, this is a conservative song.

The song’s moniker, “The Black National Anthem,” has nothing to do with segregation, rather, it is an acknowledgment of the song’s role as a call to unity against bigotry. It is not a call for black people to have two separate Americas, as some have suggested.