LEAven Blog

“Lift Every Voice and Sing!”
In Celebration of Black History Month – Saturday, February 1, 2025 – Saturday, March 1, 2025
The Hymn of the Month
As some of you might know, I have long advocated for having the entire student body learn one hymn every month. The Hymn of the Month is an excellent way for children to learn about the great hymns of the church, their authors and composers, the text and music of the hymns (by the end of the month, they will have memorized the hymn), and how hymns fit into the worship life of the congregation. Here’s a sample schedule for what a hymn of the month schedule might look like.1
- September – Learn the new National Lutheran Schools Week Hymn
- October – “For All the Saints” – Eve of All Saints
- November – “Now Thank We All Our God” – Thanksgiving
- December – “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come” – Luther’s Christmas story song.
- January – “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light”- Epiphany
- February – “Lift Every Voice and Sing” – For Black History Month.
- March – “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” – Lent
- April – “This Joyful Eastertide” – Easter
- May – “Up Through Endless Ranks of Angels – The Ascension of Our Lord
In the schedule above, I’ve listed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (Lutheran Service Book #964) as the hymn of the month for February. I want to suggest you use it this February as a way to teach both the hymn and its relationship to Black History Month 2025.
Last Year at My Lutheran School
Last year, I did a hymn of the month study with the fourth graders at my congregation’s Lutheran School. When February arrived, I decided that “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (LEV&S) would be an appropriate hymn to teach because of its historical significance during Black History Month, its vivid Exodus imagery of slavery to freedom, the Christian faith that is a profound part of the African-American experience, and other cultural contributions of Black Americans.
I taught the fourth graders about some of the following people, places, and things. You can find information about every BOLD UNDERLINED person, place, or thing below by searching the internet.
- The “Father of Black History,” Dr. Carter Woodson.
- The origins of Black History Month. See Kent State University – Black History Month (BHM). Who was the first U.S. president to recognize BHM during the 1976 celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial? What did he say about BHM?
- The origin of LEV&S, a.k.a the “Black National Anthem.”
- The hymn’s author, James Weldon Johnson.
- The composer of the music, John Rosamond Johnson.
- When did the first slaves arrive in America? Was it before or after the Mayflower landed?
- The artist Agusta Savage and how her sculpture (“The Harp”) was related to LEV&S.
- The artist Aaron Douglas, the illustrator of James Weldon Johnson’s book, God’s Trombones. Also see Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery through Reconstruction.
- How many people attended Marian Anderson’s Easter Sunday Lincoln Memorial performance on April 9, 1939? When did she become the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House? See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Anderson.3
- How many African-American spirituals do you know? You can find them on the Internet. Tip: Assign one of them to each middle school student; have them report to the class what they discovered. Sing them as well!4
The Aftermath
I taught LEV&S and other things listed in the bullet list above to fourth, seventh, and eighth graders and the freshman music class at our Lutheran High School across the street from our Lutheran school. This was right before Super Bowl LVIII. On the Monday following SB58, I walked by the fourth-grade classroom before school started. The children all jumped out of the seats and ran to tell me that LEV&S was the opening song at the Super Bowl halftime show (See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUH82QSG7GY ). They were so excited they knew about it and were able to share their knowledge with family and friends. I guess one could call that a “God thing!”
I hope you develop your own version of my lesson on “Lift Every Voice and Sing” this February. The resources in the bullet list should give you and your students a good start. As always, may God bless your teaching as you “lift every voice and sing” God’s praises!
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
Psalm 96:1-3
1 You or your music specialist could create a hymn of the month schedule in consultation with your congregation’s pastor and/or parish music director.
2 Read, The Creation from God’s Trombones to your students. See: https://poets.org/poem/creation . Also, see https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.38654.html regarding Aaron Douglas.
3 At this site, you can hear a recording of Anderson and find pictures of the event.
4 To hear three spirituals sung by the National Lutheran Choir, go to:https://www.google.com/search?q=Every+Time+I+Think+About+Jesus+National+Lutheran+Choir+August+16%2C+1017&oq=Every+Time+I+Think+About+Jesus+National+Lutheran+Choir+August+16%2C+1017&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDIzMDlqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8