Information About The Song "Lift Every Voice And Sing" That Is Called "The Black National Anthem" & Why It Is Performed During Super Bowl Halftime

Entertainment Tonight, Feb 8, 2026

Coco Jones belts a powerful rendition of 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' at Super Bowl LX (airing on NBC, Telemundo and Peacock), rocking an outfit that pays tribute to Whitney Houston. The look, designed by Coco and Karl Kani, is a nod to the tracksuit Whitney wore when she sang the National Anthem in 1991.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a performance of the song "Lift Every Voice And Sing" during Super Bowl half time. "Lift Every Voice And Sing" Is Called "The Black National Anthem".

This post presents the lyrics to "Lift Every Voice And Sing" along with some information about why it has become a tradition to perform that song during the Super Bowl halftime.

In addition, this pancocojams post lists the performers of "Lift Ever Voice And Sing" during Super Bowl halftimes and the year that they performed that song. 

The Addendum to this post showcases a YouTube video of Whitney Houston singing "The Star Spangled Banner" during Super Bowl half time in 1991. Coco Jones, who sang "Lift Every Voice And Sing" at the Super Bowl half time in 2026 designed her dress in tribute to Whitney Houston.  

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to James Weldon Johnson, the composer of "Lift Every Voice And Sing" in 1900 for his musical and cultural legacy. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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Click https://civilrightssongs.blogspot.com/2014/11/lift-every-voice-and-sing-lyrics.html for information, lyrics, and videos of "Lift Every Voice And Sing". "Civil Rights Songs" is another blog that I curate.

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LYRICS -LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING

(James Weldon Johnson)

Lift every voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning 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 till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast’ning 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,
Till 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 hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast 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.
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From http://www.shmoop.com/lift-every-voice-and-sing/meaning.html
...“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was written by a school principal and first performed by 500 children in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1900.Though unveiled as part of a community celebration in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, the song quickly spread outside the community of Jacksonville. Within a decade, black school children across America were singing the song, and in 1919, the recently formed National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) adopted “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as its official song. Today, the song is frequently described as the “African American National Anthem.”

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WHY "LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING" IS PERFORMED DURING THE SUPER BOWL HALF TIME 
From https://www.nbcdfw.com/super-bowl/coco-jones-black-national-anthem-super-bowl/3980493/

Grammy winner Coco Jones sang the tune ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday.

By NBC Staff • Published February 8, 2026 • Updated on February 8, 2026
" "Lift ev'ry voice and sing," a song often called the Black national anthem, was sung before the Super Bowl for the sixth year in a row Sunday.

This year, Grammy winner and former Disney child star Coco Jones had the honor of singing the song before America's big game.

The inclusion of the Black national anthem, along with "The Star Spangled Banner" and "America The Beautiful," has been met with both praise and criticism.

But the tradition continues nonetheless.

[...]

Why is the Black national anthem sung before the Super Bowl?

The NFL began having a singer perform "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" before the Super Bowl in 2020, in the wake of racial and social justice protests in the United States following the death of George Floyd.

At the time, the NFL committed to singing the Black national anthem before the "Star Spangled Banner" ahead of every NFL game during Week 1 of that season.

What is the Black national anthem and why is it important?

"Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" was originally written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson, but his brother J. Rosamond, turned it into music. The song was performed for the first time in 1900, not long after it was written.

The NAACP dubbed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the Black national anthem in 1919, more than a decade before "The Star Spangled Banner" was named the national anthem.

The song quickly became a popular song during the civil rights movement, and was even sung by crowds following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.”…

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AI OVERVIEW - HOW OFTEN HAS "LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING" BEEN PERFORMED DURING SUPER BOWL HALFTIME?

AI Overview

"Lift Every Voice and Sing" has been performed at the Super Bowl for six consecutive years, starting in 2021 and continuing through 2026. The song, often referred to as the Black national anthem, has become a regular pre-game performance to promote social justice and diversity.

Performers by Year:

2026 (Super Bowl LX): Coco Jones

2025 (Super Bowl LIX): Ledisi

2024 (Super Bowl LVIII): Andra Day

2023 (Super LVII): Sheryl Lee Ralph

2022 (Super Bowl LVI): Mary Mary

2021 (Super Bowl LV): Alicia Keys (pre-recorded)

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ADDENDUM - Whitney Houston - Star Spangled Banner (National Anthem) - Super Bowl 1991 - 4K REMASTERED

WhitneyandMariahRemasters, Premiered Jan 7, 2024

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I edited the video and took me more than 4 weeks for that. Also, I edited the color, put more bright, and I upscale the video to a 4k60fps quality. I also, edited the audio to make something a little new that is different from youtube. I don't want money, all the rights belong to Sony Music. I also gonna credit the owners by putting the link to buy the official CD: **** Thanks for visiting pancocojams. Visitor comments are welcome.