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  Posted By:
  oxalia at 07/16/2008 9:33:41 AM
  Comment:
  there's a discussion to be had (and it's gonna be in public) about personal resposibility and how to creatively begin to change our neighborhoods. i for one am ready for the discussion and the challenge. i'm tired of romanticizing the pookies and nay-nays of the world. our dear friend mr. jessie jackson, sr., doesn't live in a neighborhood like mine and if he did he'd joint barack obama's voice. we are a people who came from slavery and lived to build this country and contribute to it in ways that i cannot being to enumerate. we're a strong people. we're a beautiful people. i too want the television turned off. i too want the fathers to stop fathering children they don't want and cannot take care of. i want us to be concerned and involved in our children's education and send out children to school with the expectation that they will learn. i want cable disconnected along with play stations, etc. i want newspapers in homes and library cards!! and don't call me an elitist. i am the pookies and nay-nays
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  Posted By:
  keepitreal79 at 07/15/2008 7:50:24 PM
  Comment:
  "Lift Every Voice and Sing" will always be relevant to Black America and to America as a whole, just as "The Star Spangled Banner" will always have us up with our hands over our hearts. Just because the times in which these national songs were written have passed, does not mean that we stop singing them and teaching their relevance. In fact, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" has even more relevance today as it talks about remembering where we've come from, no matter how far we may have gotten.
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  Posted By:
  OhioWoman at 07/15/2008 4:06:39 PM
  Comment:
  Did you know that this anthem is in the hymnal of the United Methodist Church? The role of the church in the civil rights movement is meaningful and singing this song reminds us of that. Now that the church has a less significant role in society overall, I can see that this type of music may not resonante with people. But I hope that it stays in our hymnal along with other favorites that stir the spirit and connect us to our history.
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    Posted By:
    CHolla at 07/18/2008 4:35:48 PM
    Comment:
    I am a member of a United Methodist church in Atlanta (Cascade), and we sing the third stanza every Sunday rahter than the traditional doxology.
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  Posted By:
  dbrowsers at 07/15/2008 1:58:17 PM
  Comment:
  Source: Modern American Poetry - James Weldon Johnson
  "I will not allow one prejudiced person or one million or one hundred million to blight my life. I will not let prejudice or any of its attendant humiliations and injustices bear me down to spiritual defeat. My inner life is mine, and I shall defend and maintain its integrity against all the powers of hell ."
  
  Source: Today's American Poetry - dbrowsers
  Sing On! Sister! Sing On! Teach them how to love and remind them to repent from their evil deeds for America has slaughtered the plants, flowers and seeds. The barn is open wide and the roosters will have to die when the storm blows back again and God Almighty proves himself to be our friend! Make those who wish to chide remember the day the innocent died.! God's will, will be done on earth!
  
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  Posted By:
  proudblackdad at 07/14/2008 11:48:38 PM
  Comment:
  Dear Mr. Neal,
  Let's not forget the unifying voices of Stevie Wonder, Frankie Beverly, Bill Withers, et. al.
  Thanks to "Kung Fu Panda", my son's got me recalling that seminal Carl Douglass single again.
  Some songs transcend time. "Lift Every Voice..." is one of them. And I've suffered to many instances of embarrassment when its first chords were struck in church or at some civic event and the lyrics escaped me. I occasionally refer back to them and they're a major source of inspiration.
  May we never lose them.
  http://askyourdaddy.blogspot.com/
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  Posted By:
  circa1849 at 07/14/2008 10:33:24 PM
  Comment:
  Yes, I left my voice and sing it ev'ry time I have a chance. I will keep singing it, if that's alright with you?
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  Posted By:
  ookama343 at 07/14/2008 8:41:34 PM
  Comment:
  jesus is christ!!!
  
  i am greatly dismayed w/ the author's lack of a cogent theme. now, what was the point of this article? this does not even deserve to be a blog entry.
  
  the Root is really dropping the ball w/ pointless articles. i noticed this, when it started to become a pro-obama rag. mr. neal, i think BET has some job openings for writers. just because a lot of our young people do not care to read anything of substance and illiteracy is perceived as Black popular culture, does not mean you have to entreat such rigmarole. this article was trash.
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  Posted By:
  lnupe at 07/14/2008 4:01:42 PM
  Comment:
  Your point is lost in the confusing, unclear verbiage of this article.
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  Posted By:
  lfrancis at 07/14/2008 12:33:07 PM
  Comment:
  I must admit that I do not get your premise. Is it that the Black National Anthem is no longer relevant based on its musical style and lyrics? If so, I must disagree; for if that were the case, then all national anthems would have that fate. I believe that any anthem takes on relevance for the singer(s) depending on the situation. A person who may not identify with at all, let alone remember, the lyrics may get a bit tearful while standing on the medal platform hearing the Star Spangled Banner played. That person may never feel that again. But for that moment s/he felt the pride of representing his/her country.
  
  I took great pleasure in teaching my daughter the Black National Anthem when she turned 5. It is a cultural gem that I wanted to share with her so that she would know its history (our history) and be comfortable singing it at various cultural gatherings. It is the only song I know of that four generations of family might all know. There is value in shared history and traditions. Does every Black person know it? ??? Of course not. Every American doesn???t know the words to the US national anthem. Will we be able to carry each generation???s music genres forward? - Of course not. But the real gems, songs with timeless lyrics and soul catching music, tend to outlive their times. Lift Every Voice still gives me hope when I'm discourage and helps me remember that facing the rising sun of a new day begun, I can march on 'till victory is won.
  
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  Posted By:
  iola1892 at 07/14/2008 12:20:52 PM
  Comment:
  You don't seem to account for the role of tradition. I like to sing that song because I know that my ancestors sung it. I like the feeling that I'm acknowledging them, that we are acknowledging our collective past, when we sing it at gathering these days. I like that our elders can share that with the younger generations, and we in turn, can share it with those who come behind.
  
  We don't have many standard-bearing tradtitions that most of us can agree on. Why lose this one?
  
  As far as candidates for new anthems, "Umi Says" by Mos Def comes to mind.
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    Posted By:
    distinction2 at 07/14/2008 1:36:35 PM
    Comment:
    Yes I too am confused by this piece. What is the point you are trying to make? I went to Fisk and we sang it at every gathering. I take pride in singing it as a night time lullaby to my 9 months old daughter every night. I don't think the song has lost its meaning or purpose today. Why do we need a new anthem? I will forever "sing a song!"