To amend title 36, United States Code, to establish the composition known as "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as the national hymn of the United States.
Bill: H.R.301 | Sponsor: Rep. Clyburn, James E. (D-SC)
Policy area: Arts, Culture, Religion

Summary:
This bill designates the composition consisting of the words and music known as Lift Every Voice and Sing as the national hymn of the United States.

To amend title 36, United States Code, to establish the composition 
  known as ``Lift Every Voice and Sing'' as the national hymn of the 
                             United States.


 


    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) ``Lift Every Voice and Sing'' is a beloved hymn that is 
        currently produced and distributed by approximately 40 
        religious publishing houses throughout the United States.
            (2) ``Lift Every Voice and Sing'' is regularly sung at 
        various religious services and choir performances at community 
        and cultural events to commemorate the struggles that have 
        accompanied our Nation's ``pursuit of a more perfect Union''.
            (3) James Weldon Johnson wrote the poem ``Lift Every Voice 
        and Sing'' in 1899 to celebrate the anniversary of President 
        Abraham Lincoln's birthday, and his brother, J. Rosamond 
        Johnson, set the poem to music.
            (4) ``Lift Every Voice and Sing'' was first performed on 
        February 12, 1900, by a choir of 500 school children from the 
        Stanton School in the Johnsons' hometown of Jacksonville, 
        Florida, where James Weldon Johnson served as the principal.
            (5) In 1905, Booker T. Washington's recognition of ``Lift 
        Every Voice and Sing'' helped to make it a very popular song in 
        Black communities throughout the United States.
            (6) In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt named James 
        Weldon Johnson to diplomatic positions in Venezuela and 
        Nicaragua, and when he returned to the United States, he became 
        affiliated with the NAACP.
            (7) In the 1920s, the NAACP chose ``Lift Every Voice and 
        Sing'' as its official song and it was dubbed the ``Black 
        National anthem''.
            (8) In 1934, James Weldon Johnson, a graduate of Clark 
        Atlanta University, became the first African-American professor 
        at New York University, and later served in a similar capacity 
        at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.
            (9) The lyrics of ``Lift Every Voice and Sing'' inspired 
        the 16 foot sculpture, ``The Harp'' created by the renowned 
        artist Augusta Savage and commissioned by the 1939 New York 
        World's Fair.
            (10) ``Lift Every Voice and Sing'' is sung at gatherings of 
        the Faith and Politics Institute, whose bipartisan programs and 
        pilgrimages include participation by Members of Congress, and 
        was co-chaired for many years by the late Congressmen, Democrat 
        John Lewis and Republican Amo Houghton, both of whom 
        transitioned in 2020.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL HYMN.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 3 of title 36, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 306. National hymn
    ``The composition consisting of the words and music known as `Lift 
Every Voice and Sing' is designated as the national hymn of the United 
States.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 3 of 
title 36, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``306. National hymn.''.
                                                  House Calendar No. 81

117th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 301

                          [Report No. 117-358]

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