Naomi André, musicologist and the David G. Frey Distinguished Professor in Music, discusses the need for a United States national hymn.
Naomi André loves opera and hates that it is often seen as an elitist form of music. She began her career with a dissertation on the famous opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, whose songs and choruses became anthems of the Italian Risorgimento. During this 19th-century political and social movement, Italian citizens rose up against the foreign powers that were occupying the country, singing Verdi’s lines about freedom openly in the streets.
Based on her study of music as a unifying force, Rep. James Clyburn’s office reached out to André in 2021. He asked for her support in advocating for the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to be officially named the United States national hymn. André enthusiastically agreed and testified before the House Judiciary Committee in February 2022. The bill seeking to establish the song as a national hymn remains for consideration in Congress.
Why does the United States need a national hymn?
ANDRÉ: When I was contacted by Rep. Clyburn’s office as he was sponsoring this bill, I loved the idea. As a musicologist, I know that issues of civic engagement, informed citizenship, and the foundations of democracy are beautifully expressed through music. A national hymn can amplify the important work that the anthem is already doing. There has been a lot of research around national anthems and how they give a nation something to rally behind. Hymns are often considered church music, but they don’t have to be. Hymns are songs of adulation or commemoration, and they are all about everyone being invited into something bigger than themselves. The history of hymns goes back very far and spans multiple traditions, in addition to Christian singing, it also is part of Byzantine and Jewish traditions. There is something wonderful about hymns that people can really get behind.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a song that many Americans were already using in this way. It was written by writer and poet James Weldon Johnson (also a diplomat and the first Black executive secretary of the NAACP) and his younger brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, noted musician and composer. The song was used extensively during the Civil Rights Movement, being sung during Montgomery Bus Boycott organizational meetings and quoted in speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It has also been significant in recent history, being featured in many MLK Day celebrations and it was recently sung along with the national anthem before every NFL game during the 2020-21 football season.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” signals a rich history, has captured the experience of African Americans, and speaks broadly to all Americans about the struggle for freedom and equality. It’s also easy to sing, which is important when you’re inviting an entire nation to experience belonging through song.
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As told to Audrey Smith
Photo courtesy of the UNC College of Arts and Sciences
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