Editing Lift Every Voice and Sing (section)

=== As the "Negro national anthem" ===
In 1919, the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP) dubbed "Lift Every Voice and Sing" the "Negro national anthem", for its power in voicing a cry for liberation and affirmation for African American people.<ref name=":3" /> James Weldon Johnson would be appointed to serve as the NAACP's first executive secretary the following year.<ref name=":1" /> It has similarly been referred to as "the Black national anthem".<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Jackson|first1=Jabar|last2=Martin|first2=Jill|date=July 3, 2020|title=NFL plans to play Black national anthem before Week 1 games|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/02/sport/nfl-black-national-anthem-week-1-spt-intl/index.html|access-date=July 4, 2020|publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref name="Touré2011">{{cite magazine|last1=Touré|date=November 17, 2011|title=Society It's Time for a New Black National Anthem|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://ideas.time.com/2011/11/17/its-time-for-a-new-black-national-anthem/|access-date=February 16, 2015}}</ref>

The use of the term "the Black national anthem" in reference to "Lift Every Voice and Sing" has been criticized. Timothy Askew, an associate professor at the [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically Black]] [[Clark Atlanta University]], argued that the use of the term "Black national anthem" could incorrectly implicate a desire of [[separatism]] by Black communities, that the lyrics of the hymn do not overtly refer to any specific [[Race (human categorization)|race]] (which has inspired people to perform it outside African American communities), and "identity should be developed by the individual himself, not by a group of people who think they know what is best for you".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Professor at historically black college questions 'black national anthem'|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/07/21/black.national.anthem/index.html|access-date=February 6, 2022|publisher=CNN|language=en}}</ref> Some [[Conservatism in the United States|Conservative]] commentators have similarly criticized performances and references to "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as the "Black national anthem" as separatist and diminishing to "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" as the national anthem of the United States.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Conservatives Slam Vanessa Williams For Singing Black National Anthem During Fourth Of July Special|url=https://www.binnews.com/content/2021-07-06-conservatives-slam-vanessa-williams-for-singing-black-national-anthem/|access-date=February 6, 2022|website=BIN: Black Information Network|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Castronuovo|first=Celine|date=September 11, 2021|title=Bill Maher criticizes NFL for playing Black national anthem|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/571816-bill-maher-criticizes-nfl-for-playing-black-national-anthem|access-date=February 6, 2022|website=The Hill|language=en}}</ref>

In response to Askew's remarks, the NAACP's then-senior vice president of advocacy and policy Hilary O. Shelton told [[CNN]] that the hymn "was adopted and welcomed by a very interracial group, and it speaks of hope in being full first-class citizens in our society", used in conjunction with the U.S. national anthem or the [[Pledge of Allegiance]] during public events, "It is evident in our actions as an organization and here in America it is evidence that we are about inclusion, not exclusion. To claim that we as African-Americans want to form a confederation or separate ourselves from [[white people]] because of one song is baffling to me."<ref name=":4" />

In January 2021, Representative and then-[[House Majority Whip]] [[Jim Clyburn]] sponsored HR 301, a bill that proposed that "Lift Every Voice and Sing" be designated as the national hymn of the United States.{{clarifyme|date=February 2025}}<ref name=Clyburn>{{cite news |title=Rep. James Clyburn Proposes to Make 'Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing' the National Hymn |author=Ryan Benk |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959704849/rep-james-clyburn-proposes-to-make-lift-evry-voice-and-sing-the-national-hymn |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=January 22, 2023 |accessdate=April 23, 2023}}</ref> Other songs have been proposed to become the national hymn of the United States in the past, and "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" would have remained the national anthem.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Travis |date=February 3, 2022 |title=Mayor Curry backs bill that would make 'Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing' a national hymn |url=https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2022/02/03/mayor-curry-backs-bill-that-would-make-lift-evry-voice-and-sing-a-national-hymn/ |access-date=February 15, 2022 |publisher=WJXT |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Rep. James Clyburn Proposes To Make 'Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing' The National Hymn |language=en |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959704849/rep-james-clyburn-proposes-to-make-lift-evry-voice-and-sing-the-national-hymn |access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Berry |first=Deborah Barfield |title=To help heal racial wounds, Black national anthem would become America's hymn under proposal |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/12/black-national-anthem-jim-clyburn-pushes-song-national-hymn/6560250002/ |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=USA Today |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mathewson |first1=Eryn |last2=Saunders |first2=Zoë |date=February 11, 2021 |title=Why Rep. James Clyburn is pushing to make 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' the US national hymn |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/11/us/lift-every-voice-and-sing-james-clyburn/index.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |publisher=CNN |language=en}}</ref>