[nFBMI-Talk] Civil rights, Poetry and Romance

[Amy Sabo]

hello fred,

thanks for posting this to the list! I loved reading this wonderful
poem which yoyu described to music. can you find a link of this song
that you heard on apple music in a format through mp3 format and, send
it to the list? I would love to hear it and, I would also like to send
this link to the performing arts division list too as well! I also
plan to forward this onto the other nfbnet lists that i'm on too if
that's okay or not?

thanks again for posting it to the list and, I will talk to you soon!



hugs,
amy

On 1/15/18, Fred Wurtzel via NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello,
>
>
>
> Here are the lyrics to a song sometimes referred to as the "Black National
> Anthem."  I believe it speaks to all of America and the world for that
> matter.  I apologize if you are familiar with this, but I am so moved by
> this song.  I have been aware of the song for quite a while, but I have
> never really studied it.  Today, in celebration of Martin Luther King's
> Birthday, I listened to 15 or 20 different renditions of the song thanks to
> Apple Music.  It is so great.  Not all interpretations are equal, though I
> leave it to you to take a listen and choose your favorite.
>
>
>
> To me, this song is totally appropriate at Passover.  I can imagine Moses
> reciting this poem or singing this song. It is an eternal song of struggle
> away from oppression, bondage and subjugation, clearly appropriate to our
> struggles as blind folks.  It is also a warning not to forget how we got
> where we are.  All struggles have these things in common and never seem to
> end.  We must always embrace faith and hope, as the lyrics note.
>
>
>
> I hope you don't mind my little meditation on this song.  It has been
> uplifting and grounding for me.  I hope it can have that effect for some of
> you.
>
>
>
> By the way, the song was written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900 to
> commemorate Lincoln's birthday.  When I was in about 6th or 7th grade, Mary
> Iscaro, now Wurtzel,  was in high school Forensics competition for the
> Michigan School for the Blind.  Her entry was a recitation  of "The
> Creation" by James Weldon Johnson.  Totally unknown to mary (I am 4 years
> younger than Mary), I was in the audience in the Lions hall Auditorium
> where
> she did a dress rehearsal of her recitation.  I was young and not much
> acquainted with poetry or dramatic reading.  Mary truly blew me out of my
> seat with her recitation.  She never knew of how moving this was to me
> until
> we were married some 13 or so years later.  Johnson is a pretty amazing
> writer and has had an impact on my life, even if in a kind of crazy
> romantic
> way.  Poetry and civil rights are like that.
>
>
>
> Warmest Regards,
>
>
>
> Fred
>
>
>
> Lift Every Voice and Sing
>
>
>
> James Weldon Johnson
>
> ,
>
> 1871
>
> -
>
> 1938
>
>
>
>
>
> 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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