The Negro National Anthem

Lift ev'ry 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 a 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 our 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.

Excellent Black History Lesson!

A very humorous and revealing story is told about a group of white people who were fed up with African Americans. They join together and wish themselves away.

They passed through a deep dark tunnel and emerged in sort of a twilight zone where there is an America without black people. At first these white people breathe a sigh of relief. At last, they say, no more crime, drugs, violence and welfare. All of the blacks have gone!!

Then, suddenly, reality sets in. The "NEW AMERICA" is not America at all -- only a barren land.

1. There are very few crops that have flourished because the nation was built on a slave-supported system.

2. There are no cities with tall skyscrapers because Alexander Mils, a black man, invented the elevator, and without it one finds great difficulty reaching high floors.

3. There are few if any cars because Richard Spikes, a black man, invented the automatic gear shift, Joseph Gammell, also black, invented the Super Charge System for Internal Combustion Engines, and Garrett A. Morgan invented the traffic signals.

4. Furthermore, one could not use the rapid transit system because its precursor was the electric trolley, which was invented by another black man, Elbert R. Robinson.

5. Even if there were streets on which cars and a rapid transit system could operate, they were cluttered with paper because an African American, Charles Brooks, invented the street sweeper.

6. There were few if any newspapers, magazines and books because John Love invented the pencil sharpener, William Purvis invented the fountain pen, Lee Burridge invented the Type Writing Machine and W. A. Lovette invented the Advanced Printing Press. They were all, you guessed it, black.

7. Even if Americans could write their letters, articles and books, they would not have been transported by mail because William Barry invented the Postmarking and Canceling Machine, William Purvis invented the Hand Stamp and Phillip Downing invented the Letter Drop.

8. The lawns were brown and wilted because Joseph Smith invented the Lawn Sprinkler and John Burr the Lawn Mower.

9. When they entered their homes, they found them to be poorly ventilated and poorly heated. You see, Frederick Jones invented the Air Conditioner and Alice Parker the Heating Furnace.

10. Their homes were also dim. But of course, stupid, Lewis Latimer invented the Electric Lamp, Michael Harvey invented the Lantern and Granville T. Woods invented the Automatic Cut off Switch.

11. Their homes were also filthy because Thomas W. Steward invented the Mop and Lloyd P. Ray, the Dust Pan.

12. Their children met them at the door -- barefooted, shabby, motley and unkempt. But what could one expect? Jan E. Matzelinger invented the Shoe Lasting Machine, Walter Sammons invented the Comb, Sarah Boone invented the Ironing Board and George T. Samon invented the Clothes Dryer.

13. Finally, they were resigned to at least have dinner amidst all of this turmoil. But here again, the food had spoiled because another black man, John Standard, invented the refrigerator.

Now, isn't that something? What would this world be like without the contributions of Black folks? Martin Luther King, Jr. said that by the time we leave for work we have been dependent on half the world. Modern America is created by dependencies on the inventions from the minds of "Black folks." Black history includes more than just slavery, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey and Dubois.

Author Unknown

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