"Lift Every Voice and Sing" – often referred to as “the Black national anthem” in the United States – is a hymn written in 1900 as a poem by James Weldon Johnson, and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, for the anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Within this diptych, Clark uses repurposed, perforated piano paper to present the first verse of the lyrics which reads:
“Lift every voice and sing; Till earth and heaven ring; Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise; High as the listening 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.”
The second panel repeats the verse using Sonya Clark’s font, invented by the artist using her own hair to shape each letter. At the turn of the 20th century, Johnson's lyrics eloquently captured the solemn yet hopeful appeal for the liberty of Black Americans. Clarks work, like much of her work, redresses history while pointing to the inequalities of the present day.