And I quote:
Exactly 100 years after James Johnson wrote "Lift Every Voice" as a paean to the dreams of America's blacks, the piece, known now as "the black national anthem," continues to ring out before games at local minority schools, including downtown Raleigh's Shaw University, which receives public funds.The hymn, which is about redemption and hope, is usually sung either before or after the regular national anthem, the star-spangled version that talks more about bombs bursting in air and that serves as the acknowledged patriotic show starter at most school, government and athletic events. Sometimes, however, the black national anthem is the only musical introduction to the local Shaw games, athletic officials there acknowledge.