Lift Every Voice and Sing
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
Hi there!
We're the Western Maine Area Anti-Racism Education Advisory (AREA) Group, and we're making a book featuring River Valley student work about race and racism, diversity and difference. It's called Lift Every Voice. The mission of this creative project is to amplify young voices (YOUR voices) in the conversation around race. We're naming it after the song we shared above - "Lift Every Voice and Sing" is considered the Black national anthem. It is full of hope, and simultaneously recognizes the struggles of the past while calling for strength in the present. It truly speaks to the power of the people: every person, every voice. For more history on the song, check out this youtube video.
Students of all ages are encouraged to submit written works, art, music, and videos to be compiled by our group and professionally published! Hard copies of the finished product will be available in River Valley school and community libraries. Music and video submissions will be included in the hard copy through a QR code, and in an Ebook version that will be available for free on this website!
Here's how it works: you can submit your piece to an appointed staff member in your building (ask your homeroom teacher who that is!); you can also submit written works and videos through this form. Check out the project prompts for an idea of what we're looking for and to get started.
We need permission to use your submission, so make sure your parent / caretaker fills out and sends back the permission form that was given to you at school!
If you have any questions about this project, you can reach out to Mr. Bailey at jbailey@rsu10.org or Adelaide Fuller at adelaidejfuller@gmail.com.
We can't wait to see - and share - your submissions!