The Hickory Corner Branch of the Mercer County Library System and the African American Cultural Collaborative of Mercer County will present “Lifting Every Voice,” a short one-act play, at 2 p.m. Feb. 19 in celebration of Black History Month., It will be performed by the Don Evans Players, a volunteer community theater group named after the late Trenton off-Broadway playwright. Directed by Todd Evans, it is an interpretation of the Black National Anthem through song, poetry and improvisation., “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as the “Black American National Anthem,” is a song written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson in 1899 and set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson in 1905. The poem was first performed in 1900 by 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School in Jacksonville, FL at a program celebrating Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. The NAACP later dubbed it “The Negro National Anthem” for its power in voicing the cry for liberation and affirmation for African-American people., The Hickory Corner Branch of the Mercer County Library System is at 138 Hickory Corner Road, East Windsor, N.J. The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Friends of the Hickory Corner Library. Call 609 448-1330 or email [email protected] to register.
