News and Updates

We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Bee Blunt, the lifestyle and fashion brand founded by Portia Blunt. A former Reebok SVP and seasoned industry veteran, Portia founded Bee Blunt in 2022 with a clear and beautiful purpose: to celebrate Black history and bring the untold stories of Black American culture to life through beautifully crafted clothing and accessories. It is a mission that resonates deeply with our own, and we could not be more excited to be workin

Our President, Rufus Jones, recently had the privilege of sitting down with Roland Carter (b. 1942), one of the towering figures of American choral music. Born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he continues to live and work, Carter has dedicated his life to the preservation, performance, and celebration of the American choral tradition. His influence reaches across generations of singers, scholars, and music lovers throughout the country. Carter is responsible for t

History has a sound. On April 23, 2026, it sounded like "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Before 300,000 people at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, and 13 million more watching worldwide, the James Weldon Johnson Foundation's National Hymn Choir opened the 2026 NFL Draft with the hymn that James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson gave to the world. What began in 1900 as a poem for schoolchildren has traveled a long road to this stage. That journey was felt in every note. Then t

350,000 fans. One hymn. A moment Pittsburgh, the NFL and America will not forget. Thursday evening in Pittsburgh, something happened that had never happened before. As the lights of the NFL Draft stage blazed over the North Shore and more than 350,000 people pressed in from every direction, 27 singers from Pittsburgh gave voice to a 126-year-old hymn, and the whole country felt it. For Rufus Elmer Jones, Jr., President of the James Weldon Johnson Foundation, the moment was e

We are proud to announce that the James Weldon Johnson Foundation's National Hymn Choir, featuring The Heritage Gospel Chorale of Pittsburgh, has been selected to perform at the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, one of the most-watched sporting events in America. On Thursday, April 23, preceding the National Anthem performance by Pittsburgh-raised jazz artist KELS, our National Hymn Choir will take the stage to perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the popular name for what James

By Rufus E. Jones, Jr. Co-founder and President, James Weldon Johnson Foundation Rufus E. Jones, Jr. As Co-founder and President of the...

In episode 18 of Catching North Stars , Jill Rosenberg Jones, Co-Founder and Chairperson of the James Weldon Johnson Foundation and...

Celebrating the Inaugural National Hymn Choir at the 2025 NFL Draft On April 24, 2025, the James Weldon Johnson Foundation proudly...

The James Weldon Johnson Foundation and the NFL are joining forces to celebrate a defining moment in American history—the 125th...

Benjamin L. Smith, a skilled American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, This weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to meet Benjamin L....

Lift Every Voice: A National Hymn for All Americans The James Weldon Johnson Foundation is spearheading a historic initiative to...

The James Weldon Johnson Foundation, in collaboration with the NFL, is celebrating the enduring legacy of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" on...

Award-winning historian David W. Blight is immersed in James Weldon Johnson and Grace Nail Johnson Papers at Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book &...

Today, we have a unique chance to protect history—and we can’t let it slip away. The James Weldon Johnson Foundation needs your help to...