Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Collection of Afro-American Spirituals and Other Songs

This collection was published in 1981 by the Church Hymnal Corporation as a supplement to The Hymnal (1940). The project was conceived by the Rev. Franklin D. Turner, staff officer for Black Ministries at the time, and later Suffragan Bishop of Pennsylvania. The volume contains 151 selections and reflects the religious musical heritage of African Americans. The themes of personal assurance, comfort, and hope are often emphasized by the selections in the collection. The compiler and general editor was Irene V. Jackson, who also wrote the essay at the back of the collection, “Music Among Blacks in the Episcopal Church: Some Preliminary Considerations.”