Lift Every Voice and Sing, written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson
Verse 2:
Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
‘Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
As February 2026 concludes, the second verse of the poem, now song, Lift Every Voice and Sing, (also known as the black National Anthem) written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900, a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), echoes in my mind. Just the second month of a new year, and yet the wear and tear on our collective consciousness as a society reminds me that indeed “…Stony the road we trod.” It is no secret the challenges of the present moment; America’s social contract is once again being negotiated. What are the limits of free speech, the right to protest and freedom of the press? Who has a right to safety and whose safety is expendable? When is transparency and accountability necessary and who can avoid it ? Who has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Which versions of history will be preserved and remembered, which will be erased? It seems America is revisiting familiar territory, and it reminds me of the difficult, embattled struggle for a brighter collective future that Weldon Johnson writes of.
Perhaps that is appropriate, as February is also the month designated in 1986 by the U.S. Congress in public law as “National Black (Afro-American) History Month,” a time to recognize the contributions of black people to the fabric of America but also a time to remember the tears cried and blood shed to realize the promise of America, for a formerly enslaved people, black people in this country. “We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered.”
As we observe National Black History Month, marking 100 years since the first national observance, I reflect on the profound legacy of African Americans who have shaped the America we know today. These pioneers have offered immeasurable contributions to our culture, economy, and society—revolutionizing medicine, science, sociology, history, education, law, philosophy, politics, music, sports, literature and the arts. In the field of early childhood, we recognize and lift up the many black home-based child care providers around this country, past and present continuing the African cultural tradition of community care, leading the way with culturally relevant pedagogy, nurturing child development, and radically standing in the gap for overlooked communities.
Of the over 5 million home-based child care providers, including Family Child Care providers and paid and unpaid Family Friend and Neighbor caregivers, roughly a quarter in each subgroup identify as Black Non-Hispanic (Mathematica, 2022). For generations, Black home-based child care providers have built systems of care rooted in community, trust, and resilience, often stepping in where formal systems fell short. Trusted caregiving, communities of care, and communal child rearing are all practices that emerged from West African cultural traditions and can be found in other cultural traditions as well. But for Black people in America, community care became an essential survival technique for people whose biological families were fractured by slavery, the Jim Crow era, and poverty caused by enduring systems of structural racism (Patricia Hill Collins: Reconceiving Motherhood 2014). The history of home-based child care in America is complex, intersecting with the painful legacy of American chattel slavery and the exploitation of domestic labor, particularly that of women of color (Lloyd et al., 2021). Yet, Black women have since transformed this history of forced labor into essential, mission-driven care work that serves our communities and is deeply rooted in rich cultural traditions passed down across generations. Their work has sustained families through economic shifts, policy changes, and structural inequities, while continuing to nurture children and strengthen neighborhoods. At a time when federal policies are creating uncertainty for many early childhood programs across the United States, it is especially important to recognize the enduring leadership of Black home-based child care providers. —“Out from the gloomy past, ‘Til now we stand at last where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.”
Lift Every Voice and Sing, when set to music, is played and sung in 6/8 tempo, often described by musicians as a gallop or march. And though the second verse takes on a somber note in honor of the difficulty of the journey, the human costs and the sacrifices along the way, this deliberate, forward-marching rhythm underscores the persistence needed to realize a brighter future. This February, we honor the unwavering commitment of Black home-based child care providers. They have anchored families and communities for centuries, and their enduring inspiration drives us forward in our work for a brighter collective future.
