Urban Core in Jacksonville in Duval County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

James Weldon Johnson

Writer, Educator, Diplomat, Lawyer and Civil Rights Advocate

— Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park —

James Weldon Johnson Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Stephen Thomas White, July 3, 2026

1. James Weldon Johnson Marker

Inscription.

"Nothing I have done has paid me back so fully in satisfaction as being part creator of Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing. I am always thrilled deeply when I hear it sung by Negro children. I am lifted up on their voices, and I am also carried back and enabled to live through again the exquisite emotions I felt at the birth of the song."
— James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was an internationally famous songwriter, author, poet, diplomat, and civil rights activist. He was born on this site on June 17, 1871. His early life was strongly influenced by his mother, Helen Louise Johnson, an educator and a musician, and his father, James Johnson, a preacher. He attended the Stanton Institute in LaVilla and then Atlanta University. After graduating in 1894, he returned to Jacksonville to teach at Stanton and became the principal. In 1898, he became the First African-American in Florida to pass the state bar exam to become a licensed attorney.

Johnson moved to New York City with his brother, J. Rosamond, after Jacksonville's Great Fire of 1901. The brothers had great songwriting success in a twelve-year partnership

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

with Bob Cole. The brothers' most famous song, "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," was adopted by the NAACP as the Negro National Anthem in 1919. While in New York, he became involved in politics. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him as a diplomat to Venezuela and Nicaragua in 1906. When Johnson returned to New York in 1916, he worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) where he campaigned for anti-lynching laws and fought for civil rights for African Americans. He served as the executive secretary for a decade until 1930.

Johnson was the first Black professor at New York University and also taught creative writing at Fisk University. As a writer he published "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man" in 1912, an anthology he edited, "The Book of American Negro Poetry" in 1922, and his own poetry, "God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse" in 1927. He was married to Grace Nail Johnson for 18 years. Johnson died in an automobile accident in 1938 and is buried in New York.
[Captions:]
James Weldon Johnson's portrait at Atlanta University. | Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

James Weldon Johnson in 1904. | Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

James Weldon Johnson married Grace Nail In 1910. | Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

James Weldon Johnson, Principal, with students at the Stanton Institute, circa 1900. | Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Paul Lawrence Dunbar and James Weldon Johnson in St. Augustine in 1901. A famed poet, Dunbar lived with the Johnson family on this site for six weeks. | Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Marker Legend
Yellow: Black National Anthem
Red: The Johnson Family
Light Blue: J. Rosamond Johnson
Dark Blue: James Weldon Johnson
Pink: Shotgun Homes

Erected by City

Photographed by Stephen Thomas White, July 3, 2026

2. James Weldon Johnson Marker

of Jacksonville.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Civil Rights • Entertainment. A significant historical year for this entry is 1900.

Location. 30° 19.799′ N, 81° 40.217′ W. Marker is in Jacksonville, Florida, in Duval County. It is in Urban Core. It is at the intersection of Houston Street and North Lee Street, on the right when traveling west on Houston Street. The marker is located within Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 120 N Lee St, Jacksonville FL 32204, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in First Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within

Paid Advertisement

walking distance of this marker: J. Rosamond Johnson (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named James Weldon Johnson (a few steps from this marker); John Rosamond Johnson (a few steps from this marker); Shotgun Homes (within shouting distance of this marker); The Black National Anthem: "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" (within shouting distance of this marker); Fort Hatch (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Line of Intrenchments (about 700 feet away); Old Brewster Hospital (about 800 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Jacksonville.

Also see . . . About James Weldon Johnson. (Submitted on September 29, 2026, by Stephen Thomas White of Norfolk, Virginia.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 14, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 29, 2026, by Stephen Thomas White of Norfolk, Virginia. This page has been viewed 13 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 29, 2026, by Stephen Thomas White of Norfolk, Virginia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.