For roughly forty years, a concert titled “A Capitol Fourth” has been offered on the Capitol Grounds featuring the National Symphony Orchestra and assorted artists …
For roughly forty years, a concert titled “A Capitol Fourth” has been offered on the Capitol Grounds featuring the National Symphony Orchestra and assorted artists to celebrate Independence Day on July 4. This year, the concert will feature host Vanessa Williams, the first black woman to be named Miss America and later a Broadway and recording star, singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which is popularly known as the “Black National Anthem.” A Capitol Fourth was first televised in 1981 PBS station WETA,and has been televised by public broadcasting every year since. It is often the most widely-watched PBS show of the year. Williams told the Associated Press, “It’s in celebration of the wonderful opportunity that we now have to celebrate Juneteenth. So we are reflective of the times.” “Williams told the AP this week that she hopes the hymn will bring a sense of celebration following her performance at last year’s Independence Day show, where she sang ‘Not While I’m Around from the Stephen Sondheim musical ‘Sweeney Todd’ to express what she was feeling as the mother of a Black son in the weeks following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd,” The Hill reported.
