The State - News from March 13, 1988
Two NAACP chapters have demanded the ouster of Norton Air Force Base Commander Col. David A. Voight because he walked out of a black-sponsored dinner during the singing of the so-called Negro national anthem. Voight said he left the Feb. 27 dinner-dance after seeing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” written in 1901 by black leader James Weldon Johnson and originally performed to celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, billed on the program as the Negro national anthem. He said the title showed disrespect for the “Star Spangled Banner.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
