Actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph helped kick off Super Bowl LVII on Sunday night with a song that is known by many as the “Black national anthem.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Community leaders broke ground Wednesday on a new city park in the historic LaVilla neighborhood. It’s located on property that was the birthplace of brothers James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson, authors of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” which is considered the Black national anthem. Park renderings show the park (see below), on Lee Street two blocks north of the Prime Osborn Convention Center, will eventually have gardens, statues and markers. Ad“LaVilla is a beautiful historic neighborhood that needs a lot of investment on its own, and every great neighborhood needs an investment in public spaces,” said Jake Gordon, CEO of Downtown Vision. An artist's rendering of the Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park released last year by the city of Jacksonville.

Thursday, plans were unveiled for the Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park. An artist's rendering of the Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park which was unveiled by the City of Jacksonville on Thursday. The brothers wrote and composed the iconic song, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” in that home. Moving the home to the park site will be one of the first phases of the project’s development. On Oct. 13, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund will have a virtual community town hall for anyone who wants to learn more about design plans for Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park.