Political Presuppositions & Implicatures of the Most Popular African-American Hymns

This book presents a textual analysis of the three most popular hymns that have served as important political symbols to African-Americans for many years: (1) Lift Every Voice and Sing (the Negro National Anthem), (2) We Shall Overcome, and (3) Precious Lord, Take My Hand. The major questions probed in the present book are: (1) What salient political presuppositions and implicatures are imbedded in the three texts studied? (2) How can the delineated presuppositions and implicatures be explained? In exploring these questions, the systematic application of discovery procedures well-known in linguistic pragmatics will help to uncover propositions that will illuminate the texts examined for readers.