The Hum: Call and Response in African American Preaching

by Evans E. Crawford

In The Call and Response in African Preaching , Evans E. Crawford, with Thomas H. Troeger, relates his analysis of African American folk preaching by relying upon an indigenous scheme for evaluation. The call/response tension in black preaching (derived from a West African tradition) is what drives the musicality of speech in black churches. Crawford refers to this musicality as "hum thoughts" and one can imagine the choir responding with a low rumbling hum to the musical intonations of a motivated preacher.

Key a new volume in the Abingdon Preacher's Library, edited by Thomas H. Troeger; a different approach to preaching, firmly rooted in the black experience; leads the reader to understand preaching as an oral event; uses the term "homiletical musicality" to describe the musical understanding of the way sermons are heard and the oral response they awaken in the listener; and, coins new phrases for describing the preaching event.

108 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

Reviews

[Simon Wiebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das kleine Büchlein von Crawford führt gut in westafrikanische Kultur des Call-and-Response ein. Fand das Buch sehr lesenswert.

[Scott Masters · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read reminding that Homiletics is the art of making a sermon present artfully and almost musically

(CS214W-Homelitics/Practice of Preaching)

[Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes you through a beautiful journey to show the essence of preaching in the African American tradition.

[Debora Hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was studying theology for my M. Div. around 1998. If you preach particularly in Black churches, you definitely need to read this! Great insight!