Pathways

There's a lot of imagery of pathways and roads in "Lift Every Voice and Sing." This imagery is used as a metaphor to indicate the very difficult times that African-Americans have had to live through in America. Just look at these instruments of torture used during slavery and you'll get an idea. The speakers suggest that African-Americans have come a long way on their journey to freedom (and away from those horrible instruments of torture), but they still have further to go.

• Line 11: The metaphor of the "stony road" evokes the very tough experience that African-Americans have had to contend with in America. A stony road isn't a fun road to walk on, after all. 
• Lines 15-16: The "weary feet" mentioned in these lines also suggest just how hard African-Americans' journey toward freedom has been. It's a tiring journey, but even so these lines suggest that African-Americans have come a long way. 
• Lines 17-18: In describing the "way" that African-Americans have followed as watered with "tears" and "blood," the speakers again emphasize the hardship that African-Americans have had to endure in America. African-American history is full of sorrow and bloodshed, and this image gives us a strong sense of just how violent and sorrowful that history is. 
• Line 27-28: In these lines, the speakers invoke God and ask Him to keep them "forever in the path." The speakers are following a "path" to freedom, and God is the guide who keeps them on that right path.