Hymnary director Harry Plantinga added his perspective to an RNS piece by Adelle Banks in August 2018, speaking to the climate(s) in which hymns arise. Here's the pertinent section with Harry:

Harry Plantinga, director of Hymnary, a 10-year-old online index of hymnals, said the Hymn Society’s conference — held in St. Louis, where the Black Lives Matter movement developed — featured speakers including a Cuban hymn writer and the publisher of African-American hymnals whose songs speak to injustice in the Americas.