Culture throughlines : values, visions, and transformation - African American music, American culture, and society / edited by William Banfield.

"What are the connective tissues that make human narratives thread and relate; values, heritage expressions, and how these define and sustain people. As a research associate with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (CFCH), the editor's work focuses on what he identifies as cultural throughlines, delineating the ways in which contemporary artistry, new works and creative methods, can better be appreciated and seen as "tri vision tradition"( then, now and when) as they harken back and tie into critical cultural linkages from our past which suggests our future. While that's not so new, what is new is the social languages, platforms, movements and the fluidity today, necessitating discussions which anticipates ever changing cultural shifts. So you don't end up having a stationary praxis but a dialogue about cultural practices. It's always about living, how we do culture, what it is and means and why. Then it moves to more basic questions about what we as artists care about, what we value( identity, creative voice, survival), how do we get there, and the final question is, what do the everyday people value and care about? To have a collection of ideas from creative thinkers on the role of arts and ideas that define and carry societal value is important work. Because we consider life a gift, and so the work people put forward to continually transform our time and celebrate the gifts in life can make a difference in the ways we actually live"-- Provided by publisher.