In the introduction to her book on Sacred Harp singing, Miller begins by describing the background of this tradition, which seems to have begun in New England around the time of the Revolutionary War, but later found a home in the Appalachians and further south in the 19th century "singing school" movement. Sacred Harp has sometimes been known as a sort of "white spiritual," and this term persists as the genre is still very white-dominated; Miller explores some of the origins of this boundary as well as why it remains intact today, especially in areas that like to see themselves as post-racial. With the advent of recording technology and radio, as well as a "diaspora" of Sacred Harp singers out of the south, the tradition has continued with some changes. One current struggle exists around the idea of "authority" and who constitues a "traditional" singer - are only the singers who grow up in the southern Sacred Harp tradition the "authoritarians?"
Discussion question: We see here how a tradition can become more flexible over time. How can a tradition become less flexible in certain ways?
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