Volume 2 explores the contemporary manifestations of the tradition (1980s and 1990s) as developed by artists who came of age during and after the crucible civil rights struggles and social change. While also grounded in African American folklore, these artists have produced increasingly complex, ambitious, and public art intimately engaged with the signal problems and issues of postmodern American society and the challenges facing African Americans in particular. As expressed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "[Souls Grown Deep's] most crucial accomplishment is that it encourages the reader to extrapolate a new path for art in general...this promises a future for art rescued from both the market and the academy, and anchored in the renewed creativity of life."