Doing something because it was that way is trivial compared to doing something because it will make things better.
-Amos

I hear what you're saying, Amos. But I think that some people create because they like to stretch the boundaries of what is so that they can see what can be. Some people create because they value the act of creating as well as the product that is created. They don't necessarily see that product as an improvement on an older product.

With regard to heritage, I believe that African Americans as a people place a high value on innovation. Evidence of our innovation can be seen in how so much of our slang eventually becomes "standard" words & phrases, but even before mainstream society adopts our slang, we've moved on to new words & phrase. The same process is true of Black dance, music making, fashion, and more. Imo, one thing we [Black Americans] should do better at is valuing our past creations.

For instance, it may be true that a lot of late 20th century and early 21st century African Americans don't "like" Blues and Jazz music because those music forms became separated from dance {and African Americans, like Africans and other people from the African Diaspora consider singing and other forms of music making and dancing to be a unified whole}. However, I think another reason why so many Black Americans know so little and care even less about Blues and Jazz is because a lot of us consider these music forms to be "old timey". Related to this is the fact that some Blues and some Jazz reminds us of the bad old days. But it seems to me that we Black people would gain a great deal by continuing to be innovative and, at the same time, learn to treasure our past, including our past creations.