What is Afrofuturism and Why We need more of it
Ask anyone, black or not, to define Afrofuturism, and you’re likely to get a different answer each time. The obvious answer is something that blends futuristic elements with an African experience. Maybe the first thing that comes to mind is Black Panther—its blending of specific African cultural aspects against a futuristic society thriving off a supernatural energy source. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Black Panther Vol.2 Issues 1-4
Scan from DeathLok 1990-1994. This panel references Afrofuturist Writer W.E.B Dubois’ notion of “Double consciousness”
Afrofuturism is a genre that draws on fantastical elements to explore the history of the African diaspora while imagining a technologically advanced, alternative universe, but its not simply limited to that either, its an aesthetic,a lifestyle and a philosophy. According to Carvell Wallace, writing for the New York Times Magazine, “Afrofuturism isn’t just the idea that black people will exist in the future, will use technology and science, will travel deep into space. It is the idea that we will have won the future.”
Album artworks from Afrofuturist music group Parliament-Funkadellic
To understand Afrofuturism, you need to look both backward and forward. It’s about examining the past and dealing with unresolved issues around race and identity, while simultaneously envisioning a future where these issues are addressed and transcended. It’s a term for this latest iteration of black speculative culture, coined in 1993 by cultural theorist Mark Dery in his essay Black to the Future. Dery used it to describe the trends of science fiction production and other modes of Afrocentric techno-culture emerging alongside the growth of the internet.
Cosmic Underground: A Grimoire of Black Speculative Discontent (San Francisco: Cedar Grove Publishing, 2018)
Afrofuturism seeks to answer the questions: “Will black people make it to the future?” and “What will we be in that future?” It’s not just about survival but about envisioning and creating a future where black culture, technology, and identity thrive. Pioneers like Sun Ra, the jazz musician who claimed to be from Saturn and whose work is a foundational pillar of Afrofuturism, and Octavia Butler, whose science fiction novels explore themes of race, gender, and power, have long been torchbearers for this movement. Their works imagine futures that are rich with possibility and grounded in the black experience.
Octavia Butlet, “Survivor “
The term “Afrofuturism” is vast and multifaceted, lacking a single, agreed-upon definition among scholars and enthusiasts. It weaves together the past, present, and future with themes that merge tradition and modernity, reflecting the everyday experiences of black individuals in nuanced ways. Afrofuturism spans numerous subgenres, such as black “horror noire” and “Afrosurrealism,” the latter of which utilizes elements of fantasy and horror to examine historical and contemporary issues related to racial and social identity.
Works by Kenyan artist Cyrus Kabiru who uses found objects in his creation of Afrofuturistic sunglasses
In recent years, Afrofuturism has found new expressions in mainstream media. Jordan Peele’s Get Out uses horror to dissect racial tensions and the black experience in America, while Donald Glover’s Atlanta blurs the lines between reality and surrealism, offering a unique narrative that is both grounded in the everyday and strikingly speculative.
Sunken Place scene from Jordan Peele’s “Get Out”
As an aesthetic and philosophy that places the black experience at the center of speculative art, Afrofuturism is everywhere. Almost any black take on something remotely fantastical has been thrust under its banner. Artists like Missy Elliot, FKA Twigs, Outkast, Janelle Monet and Solange produce quite often under the aesthetic realm of afrofuturism.
Afrofuturism seeks to answer the questions: “Will black people make it to the future?” and “What will we be in that future?” It’s not just about survival but about envisioning and creating a future where black culture, technology, and identity thrive. It’s about imagining black people not just existing in the future but owning it, shaping it, and defining it on their terms.
Works by Central Saint Martins Designer Yaku, who’s collections take inspiration from Afrofutuism
Black Kirby Presents: In Search of the Motherboxx Connection (Buffalo, NY : Black Kirby Collective in association with Eye Trauma Studio, J2D2, Urban Kreep Enterprises and Trimekka Studios, 2013) via MET MUSEUM
Afrofuturist stories don’t always have happy endings. They use speculative fiction to work through issues around race and the technologies of race. Does any story have to have a happy ending? Just because “future” is part of “Afrofuturism” doesn’t mean black people have any illusions that the future will be free of struggle.
Afrofuturism provides a powerful platform for storytelling, cultural expression, and visionary thinking. It’s a tool for reimagining a future that’s inclusive, and diverse, And that’s why we need more of it. Not just for the sake of representation, but for the sake of innovation, inspiration, and the boundless possibilities it offers.
