In popular culture, Afrofuturism is best known by its sci-fi imagery depicting the African Diaspora utilizing technology as a tool of empowerment; or an imagining that employs other worldly environments to emphasize the Alien-nation popularized by the work of Sun-Ra. Maybe many entered the world of Afrofutrism through the gateway located in Wakanda? In whatever ways you have come to this place where African diasporic culture meets at the crossroad of speculation, one central question must have crossed your mind: how can I create this future I see so vividly depicted by many but well understood by few?
This guiding question is at the center of our meditation: How can we create the Afro Future? It is a deceptively simple question I would hear asked by community members looking for themselves in an uncertain world. Certainly, the concepts being popularized through the works of Afrofuturist artists are not new. Somehow though, through our radical imagining they are being felt in new ways. It is my understanding that this radical imagining of Blackness in the future cannot be what it is intended to be without the full participation of everyone searching for a world outside of the one we are presented everyday. A world where Blackness can grow in creativity and peace; a world where the focus of our lives is centered in practices that encourage innovation without requiring assimilation.
Ah! but therein lies the rub! (a phrase that means: that's where the problem is). How do we imagine a world of peace when we do not exist in peaceful times? How do we utilize our culture when, through assimilation we forget what that culture looked liked? How does the African Diasporic community participate in the innovation industry when we are locked out of innovation and creative practices at every turn? So often it feels like these questions are overwhelming, especially for those who wish to use the creativity of Afrofuturism in their live, whether it be through homeschooling, organizing, community outreach, or artistic practice.
If these question resonate deep within you, then I want you to breathe. Breathe deeply. Breathe again and know we got this.
Now, join me, as I meditate on all the ways we can use our imagination and creativity to design the future.
I look forward to what we create.
