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Afrofuturism : a history of Black futures / edited by Kevin M. Strait, Kinshasha Holman Conwill ; foreword by Kevin Young ; contributions by Reynaldo Anderson [and 20 others] ; in association with the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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Smithsonian Books, 2023.

305.896073 A258

Fantastic, The.

Arts, Black -- United States.

Blacks in popular culture -- United States.

Blacks in popular culture.

9781588347404 (hc)

Alternate title:

History of Black futures

216 p. : ill. (chiefly color) ; 29 cm.

Published as a companion volume to the exhibition of the same name at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, from March 24, 2023 to March 24, 2024. -- From museum's website.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-206) and index.

Foreword / Kevin Young -- Introduction / Kevin M. Strait -- Afrofuturism as space and being / Ytasha L. Womack -- Interstellar / Tiffany E. Barber -- Black women change the face of spaceflight / Matthew Shindell -- I came to Africa on a spaceship / Ytasha L. Womack -- Notes from the cosmic underground: a history of the Afrofuturist movement and the changing world order / Reynaldo Anderson -- We are the stars: Black speculative narratives and the history of the future / John Jennings -- W.E.B. Du Bois: documenting the present, reinterpreting the past, and imagining the future / William S. Pretzer -- There's a reason / N. K. Jemisin -- Dialogues in space: Octavia Butler and Samuel Delany / Herb Boyd -- Black Panther: an escape to Utopia / Herb Boyd -- Black joy as resistance / Ariana Curtis -- Dreams rush to meet me: Afrofuturist looks and looking / Eve L. Ewing -- Transforming the future through dress, fashion, and costume / Elaine Nichols -- Afrofuturistic art / Tuliza Fleming -- Rendering Black futures / Michelle Joan Wilkinson -- On the third great day: Black artistry, activism, and community in the web3 future / De Nichols -- Just look over your shoulder: the music of Afrofuturism / Mark Anthony Neal -- The Nubians of Plutonia: ancient futures in the music of Sun Ra / Steven Lewis -- Afrofuturism: a design for living / Nona Hendryx -- The gendered contours of Afrofuturism / Angela Tate -- Sonic spaces: excerpts from an interview with Vernon Reid -- Afterword / Alondra Nelson.

"This timely and gorgeously illustrated companion book to a Smithsonian exhibition explores the power of Afrofuturism to reclaim the past and reimagine Black futures. A History of Black Futures explores the evolving and exhilarating concept of Afrofuturism, a lens used to imagine a more empowering future for the Black community through music, art, and speculative fiction. Sumptuous, beautifully designed spreads feature 100 gorgeous illustrations of objects and images that reflect Black identity, agency, creativity, and hope, T’Challa’s suit from Black Panther, Octavia Butler’s typewriter, Uhura’s outfit from Star Trek, Sun Ra’s space harp, costumes from Broadway’s The Wiz, handwritten lyrics by Jimi Hendrix, and Janelle Monae’s ArchAndroid dress. Chapters include essays from a diverse group of scholars who reflect on themes such as legacy, alienation, and activism, with profiles on influential people and objects: Foreword & Introduction: Provides background on Afrofuturism ; Chapter 1 - Space is the Place: Reflects on space and its defining connection to Afrofuturism and its African cultural legacy ; Chapter 2 - Speculative Worlds: Explores short stories, Black speculative fiction and sci-fi, comics, and Black superheroes as bastions of Afrofuturist expression ; Chapter 3 - Visualizing Afrofuturism: Analyzes the vast visual culture of Afrofuturism ; Chapter 4 - Musical Futures: Explores Afrofuturism and music ; Afterword. Afrofuturism offers a framework of radical potential to envision Black liberation and alternatives to oppressive structures like white supremacy. Afrofuturism comes at a time of increasing visibility for the concept, both in scholarship and in pop culture, and is a compelling ode to the revolutionary power of Black imagination."--Publisher.

Strait, Kevin Michael Angelo.

Conwill, Kinshasha.

National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.)

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