Originally published for BLAC Magazine August 1, 2018. Updated April 2023.

OUR TOUR GUIDES

• Efe Bes, musician
• adrienne maree brown, writer
  (Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds)
• Zig Zag Claybourne, writer
  (The Brothers Jetstream: Leviathan, Historical Inaccuracies)
• Bryce Detroit, music producer
• Ingrid LaFleur, founder of Afrotopia
• Jasmine Murrell, artist
• Numi Or, activist, founder of Afrofuture Youth
• Reuben Telushkin, artist

A Beginners Guide

The term “science fiction” was attributed to Hugo Gernsback in the 1920s and was designed to not only entertain but to play within the possibilities of speculation about the future, always with a foundational foothold in the present. However, the genre had rarely included black people. For many, the appearance of Star Trek’s Uhura (played by Nichelle Nichols) on the bridge of the Enterprise was a shock to the black senses, given that the census has always played its hand against African-Americans in space, and by extension, a future encompassing them.

Cultural critic Mark Dery coined the phrase “Afrofuturism” in his 1993 essay, “Black to the Future.” The subculture had been evolving over time and it didn’t matter that it had come from a white man; blacks embraced it. From Sun Ra’s “Space is the Place” to Parliament Funkadelic’s “electric” Mothership to Janelle Monáe’s android aesthetic, Solange’s sun dial headdress, and Black Panther’s technologically-driven Wakanda, the Afrofuturist vision has been moving from the outskirts of abstraction to the comforts of the mainstream.

By combining traditional African symbolism with futuristic ideas about technology and society, Afrofuturism offers a unique perspective on race relations today while providing insight into the future.

What Is Afrofuturism?

Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science and technology, and a movement combining African diaspora culture elements with science fiction, fantasy, and technology. 

Afrofuturism has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its ability to capture complex issues surrounding race while providing hope for change through artistry. Its focus on speculative fiction allows us to reimagine our world free from oppressive systems so we can envision solutions that move us closer to liberation rather than further away from it.

Utilizing sci-fi tropes like space exploration or robots also gives us a way to think outside the box when tackling systemic racism head-on while still creating something beautiful out of our pain. This movement allows us to envision beyond our current situation while preserving every part of ourselves.

This exploration has helped shape our understanding of race relations throughout history and how we envision a more equitable future for Black people. 

Originatation

Tracing back its roots, Afrofuturism can be found in works like:

• Octavia Butler’s 1979 novel Kindred delved into slavery through time travel
• George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic collective, which meshed sci-fi motifs with funk music
• Sun Ra’s jazz ensemble, which blended futuristic sounds with traditional jazz instruments
• Jean-Michel Basquiat’s artworks featuring symbols from ancient Egypt

“For me, as an Afrofuturist I’m always wondering where are we going to be in the foreseeable future. For that reason, I want black bodies to be liberated and remain liberated. For an 85 percent black city – a majority of color – that has experienced economic injustice for generations, all of this matters.”

 – Ingrid LaFleur

“It hit me similar to the phraseology of hip-hop. Hip means to know, hop means the movement. Hip-hop put together means to ‘know the movement.’ For me, Afrofuturism is simply a term used to describe the ancestral culture and practice of defining one’s self based on ancestral identity in their present moment. It’s describing cats being ancestral in the present: I exist in the present based on the past and directly contribute to the future.”

– Bryce Detroit

“Afrofuturism isn’t solely ‘black folks doing black things, whether there’s tech involved or not.’ Is Afrofuturism utopian? Not necessarily. It could be. But at the very least it’s neighborly. ‘Afrofuturism’ is most valuable in question form, not canonized answer. I’ll quote this gem from friend and writer Asadullah Saed forever: ‘I love how science fiction interrogates tradition. If your future doesn’t interrogate the past, your future is useless.'”

 – Zig Zag Claybourne

“Sun Ra was my first introduction to Afrofuturism. Maybe 18 years ago. What it is to me is a way of fusing African tradition with where we currently are situated.”

– Efe Bes

“My shorthand is that it’s creative work from black people that claims a future for black people. It includes fiction, and fashion, music, technology, architecture, art, textiles, poetry … even political frameworks.”

– adrienne maree brown

“It’s a kind of conversation and a way of being that is beyond … I feel like it’s one of the few playgrounds where you don’t have to explain about the freedom of black bodies.”

 – Jasmine Murrell

“Afrofuturism is the assertion that black people exist in the future. It is a life-affirming ethos that black people have a future, which is sadly a radical concept.”

– Reuben Telushkin

“We think of space … we think of tech, but for me (Afrofuturism) is the reality we have yet to see for ourselves, right now at this moment. It goes beyond space and aesthetic. What have we only imagined for ourselves right now that impacts our daily lives?”

– Numi Or

What Themes Does Afrofuturism Explore?

Afrofuturist artists use their work to reimagine Black people’s place in history and imagine new possibilities for the future.

One key theme explored by Afrofuturists is identity, particularly how it relates to race and ethnicity.

Afrofuturist artists also explore themes such as:

• Race relations
• Alien abduction
• Time travel
• Dystopian societies
• Cyberpunk worlds
• Post-apocalyptic landscapes
• Colonialism
• Slavery
• Intergenerational trauma
• Spirituality and mysticism through rituals like voodoo or ancestor worshiping

Technology significantly impacts many Afrofuturist works, enabling the exploration of new opportunities for marginalized communities or disrupting oppressive systems like racism and sexism through creative applications of digital media.

Afrofuturism fuses ancestral wisdom with modern innovation, giving readers a glimpse of a world where the past and present are united. It draws upon various spiritual traditions across the African diaspora, such as voodoo practices, Caribbean religions, Yoruba mythology, and more.

THE VISION

“My responsibility is to teach people. In order to get gas, in order to eat, I’m literally supporting a system that I’m against. We have the opportunity to work beyond that, outside of that … and create our own ecosystem that does not produce harm. That is the true liberation. Creating an alternative government system – all it does at the end of the day is bring more power to the individual.”

– Ingrid LaFleur

“I feel like the biggest thing is people have forgotten who they are and really getting rid of this idea of being inferior. Once you know who you are, it’s a floodgate of information; Afrofuturism as a muse.”

– Jasmine Murrell

“Techno as an Afrofuture expression – that was folks in the 1980s deciding they were going to interject themselves in the future discourse of the time – via electronic music. We’re going to tweak instruments and we’re going to project the sound – into the future. Techno is an Afrofuturist expression.”

– Bryce Detroit

“So much of my work is shaping a future in which black people not just survive, but love with ease, pleasure and joy. I’m thinking a lot more on pleasure as an act of resistance and a measure of freedom, a rejection of narratives of oppression. I want us to imagine a concrete, vibrant and pleasurable black future!”

– adrienne maree brown

“At its simplest, imagination provides energy. Reminds us we are gods. Again, look at the response to Black Panther. Folks lost their righteous minds. Mine rolled under the sofa after it fell out my head. Art and representation create reality. There’s no way around that. They are powerful tools of control no matter how you cut it. I don’t want a future that tells me I’m still the supporting player. If art shows us how someone wants us to see ourselves, I’ll keep writing my quirky books about black heroes saving the world one last damn time.”

– Zig Zag Claybourne

“What I think should come next is every black African filmmaker make African culture a part of every film like the dominant culture does in all of its creations; we need African images to stimulate ancestral codes latent in us.”

 – Efe Bes

“When Janelle Monáe dropped Tightrope in 2008, she instantly became my hero. The genre has achieved so much acceptance over the last decade, and musical culture is largely the foundation of that.”

– Reuben Telushkin

“The beautiful thing about Afrofuturism is (that) your imagination can take you anywhere. It can be an act, it can be an organization, it can be a podcast, as long as it ties back into uplifting all aspects of black life.”

–  Numi Or

DETROIT’S FUTURE …

Detroit Afrofuturism: A Vision of Hope and Possibility

Local artists and writers continue to tap into the movement, creating works that challenge our assumptions about race, technology, and the environment. For example, the Black Quantum Futurism Collective (BQF) explores space-time manipulation via sound healing practices rooted in African diasporic traditions.

In a city that has seen its share of hardship, Afrofuturism offers a powerful vision of hope and possibility.

The genre has deep roots in Detroit, with pioneers like Drexciya and Carl Craig bringing cutting-edge electronic music to the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

Today, the philosophy is being put into practice by groups like the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, which is working to create a sustainable food system in a neighborhood that has long been neglected. 

Local artists and writers continue to tap into the movement, creating works that challenge our assumptions about race, technology, and the environment.

For example, Black Quantum Futurism Collective (BQF) explores space-time manipulation via sound healing practices rooted in African diasporic traditions.

The Future of Afrofuturism in Detroit

As Detroit’s Afrofuturism movement continues to grow, influential figures within the community share their thoughts on its influence, cultural significance, generational impact, and relation to the blackest city in the nation. For them, Afrofuturism is more than science fiction; it is a fact of black life, representing a diverse array of ideas and interpretations that stem from a common starting point.

Detroit’s Afrofuturism movement is a testament to the resilience and creativity of our city. By embracing their unique cultural identity and exploring futuristic possibilities, we are not only reimagining the future but also actively working to create a better, more inclusive world.

“When I was running for mayor, I proposed that Detroit create its own cryptocurrency. We could create a universal basic income so that we can tackle our poverty issue. I do not believe a human should live without the basic resources – food, shelter, clean water, fresh air, but capitalism tells us you’re supposed to pay for these things. You can never own land, you can never own air. Ancestrally, we’ve been told this many times. It (capitalism) excludes people, it creates inequities. I’m just staying on that path and working more and more to creating these alternative systems that I’m hoping will strengthen and provide prosperity for the black body.”

– Ingrid LaFleur

“Drive around this city. You’ll see art as an act of defiance. You’ll see art as beauty. Art made from scraps that reflect people moving toward better futures. The Charles Wright Museum will teach you about Afrofuturism because one of the tenets of Afrofuturistic thought is that the past and the future intertwine to become the present. Visit the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm to see the future as collective effort right before your eyes. In this city it’s practically impossible not to learn about Afrofuturism.”

– Zig Zag Claybourne

“Detroit is an expression of collective Afrofuturism already – many black people sowed this place through the concrete and ‘made a way out of no way,’ committed to each other more than any industry … I think the gardens, the art, the movement work, the technological advances like at Incite Focus. It’s an exciting time, even under all the gentrification.”

 –  adrienne maree brown

“People come to Detroit for some kind of transformation in their life. Afrofuturism is definitely a platform where all people can mingle – it’s a platform that is accessible for everyone. I’m really hopeful about it.”

– Jasmine Murrell

“Detroit has already been home to Afrofuturist ideas. We had to build and create in order to sustain life here. We’ve always been that ever since Detroit was that last stop on the Underground Railroad. We’ve been building the future since black folk came to this land and looked at it as a focal point for hope. We are already Afrofuturists. The high rate of murder of trans women, water shutoffs, food insecurity … we don’t have a choice but to co-create with each other to build the world we want to see.”

– Numi Or

“We should care about Afrofuturism as a conversation because in it, we are giving ourselves the chance to question the identities that were given to us, as well as the place in society that was projected on us. For those people who are looking for a way to have that conversation with themselves – we’ve got Afrofuturism.”

– Bryce Detroit

What Are Some Books, Movies, or Music That Have Themes of Afrofuturism?

Musicians such as Janelle Monae, Flying Lotus, and Thundercat have adopted the concepts of technology, freedom, and ingenuity into their sonic realms via Afrofuturism.

Film is another realm where Afrofuturism has left its imprint. The 2018 Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther” was an obvious example of this genre, depicting a fictional African nation untouched by colonialism and full of advanced technological wonders like vibranium suits and hovercrafts.

Other films like “Sorry To Bother You” (2018) explore how class divisions can be exacerbated when technology is introduced into society. “Get Out” (2017) uses horror tropes to examine racism in America today through an Afrofuturistic lens.

In literature, authors such as Nnedi Okorafor have crafted stories set in futuristic worlds populated by Black characters facing familiar challenges (racism) and aliens (space travel).

These works often draw upon traditional African mythology for inspiration while using science fiction elements to comment on current social issues people of color face worldwide.

Afrofuturism has become an increasingly popular genre in art and culture, exploring themes of identity, technology, spirituality, and social justice. It is a movement that celebrates the beauty of Blackness while challenging traditional ideas about race and power dynamics. Afrofuturism gives us a vision of potential futures if we use our ingenuity to conceive fresh chances for ourselves and those around us.