IANA Blog- February 2025

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Happy February and Happy Black History Month,

For this week, I wanted to talk about something that I have been a fan of for a while…

…Afrofuturism…

Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic/movement that uses futuristic and science fiction themes to explore the Black experience, Black history, Black culture and the African diaspora. Afrofuturism has also incorporated themes of fantasy, realism and alternate history. The term was first used in 1993 by cultural critic Mark Dery. 

During the first Friday in February, I got to go to an exhibit being held at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland. They were having an exhibit on Afrofuturism, featuring one of my favorite organizations in Oakland, AfroComicCon. During the event, there was a workshop that focused on Black Identity and how Afrofuturism can play a part in the life of Black people. We talked about how different music/musicians, different films, and different cartoons, comic books and novels play a huge part in Afrofuturism. Along with checking out other parts of the exhibit,  especially feeling like a kid and coloring Afrofuturism drawings. Thinking about it, it’s definitely important for Afrofuturism to be a part of Black identity, because of how they portrayed Black people in films, TV, etc. The media had Black people thinking we can’t be scientists or geniuses

The first time I experienced what would be considered Afrofuturism was when I was growing up, I’d listen to music from legendary funk artist George Clinton and his legendary funk music collective Parliament-Funkadelic. One of my favorite songs as a kid was “Atomic Dog.” From hearing it in TV shows and movies, to hearing it on the radio, to hearing that “Bow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yay”, it sounded so futuristic. Of course listening to other music from Parliament-Funkadelic like “Flash Light,” and “Not Just Knee Deep,” made me a fan, and seeing the way George Cliton and the band dressed was wild to me as a kid. Then seeing footage from their concerts back in the day and how they would end concerts by beaming up in the mothership, I’m just like, “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Another example of Afrofuturism for me was the legendary R&B band, Earth, Wind & Fire. Their clothes were at times futuristic as well. My favorite songs from EWF are “Let’s Groove,” and “Shining Star.” I remember actually watching their music video for the song. It was so creative, and colorful, and looked like they were in space.

I also noticed Afrofuturism in hip hop music. I grew up watching videos from hip hop artist Missy Elliott and hip hop duo OutKast. I also listened to music and watched music videos from R&B singers Solange and Janelle Monae. Their videos at times looked so futuristic and so “out of this world.”

Me being a fan of cartoons and comics, I also noticed a lot of Afrofuturism in cartoons and comics. There were the superheroes Static from “Static Shock,” Cyborg from “Teen Titans” and of course Eric “Blade” Brooks from “Blade,” the half man-half vampire. I remember watching the movie based on the comic book. It was badass watching Wesley Snipes portray Blade, watching him kick ass and watching him use some of the weapons.

Speaking of movies, I definitely saw it in movies as well. One great movie with afrofuturism is “Sankofa.” A movie from 1993, which I learned about while taking a class on Black films at Merritt College in Oakland. I learned how the director of the film, Haile Gerima, had trouble getting the film financed, so he paid for it and released it by himself. The film is about an African-American model who is unaware of African history and even claims to not be “African” to be transferred back in time to a plantation in the American South with other enslaved Africans. Definitely not trying to spoil the movie, but it’s a great movie to watch and I feel like it will connect Black Americans and others of the diaspora to their African roots, since the word “Sankofa,” in the Akan language of Ghana, means to look back to your past in order to progress into the future.

I can’t speak about Afrofuturism without bringing up “Black Panther.” Whether it be the comic book, or the film, there are so many gems and Afrofuturistic themes in “Black Panther.” I still remember the day the film came out in 2018. My friends went to watch the film at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland. The place was packed, everyone was going crazy from start to end. The film definitely has its flaws and criticisms, especially on the depiction of African culture, but that is a film I can still watch over and over. Seeing the merchandise, seeing the Black Panther-inspired clothes, seeing everybody make the “Wakanda Forever” pose was very special.

I’m also seeing a rise in Africanfuturism, especially in novels. I feel like Black Panther made it possible, but I’ve been seeing a rise in Afrofuturistic work. The term was first being used by Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor. She explained how Africanfuturism is a subcategory of science fiction deeply rooted in African culture and history. Seeing this new generation of authors like Okorafor, Toyi Onyebuchi, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Wole Talabi and others definitely has me excited, especially for the vision of Africa, even through science fiction.

As a fan, I’ll continue to be a fan of Afrofuturism. I hope that more Black kids get interested in it as well. One of my friends, DeliGod, a Graphic designer, author and hip hop artist has plenty of work that is afrofuturist. He doesn’t even refer to February as Black History Month. He refers to it as Black Future Month. Similar to the Sankofa symbol, he is looking forward instead of looking in the past. Here is some of DeliGod’s work if you’re interested.

https://www.instagram.com/deligod/?hl=en