DANIEL MCCLOUD

When I was a kid, at 4 p.m. every Saturday, I made sure that I was in front of the television to watch one of my favorite shows of all time, Star Trek. So that we’re clear, I’m talking about the original Star Trek with Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy. It was also original in its approach to its diverse cast. In addition to the aforementioned iconic ensemble, the show was also known for showcasing a young African American actress named Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Nyota Uhura, who was the ship’s communications officer. And while the fact that an African American had such a prominent role during the 1960s was groundbreaking, it was particularly so in the science fiction genre. To that point, most roles held by African Americans revolved around stereotypical characters and, for Black women, domestic parts. So to see an intelligent, African American woman in a dignified position, light years in the future, was truly groundbreaking.

Now in the spirit of good science fiction, let’s utilize a space-time continuum to fast forward to 1993, where the term “Afrofuturism” was coined by Mark Dery in his 1993 essay titled ” Black to the Future.” In his article, Dery used this term to describe a new genre that allowed African Americans to address social justice issues by incorporating technology in a futuristic setting. It is a genre that debunks biases and stereotypes by presenting African Americans in a new light.

According to Ytasha L. Womack, an African American author, filmmaker, and futurist, Afrofuturism is a way of looking at the future and alternate realities through a Black cultural lens. This genre is viewed as a method of self-liberation or self-healing. It intersects the imagination, technology, Black culture, liberation, and mysticism. It bridges literature, music, visual arts, film, and dance. As a mode of self-healing and self-liberation, it’s the use of imagination that is most significant because it helps people to transform their circumstances. Imagining oneself in the future creates agency and it’s significant because historically people of African descent were not always incorporated into many of the storylines about the future.

The most famous examples of Afrofuturistic works include the novel “Kindred” by Octavia Butler, which has been adapted as a series, now showing on Hulu. In this novel, a young African-American writer, Dana, is transported back and forth between her Los Angeles home in 1976 and a pre-Civil War Maryland plantation, where she encounters her female ancestor and the White plantation owner that has impregnated her.

Each time Dana is transported back in time, she stays longer and is forced to deal with the harsh realities of slavery and the legacy of her interracial past. The novel also explores the intersection of power, gender, and race issues and speculates on the prospects of future equality.

Afrofuturism has also found its way to the big screen. As part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Black Panther franchise provided an intentional counternarrative to the notion that African civilizations are exclusively Third World, lacking the technology and intellect to survive in today’s society. And while the movie was based on a Marvel Comics creation, the Afrofuturism and symbolism were powerful and led to a reawakening and reimagining of Black people worldwide.

Such is the power of this genre. It allows African Americans to envision themselves in a future that before would have been impossible to conceive. In positions of power and influence as it relates to shaping the worldview. Nichelle Nichols died on July 30, 2022, but her legacy lives on through the Afrofuturistic genre. Undoubtedly, she would be proud of how what she did in the past helped shape our future.