An Afro Futuristic 2024 and beyond..
A newsletter to discuss my ongoing practice and learning of Afro Futurism
While the 3rd year of the 2020’s was one of miraculous change and devastating losses, the fourth will represent something a bit more intentional and precise. I’m committed to using all of the skills, knowledge and education I’ve gained regarding critical thinking, speculative theory, black history to build a better future for myself and my family. I want to actively believe in myself, not just when I have accomplishments. This thinking has led me to be able to identify new parts of myself that I’d like to showcase and this newsletter will serve as vehicle to chronicle my journey with being happy and developing a sense of grace for myself. I’ve known for sometime that through critically looking at my past, I will gain a better understanding of my present, but now the question I ask is : “ What about my future? “
I come from a family that wasn’t big on planning for the future but moreso, preparing for the worst, an experience many black families can relate to. As I’ve matured into adulthood and started my own family, I’ve come to realize that there are distinct differences between planning and preparing. To plan requires the identification of all of the conditions of your present to better gauge how to think about your future, it’s something that’s in your control. While preparing is important for managing events that are out of your control. But what if I wanted to take this thinking a step further, what if I wanted to project a future? What does that take? How would I go about do it ?
These questions led me to where it always does- my imagination. So the intellectual overlord in my mind started to think about execution, then eventually realized without proper time management, I will not be able to make anything happen. And so, last year, I developed a strong interest in understanding my relationship with time. Either it be understanding my family’s historical record with promptness, my propensity to procrastinate with deadlines on the horizon or why I begin to become aggravated when someone asked me my location - I needed to understand how I respond with matters involving my personal time.
I stumbled on the concept of Chronopolitics, the study of the socio political aspects regarding time. How is time used as a tool ? Could it be used a weapon ? Who created the rules regarding time management? How are we rated in American culture when it comes to our ability to adhere to the rules of societal standards about time? Arguably, the most important question, is CPT (Colored People Time) a real thing?
My current search for self ultimately arrived at the concept of Afro Futurism. Not a new concept by any means, nor is it a new concept to me, but its application in my life as a practice instead of simply an “ aesthetic” or form of fiction is very new. To the keen eye, Afro Futurism could be found in all matters of art, science, technology and philosophy spanning human history.
From the 3000 year old mystery of Dogon people and the Sirius Star to one of the most prolific early twentieth century thinkers to the self proclaimed musical celestial god that pioneered the concept to the modern world, Afro Futurism has a history that continues to shape the future. Modern understandings of this concept acknowledges the long history of black people having to recreate, reorient and reclaim their identities after their abduction from their mother country. It takes into account their history of taking scraps of their present to refashion their lived in experience to survive and then thrive. At the start of this country, slaves had to learn a new language and rework it into songs that became codes for their survival and freedom. The years progressed, black people showcased their abilities in multiple other ways through future generations of inventors, writers, composers, scientists and leaders that contributed to both the cultural American zeitgeist and the construction of the nation.
This work is an ongoing practice that is at the root of Afro Futurism. If the practitioner can set their default thinking with these concepts at the forefront of their mind, they will be able to understand to how to innovate, utilize imagination and the power of belief as a tools under extreme circumstances.
Ultimately, Afro Futurism is a way to hold both the past and future in your present at the same time. A way to plot your future, examine and reflect upon your past to better engage your present.
To be an Afro Futurist, one must respect and value the perspective of the black experience.
Each week, I will publish a newsletter listing my favorite pieces of media, fiction, music and books that I consume and use Afro Futurism as a framework to review it. I am hoping that my readers will have the opportunity to learn a bit more about how to gear up for your their futures and together we can learn how to work up more diverse solutions to our current problems.