As most of you are aware, Joseph Wheeler III’s historic Onyxcon convention was held in Atlanta last weekend. Joseph invited me to attend, but that wasn’t possible. In my absence, I wrote a short speech and asked my good friend Milton Davis, who attended the convention, to deliver it for me. Milton was gracious enough to do so, and I thought I’d share the speech with BSFS. Here it is:How many times have people gone someplace they’ve always wanted to go to, and sent postcards saying: “Having a great time. Wish you were here.” Probably more times than even a supercomputer could count. Of course, this is not a postcard. But I do wish I were here with you now.I am honored that my friend Milton Davis has agreed to read these words I want to share with you despite my absence.When I began to attend SF conventions during the 1970s, I would never have imagined that a gathering such as this one would be waiting in the future. It seemed about as likely as a black man becoming President.At most of those conventions, the only black face in the crowd was mine. I would see people walking around in fantastical costumes, faces painted green, blue and purple, with horns or antennae glued to their foreheads – but sometimes, I’d get the feeling that I was the alien.Don’t get me wrong, now. I always felt welcome at those cons, and I never experienced any racial profiling. Nobody ever asked me to carry their bags to their hotel room. When I began to make a name for myself with my Imaro stories, I received recognition at the conventions, and made many friends among con-goers and fellow authors.Yet for all that, something was missing. It was like being accepted into an adoptive family, but still wondering where the other family is.I wondered for a long time. I’m not wondering anymore, though, because now I know that other family is right here.For decades, blacks were for the most part restricted to the peripheries of the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres: mostly left out, or portrayed primarily as stereotypical caricatures on the rare occasions in which they were included. There were exceptions, but those exceptions did not disprove the rule.Slowly but surely, that situation has changed. Just as Rosa Parks showed us that we don’t have to be at the back of the bus, Lieutenant Uhura showed us that we don’t have to be at the back of the spaceship. Now, we’re taking ownership of the genres that entertain us, and no longer exclude us.No longer are we only occasional visitors to the houses of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Now, those are our houses. Not only that; we’ve made them our home, and we don’t need to show ID to prove we belong there.I would not have felt like an alien here at Onyxcon. I would have felt at home.All praise to Brother Joseph Wheeler III and his colleagues for making this significant and historic event a reality. I regret that circumstances prevent me from attending, but I am definitely here in spirit and soul.Peace, power and love from your friend and brother, Charles “Imaro” Saunders.
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