Events

Afrofuturism and the Black Speculative Arts
A Three-Part Virtual Series, 2nd Sundays, 2 pm (PST)
October – December 2020
Panelists Include:
Afrofuturists
Samuel Delany, Ishmael Reed, Sheree Renée Thomas, Reynaldo Anderson
Moderated by Darrell Stover
FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Streaming Live on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram

Afrofuturism has been described as intersectional, non-linear, fluid, and a blending of the future, the past, and the present to create a mystical union of Blackness itself. It ventures into the territory of dimensional and interdimensional realities existing within and around what we assume to be reality. This 3-part series on Afrofuturism asks that you suspend your concepts of Blackness so that we may explore the very essence of Blackness itself. We are on a journey discovering the myriad of ways that those of African descent nurture and artistically express themselves.

The Afrofuturism and Black Speculative Arts virtual series takes place on October 11, November 8, and December 13, the second Sundays of each month at 2pm (PST), 3pm (MT), 4pm (CST), and 5pm (EST).The October and November portions of the series are roundtable discussions, while the December program is the reading of poetry of an Afrofuturist immersion and is curated. The participants represent cultural and literary ambassadors discussing their work and what it means to be an Afrofuturist as well as how the Black Speculative Arts are showcased throughout the African Diaspora.

To register in advance for this program, please click onto: https://bit.ly/30fthgf. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Cultural historian, science communicator, and performance poet Darrell Stover will moderate the Sunday, October 11th panel with Ishmael Reed, author of Mumbo Jumbo which scholars have described as Afrofuturistic because of the synchronization of hoodoo tropes and technology which contributes to its unique form; and Sheree Renée Thomas, the editor of the Dark Matter anthology (2000), in which major African-American writers of science-fiction and fantasy are showcased from W.E.B. Dubois to Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler and beyond, and Nine Bar Blues - Stories from an Ancient Future (2020); and Reynaldo Anderson, the editor of Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro-Blackness (2017). Anderson’s more recent books include Cosmic Underground - A Grimoire of Black Speculative Discontent (2018 as edited with John Jennings) and Black Speculative Arts Movement - Black Futurity, Art + Design (2019); and Kinitra Brooks, author of Searching for Sycorax: Black Women’s Hauntings of Contemporary Horror (2017), and the editor of The Lemonade Reader: Beyoncé, Black Feminism and Spirituality.
The November 8th program will include Samuel Delany, the winner of four Nebula awards and two Hugo Awards for his excellence in Science Fiction. Delany was inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2002. Delany is the author of memoirs, literary criticism, and fiction including Captives of the Flame (1963), Dhalgren (1973), Starboard Wine (1984), and Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders (2012); and afrofuturist and rheumatologist Glenn Parris whose novel Dragon’s Heir will be republished by Outland Entertainment in 2021; and Eugene Redmond, the Poet Laureate of East St. Louis, an academic, and the editor of Knees of a Natural Man: The Selected Poetry of Henry Dumas (October 2020); and Hope Wabuke, a poet, writer, and assistant professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who writes literary and cultural criticism for NPR; and Avotcja, the award-winning Poet & multi-instrumentalist who has opened for Betty Carter in New York City and uses Afrofuturistic themes in her writings and performances; and Dr. Ayana Jamieson, the founder of the Octavia E. Butler Legacy Network to preserve and promote research and scholarship on one of the preeminent science fiction and fantasy writers of the 20th century; and finally, Dr. Grace Gipson. a Black future feminist/pop culture scholar whose research explores Black popular culture, digital humanities, representations of race and gender within comic books, Afrofuturism, and race and new media.

The 3-part series will end with a curated Afrofuturistic poetry reading on December 13 at 2 pm (PST). Poets reading include Ayodele Nzinga, devorah major, Eugene Redmond, Darrell Stover, Michael Warr, Avotcja, Lenard Moore, Ishmael Reed, Staajabuz, Glenn Parris, and C. Liegh McInnis with Kim McMillon as moderator.

The 3-part series will be streamed on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, and can be viewed on www.drkimmcmillon.com. If you would like more information on the program and authors, please contact Kim McMillon at kimmac@pacbell.net.