Ytasha L. Womack

2014 Locus Awards Finalist, Nonfiction Category In this hip, accessible primer to the music, literature, and art of Afrofuturism, author Ytasha Womack introduces readers to the burgeoning community of artists creating Afrofuturist works, the innovators from the past, and the wide range of subjects they explore. From the sci-fi literature of Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and N. K. Jemisin to the musical cosmos of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, to the visual and multimedia artists inspired by African Dogon myths and Egyptian deities, the book's topics range from the "alien" experience of blacks in America to the "wake up" cry that peppers sci-fi literature, sermons, and activism. With a twofold aim to entertain and enlighten, Afrofuturists strive to break down racial, ethnic, and social limitations to empower and free individuals to be themselves.

The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture

Afrofuturism

Steven Shaviro

Kodwo Eshun

Roy Christopher

Rasheeda Phillips

Hip-Hop, Time, and Afrofuturism

Boogie down Predictions

Year 2198: Planet Hope's Teleportation program has crash-landed Eartha and the Neo Astronaut crew on the home of their ancestors and her namesake. But the mind powers that got them to this unfamiliar world can't get them back and Eartha must fight her way out of the galaxy to get home to her young son, Delta. A daughter of Shogun City, Eartha is warrior trained. However, the solar system's galactic police prevent anyone from going beyond Pluto. Battling forces determined to deem Planet Hope a farce, Eartha fears she must rely on her burgeoning Dream Sage powers, the very powers she vowed never to use again...the very powers that could keep her lost in the dream forever. Discover the adventure of one of Planet Hope's greatest Neo Astronauts before the rise of Rayla.

Eartha 2198

Highlighting certain socioeconomic and cultural trends, this exploration discloses the new dynamics shaping contemporary lives of African Americans. Using information from conversations with mavericks within black communities such as entrepreneurs, artists, scholars, and activists as well as members of both the working and upper classes this powerful examination gives voice to what the author have deemed post black approaches to business, lifestyles, and religion that are nowhere else reflected as part of black life. The argument states that this new, complex black identity is strikingly different from the images handed down from previous generations and offers new examples of behavior, such as those shown by President Obama, gays and lesbians, young professionals, and black Buddhists. Contending that this new generation feels as unwelcome in traditional churches as in hip-hop clubs, this dynamic provocation dispels myths about current, popular black identity.

How a New Generation Is Redefining African American Identity

Post Black

Ytasha L. Womack

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