Presenter(s):
Tobias Buckell

Cost:
Free

Event Description:

AWESOMENESS NOMINEE!

At the intersection of race, social justice, and the future, join best-selling science fiction author Tobias Buckell in this provocative conversation.

Black Panther. Parliament-Funkadelic. Octavia E. Butler. Janelle Monae. Afrofuturism is the reimagining of a future filled with arts, science, and technology seen through a black cultural lens. It’s an all-encompassing arts movement, including literary, film, music, visual arts, and fashion that allows us to discuss matters of race, gender, and social justice. It critiques the present as well as model possibilities for the future. Hear from Caribbean-born, US-based writer Tobias Buckell, author of Crystal Rain, Arctic Rising, and Halo: The Cole Protocol, and join in a community conversation where we use art, science, and faith to imagine a future together.

Parking lot and street parking available.

Walk-ins welcome. RSVPs encouraged by Nov. 8.

Presented by Maurice Broaddus and Kheprw Institute.

IndyGo: 38

Award of Awesomeness
Afrofuturism in Action is one of five events nominated for an Award of Awesomeness! These events use the arts, humanities, and/or religion in unique ways to explore the INTERSECTION theme and have the potential to be true standouts. The winner will receive a $1,000 prize that will be announced at the conclusion of the Public Conversation on Sunday, November 11 at the Indiana State Museum.

[Brought to you by donations by the Indiana Humanities and CICF. Catered by the phenomenal We Run This.]

 

[see also African Americans in Speculative Fiction – A Primer]

Mark Dery essay “Black to the Future” (1994) – coined the term “Afrofuturism”

BOOKS

Fiction

Tomi Adeyemi – Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha #1) (2018)

Steven Barnes – Lion’s Blood (2002), Zulu Heart (2003)

Jennifer Marie Brissett – Elysium (2014)

Tobias Buckell – Crystal Rain (2006)

Octavia Butler – Parable of the Sower (1993)

Bill Campbell – Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond (2013)

Samuel Delany – Aye and Gomorrah (1967), Dhalgren (1975)

Nicky Drayden – Prey of Gods (2017)

Tananarive Due – My Soul to Keep (1988)

Nalo Hopkinson – The Brown Girl in the Ring (1998), Midnight Robber (2000)

N.K. Jemisin – The Fifth Season (2015)

Walter Mosley – Futureland: Nine stories of an imminent future (2001)

Nnedi Okorafor – Who Fears Death (2010), Binti (2015), Binti: Home (2017), Binti: The Night Masquerade (2018)

Deji Bryce Olukotun – Nigerians in Space (2014)

Rasheedah Phillips – Recurrence Plot (2014)

Sun Ra – This Planet is Doomed (2011)

Nisi Shawl – Everfair (2016)

Rivers Solomon – An Unkindness of Ghosts (2017)

Sheree Renee Thomas – Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora (2000)

Colson Whitehead – The Underground Railroad (2016)

 

 

 

MUSIC

Sun Ra – “Space is the Place” (1973)

Parliament – “Mothership Connection” (1975)

Outkast – “Aquemeni” (1998)

Janelle Monae – “The ArchAndroid” (2010), “The Electric Lady” (2013), “Dirty Computer” (2018)

Drexciya – The Quest (1997)

Erykah Badu – Baduizm (1997)

Flying Lotus – 1983 (2006)

 

FILMS

The Brother from Another Planet (1984) – John Sayles

District 9 (2009) – Neill Blomkamp

PUMZI – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWMtgD9O6PU

INTERVIEW with Wanuri Kahiu – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlR7l_B86Fc

Wanuri Kahiu Ted Talk on Afrofuturism – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvxOLVaV2YY

Janelle Monae Dirty Computer Emotion Picture – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdH2Sy-BlNE

 

VISUAL ART

Jean-Michel Basquiat – Molasses

Antonio Lopez – fashion illustrations

Tim Fielder – graphic artist, “Black Metropolis” exhibit

Niama Safia Sandy – curated “Black Magic: Afro Pasts/Afrofutures” exhibit

King Britt – curated “Moondance: A Night in the Afrofuture” exhibit (2014)

Joshua Mays – Tells Stories in Murals

Lina Iris Viktor – A Rising Star

Rachel Stewart – jewelry maker

Ingrid Lafleur

 

Comic Books

Black (Kwanza Osajyefo)

Black Panther (Christopher Priest, Reginald Hudlin, Ta-Nehisi Coates)

Destroyer (Victor LaValle)

Milestone Comics (Icon, Static, Hardware, Blood Syndicate)

 

Non-Fiction

Afrofuturism: the World of Black Sci Fi and Fantasy Culture (2013) – Ytasha L. Womack

Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro Blackness (2015) – Alondra Nelson and Reynaldo Anderson

Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements (2015) – Adrienne Maree Brown and Walidah Imarisha

More Brilliant Than the Sun – Kodwo Eshun

The Sound of Culture: Diaspora and Black Technopoetics – Louis Chude-Sokei

Emergent Strategy – adrienne maree brown

Speculative Blackness: The Future of Race in Science Fiction – André M. Carrington

Black Quantum Futurism: Theory and Practice Vol. 1 – ed. Rasheedah Phillips

 

Misc Resources

Afrofuturism: 3 Women you need to Know

Tech and Afrofuturism on Robin Thede’s late night show The Rundown:

Pt. 1: https://youtu.be/BltqLsYnOgw

Pt. 2: https://youtu.be/jk0OV_ZIxvw

Mundane Afrofuturist Manifesto: http://martinesyms.com/the-mundane-afrofuturist-manifesto/

Aker: Futuristically Ancient – https://futuristicallyancient.com/

House of Future Sciences

This American Life – We are the Future

[I originally sent this to them privately, but I wanted to publicly thank them also]

First off, thank you so much for your time, your presence, your generosity, and your awesomeness. You have always been a role-model for me and I wanted to once again say how much I appreciate you. Things couldn’t have gone any better.

 

Second, the folks you were talking to were a mix of writers, fans, and community organizers. Your words continued to resonate that night. After Afrofuturism Friday, I led another workshop right now called “the Superhero workshop.” Basically me and a lady who was in attendance for your talk, lead a group of women in using story to work through issues of trauma (with the idea that most superheroes origin story are rooted in trauma). Your words kept coming back to her and we all ended up working until midnight exploring your methods of approaching stories by asking questions. And. We. Had. Such. Breakthroughs.

Thirdly, I meet with the founder of the Kheprw Institute every Saturday morning for coffee and our “sacred dialogue” (basically, we’re off the clock and talk about things other than the community organizing work). As a part of the work we’ve been doing, we’ve been dealing with gentrification issues and equity land use. As a part of the worldbuilding for the novel I’m working on, I asked him about what real equity could look like. He went on a rant about how we’ll never achieve equity, not with the systems we have in place, how we can only leaven its worse aspects, and so on. I looked at my elder and told him I was about to put on my Afrofuturist hat: if we were starting a colony on the moon, what could equity look like? He got this look in his eye, I recognize that look of a dreamer, and then he started to give me some scenarios. I say all this to remind us of how Afrofuturism creates a space of us to dream about possibilities. Even visionary leaders sometimes needs that permission to dream, if only to see where we could be.

So thank you again. Know that you have touched a lot of doers and movers in our city.

Peace and love,

Maurice

[Brought to you by donations by the Indiana Humanities and CICF. Catered by the phenomenal We Run This.]

Dear Patreon supporters,

Thank you so much for your patience. I’m not going to lie: I didn’t get the September stuff up due to preparing and being gone for the Writing Excuses Cruise (and I realize the weeping going on for me as I offer up teaching on a cruise as an excuse for non-production).

The month off has also allowed me to think through some changes I want to make to the Patreon. First off, in an attempt to make up for things, I’m declaring October “EXTRAS MONTH!”

-for those at the $1 level, it means extra pics of Ferb (and maybe me…on a beach…or something else equally productive).

-for those at the $5 level, there will be three blog posts this month (and at least two a month going forward)

-for those at the $5 and up levels, due to a special Afrofuturism Friday that I am doing in December, there will be a chapbook of several of my stories and a novelette produced that will be sent to you as a thank you.

-for those at the $10 level more chapters of the novel in progress. There may be a publishing date attached (assuming I get all the revisions done). So around next June, you will receive a copy of the finished product.

-for those at the $20 level, I’ve made the previous reports public on my blog:

Patreon Report: A Month in the Life

Patreon Report: A Month in the Life

-speaking, community work, writing update

 

Patreon Report: Afrofuturism Fridays

Patreon Report: Afrofuture Fridays

 

Patreon Report: One Week

-I was overdoing it, even for me

 

Patreon Report: Community Innovation Lab, Afrofuture Fridays, and More!

 

Patreon Report: 18-04-25

Patreon Report – 18-04-25

-more updates on the community innovation lab and Afrofuturism Fridays

 

More importantly, I’m adding a profile piece to the report. Each month I will include a write up of someone I work alongside with in the community development work. Plus updates on Afrofuturism Fridays, a Superhero Workshop, a Spirit & Place event, and a profile on Imhotep Adisa, founder of the Kheprw Institute.

And there may be other sneak peeks and previews this month. YOU. JUST. DON’T. KNOW.

As always, thank you for the support.

Maurice

I’m going to be an instructor at the Clarion workshop in 2019. I’m still pinching myself to make sure that I am not dreaming I’m a part of an amazing lineup including Carmen Machado, Karen Lord, Andy Duncan, and Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer. I’m of two minds: 1) it’s sorta surreal to be mentioned in the same sentence as so many writers I admire; and 2) SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! (a sample of the kind of quality professionalism and instruction you can expect)

[Learn more about the Clarion line up here.]

Dear students wanting to know where Mr. Broaddus was all week (not that you’d check Facebook because it’s for old people),

Just know that I was hard at work on a new book and preparing to teach about writing. Because I suffer for my art.

Our first stop was at NASA. Chilling with the Saturn V rocket. 60 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. You can’t appreciate the scale unless you can picture parking your car into one of the FIVE thrusters in the back.

Then I found myself in Roatan, going over my lesson/workshop plans when suddenly I was struck with writers block that I found a way to push through…#beachmassagesrule