Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures ed. by Kevin M. Strait and Kinshasha Holman Conwill (review)

Reviewed by: Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures ed. by Kevin M. Strait and Kinshasha Holman Conwill Joy Sanchez-Taylor Buy It for the Pictures, Read It for the Knowledge. Kevin M. Strait and Kinshasha Holman Conwill, eds. Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures. Smithsonian, 2023. 216 pp. $29.95 hc. When I first learned about this project, a companion book for an exhibit of the same name currently on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, I was intrigued. Would this book be simply a record of the exhibit, a souvenir for the gift shop, or would it include additional information? Would it be useful for students? Once I saw the list of contributors, which includes Reynaldo Anderson, N.K. Jemisin, John Jennings, Alondra Nelson, Ytasha L.Womack, and Alisha B. Wormsley, among others, I knew I had to get a copy. In short, this book does not disappoint. Kevin M. Strait and Kinshasha Holman Conwill have curated a collection of essays from some of the leading creative and academic minds in the field of Afrofuturist studies. The essays are varied and accessibly written, and the accompanying color pictures make this book a must-have for students and anyone else interested in learning about Afrofuturism. Another benefit of museum collaboration is that this large hardcover text is affordably priced, which will be a huge benefit to educators who want to use the book in classes. The text is organized into four main sections: “Space is the Place,” “Speculative Worlds,” “Visualizing Afrofuturism,” and “Musical Futures.” Each section contains five or six mini-essays written by Afrofuturist scholars and creators with accompanying visuals. The format of the book is much like a textbook; although the essays do not include in-text citations, there is a [End Page 495] bibliography section at the end of the book with sources for each of the sections and recommended reading lists. The main theme of the book is Afrofuturism’s ability to bridge discussions of past, present, and future cultural histories to depict potential futures for African-American and Black diasporic peoples. Kevin M. Strait explains in the introduction that “As a conceptual framework, Afrofuturism enables authors, thinkers, artists, and activists to interpret the history of race and the nuances of Black cultural identity on their own terms. Reimagining the Black experience of the past provides new templates for reimagining Black futures to come—while also informing Black life in the present” (12). Most of the essays in the book address similar ideas, essentially teaching readers that Afrofuturist depictions of the future are intrinsically linked both to the ways that history has depicted Black peoples in the past and to the present-day social conditions of Black peoples. By pointing to an often under-recognized history of Black peoples creating alternate histories and futuristic narratives, as well as the history of contributions of Black peoples to speculative narratives and the study of space, the text educates readers on the many contributions Black people have made and continue to make towards creating a more egalitarian future society. The standout section of the book for Afrofuturist scholars is the “Visualizing Afrofuturism” section. Many Afrofuturism scholars are well-versed in the literary history of the genre and know some facts about the history of Afrofuturist music, but it is much rarer to see scholars engaging with the study of Afrofuturism in art, fashion, and architecture. “Visualizing Afrofuturism” is a helpful introduction to the study of the visual aspects of Afrofuturism and will be an invaluable resource for scholars and classes. Eve L. Ewing argues in “Dreams Rush to Meet Me: Afrofuturist Looks and Looking” that Afrofuturist art has an advantage over other creative forms: Afrofuturist visual art has a way of inviting the viewer instantaneously into a world of questions, possibilities, wonderments, and contradictions, and doing so quickly, with the sudden rush you might experience if you fell through a trans-dimensional portal. Afrofuturism is about the future, sure, but it’s also about fuzzifying (that’s a technical term) our relationship with the Western construct of linear time altogether. (115) Ewing refers to a variety of visuals that combine the shiny, metallic technologies...