Afrofuturism Revelation and Revolution; Voices of the Digital Generation

Abstract

The art movement known as Afrofuturism uses various forms of artistic expression to create speculative fictions linking African-Americans’ ancestral past with envisioned, utopian futures. In the process, Afrofuturists shift the narratives that influence African-Americans’ lives from narratives of oppression to narratives that re-imagine a world in which African diasporic culture is at the center of social life. In previous analyses of the significance of Afrofuturism, however, the voices of actual artists are glaringly absent. Current public uprisings and demands for social reforms provide new opportunities for elevating Afrofuturism’s traditional emancipatory themes across digital platforms with a global reach. Using a critical race theoretical lens, this multimodal anthropological study focuses on the voices of contemporary Afrofuturists at the intersection of Afrofuturism, social injustice, and digital technology.