Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity. 

What is Afrofuturism?

Afrofuturism is an aesthetic and philosophical movement that weaves together African diasporic experiences with technology to represent visions of Black identity in the future. These visions take shape through a variety of mediums (literature, music, and visual arts). While they are forward-looking, they also draw from Black experiences of the past. Octavia Butler’s speculative fiction exemplifies Afrofuturism, as does that of various other Black science fiction writers, but as you can see from this opinion piece in The Philadelphia Inquirer, “Afrofuturism Is All Around Us” in movies, TV shows, music, and even fashion. Learn more about Afrofuturism and its unique characteristics, particularly with respect to the movie Black Panther, here.

• Choose an Afrofuturist artist whose work interests you. Write one or two paragraphs that provide a brief biographical sketch as well as a description of the kind of work the artist produces.
• Assemble samples of the artist’s work for presentation to the class. Include brief (two or three sentences) explanations of what makes these work(s) Afrofuturistic.