All three Afrofuturism lectures, centered around Lovecraft County, HBO’s Watchmen, and Janelle Monae’s “Dirty Computer” video, can be viewed on YouTube.
One of the most highly anticipated events of the 2021 New Mexico Black History Festival was the lecture series “Afrofuturism: From Our Screens to Reality.” The New Mexico Black Leadership Council produced a three-part lecture series exploring aspects of Afrofuturism through the prism of current pop culture. Our esteemed presenters utilized Afrofuturism to spotlight a new generation of Black women superheroes.
Afrofuturism: “An open-ended genre combining science fiction, fantasy, and history, to imagine a liberated future through a Black lens.”
— NPR’s Throughline
Now you can rewatch, or watch for the first time, all three of these popular videos from NMBLC’s YouTube channel. Keep scrolling for more info on the Afrofuturism Lecture Series videos.
Seeing Africa in Afrofuturism: Hippolyta, Naming, and Lovecraft Country
Presented by Dr. Belinda Deenen Wallace, University of New Mexico
Explore the role of Hippolyta as an anti-racist/anti-imperialist/anti-colonialist superhero who, through the process of naming, unleashes her superpower and contests institutional racism that seeks to define Black bodies as threatening and unbelonging.
“What happens when Black women use their superpowers to save themselves rather than the world?”
— Dr. Belinda Deenen Wallace
“I’ve got a nose for white supremacy and he smells like bleach”: Regina King, Subversive Masking, and the Making of Sister Night
Presented by Dr. Kimberly Nichele Brown, Virginia Commonwealth University
Examine how HBO’s Watchmen uses masks to demonstrate the easy slippage between police and vigilante justice and to explore the dynamics of race and power in regards to issues of surveillance and policing.
“Her superpower is fighting white supremacy.”
— Dr. Kimberly Nichele Brown
Unbought and Unbossed: Janelle Monae’s Productive Performances at the Intersections of Black Political Consciousness, Black Materiality, and Afrofuturism
Presented by Dr. Andrea L. Mays, Ph.D., University of New Mexico
View Janelle Monáe’s ‘Emotion Picture’ Dirty Computer (2018) with an eye towards situating her cultural and political significance as an artist, activist, and performer enacting Aspirational Futures in the Black Diaspora.
“Dirty computer referenced within the context of this video . . . those things, those elements of imperfection that humans have outside of what social normativity and political normativity are.”
— Dr. Andrea L. Mays
“All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change.”
—Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower
Want to take a deeper dive into Afrofuturism? Here are some recommendations.
Afropunk . . the Other Black Experience – https://afropunk.com/
Janelle Monae: “Dirty Computer [Emotion Picture]” video
“Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction” podcast episode from NPR’s Throughline via It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders – https://www.npr.org/2021/02/22/970148701/octavia-butler-visionary-fiction
“On Black Panther, Afrofuturism, and Astroblackness: A Conversation with Reynaldo Anderson” via The Black Scholar – https://www.theblackscholar.org/on-black-panther-afrofuturism-and-astroblackness-a-conversation-with-reynaldo-anderson/
“Afrofuturism takes flight: from Sun Ra to Janelle Monáe” via The Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/24/space-is-the-place-flying-lotus-janelle-monae-afrofuturism
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The Ladyship’s Bazaar, offering global vintage apparel and accessories. Visit their website at http://www.theladyshipsbazaar.com
L&M Clean Cans & More, specializing in pressure washing, trash and recycle bin cleaning. Visit their website at https://www.lmcleancans.com
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