Julian Chambliss wants us to think about the future — specifically how Black people are imagining it for themselves.
Chambliss is an Afrofuturism scholar. It’s a concept that started with science fiction, where Black people get to write and tell their own story of the future. It has since expanded to all parts of pop culture.
Most people’s first introduction to Afrofuturism may have been through the hit Marvel movie Black Panther based on the comic book of the same name.
It’s not a new concept. Afrofuturism is built on a long history of Black people imagining life in a better future and what it would take to get there.
Afrofuturism is Chambliss’ specialty and it’s a topic he’s been incorporating into his college classes. He’s an English professor at Michigan State University, where he teaches about race, pop culture and comic books.
Afrofuturism is steampunk comics like Bitter Root, populated with Black characters. It’s Octavia Butler’s Black dystopian novel Parable of the Sower, reimagined as a graphic novel. Afrofuturism is even the late, great Prince, singing in the 1980s about a distant 1999.
Chambliss said it’s even thinking about how Artificial Intelligence can help further a vision of a Black future.
Chambliss is visiting South Florida from Michigan, but he’s no stranger to Florida. He’s actually a native and co-curator of an exhibit at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale. It’s called “Afrofantastic: The Black Imaginary in Art, Literature, and Technology.” It’s on view through December.
On the Nov. 9 episode of Sundial, Chambliss schools us on Afrofuturism — and its role in South Florida’s own history.
On Sundial’s previous episode, community historian and archivist Emmanuel George told us how he’s preserving Broward’s Black history. He’s the creator of online resources like the Black Broward Instagram page and the Emmanuel George Digital Collection.
Listen to ‘Sundial’ Monday through Thursday on WLRN, 91.3 FM, live at 1 p.m., rebroadcast at 8 p.m. Missed a show? Find every episode of Sundial on your favorite podcast app, such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.