TIL Black Americans were developing the Afro-Futurism/Black Sci-Fi genre of literature as early as the mid-19th century. Titles such as 'Blake' (1859), 'Iola Leroy' (1892), 'Imperium In Imperio (1899)
TIL Black Americans were developing the Afro-Futurism/Black Sci-Fi genre of literature as early as the mid-19th century. Titles such as 'Blake' (1859), 'Iola Leroy' (1892), 'Imperium In Imperio (1899)
So looking up the Blake story it’s not really sci-fi at all?
At best it’s maybe alt-history, except if I wrote a story about the next few months that doesn’t mean I’m telling an alternative history.
Edit: Lola Leroy is set during American civil war, so I guess it’s historical when looking back a few decades?
And Imperum in Imperio is set in the period it’s written.
Feels like calling any of those titles Science Fiction is a lot of a stretch. Might as well say the DaVinci Code is SciFi at that point.
30You might be right about these not being sci-fi, but sci-fi can take place in the period in which it was written. Alternative history plus sci-fi can definitely be a thing. Or writing sci-fi that's supposed to take place in just a few years.
12Speculative fiction is generally a better term to avoid quibbling over details. The speculative step is the important defining thing in any case.
10So looking up the Blake story it’s not really sci-fi at all?
You should edit the wikipedia entry then, because it disagrees with you.
"Samuel R. Delany described it as "about as close to an SF-style alternate history novel as you can get.
Further, while it incorporates elements of the fugitive slave narrative, Blake's narrator is also a scientist, whose focus on data collection and research stand in repudiation of the racial science of the day.[10] In fact, this reflects one of Delany's major themes: that Africa and its contributions to science and math were foundational to the Western world.[12]"
7Because one author says so does not make it so.
7Considering we're talking about the era of the belief in Drapetomania, I'd say a slave revolt followed by an attempt by black people to take over Cuba would be considered sci-fi by a lot of readers.
Edit: Also, sci-fi wasn't really a thing in 1862.
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Black Panther the movie actually borrowed some art elements from Afrofuturism. Although it's not very pronounced.
6It's literally afrofuturism
10Isn't it set in the present?
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If you're into sci-fi and Afro-futurism I really enjoyed Sweep of Stars by Maurice Broaddus (written a couple years ago; cool to see what a long history it's building on)
1I feel like a certain poster here is conveniently and transparently overlooking the word "DEVELOPING" in the title.
I notice the wikipedia article is still un-edited, too. Put your money where your mouth is if you're so confident.
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