Afrofuturism

American  

[af-roh-fyoo-chuh-riz-uhm] / ˌæf roʊˈfyu tʃəˌrɪz əm /

noun

1. a cultural movement that uses the frame of science fiction and fantasy to reimagine the history of the African diaspora and to invoke a vision of a technically advanced and generally hopeful future in which Black people thrive: this movement is expressed through art, cinema, literature, music, fashion, etc.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Afrofuturist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Afrofuturism

Afro- ( def. ) + futurism ( def. ); coined by U.S. author and critic Mark Dery (born 1959) in his essay “Black to the Future” (1993) published in Flame Wars: The Discourse of Cyberculture (1994)

Example Sentences

He’d sought answers to his country’s racial problems through scholarship, sociology, pan-Africanism, Afrofuturism, sci-fi, Socialism, Communism and finally expatriation, to Ghana, a new nation with a new president, Du Bois ally Kwame Nkrumah.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Across the record, she branches out into electronica, jazz, Chicago house and Afrofuturism, as she explores “all the different ways of existing in the world as a black person”.

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2024

Young authors have hailed her as an architect of feminist science fiction and an optimistic blend of technology and the culture of the African diaspora known as Afrofuturism.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 16, 2024

It is a minimal, meditative listening experience - in some ways, ancient and, in others, an extension of the Afrofuturism that André 3000 has always worked to bring to the forefront.

From Washington Times • Dec. 4, 2023

Last year during the Hayward Gallery’s exhibition “In the Black Fantastic,” which focused on Afrofuturism, the institute hosted a talk with Ekow Eshun, the show’s curator.

From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2023