In 2018, Pittsburgh artist Alisha Wormsley created and posted what many considered to be a “controversial” billboard in the East Liberty neighborhood of the city. The billboard contained a single sentence that read: “There are black people in the future.” The simple statement was a profound one; in the context of a gentrifying neighborhood where black residents were being rapidly displaced, the billboard critiqued community planning strategies that expunge and erase black communities. But more than a critique, the billboard was also indicative of a particular artistic practice, mode of study and social engagement that has come to be known as “Afrofuturism.” In this episode, Secunda is joined by De'Anna Daniels, Jaison Oliver, and Dr. Jessica Davenport to explore Afrofuturism and its creative and cultural possibilities for community-building.
In 2018, Pittsburgh artist Alisha Wormsley created and posted what many considered to be a “controversial” billboard in the East Liberty neighborhood of the city. The billboard contained a single sentence that read: “There are black people in the future.” The simple statement was a profound one; in the context of a gentrifying neighborhood where black residents were being rapidly displaced, the billboard critiqued community planning strategies that expunge and erase black communities. But more than a critique, the billboard was also indicative of a particular artistic practice, mode of study and social engagement that has come to be known as “Afrofuturism.” In this episode, Secunda is joined by De'Anna Daniels, Jaison Oliver, and Dr. Jessica Davenport to explore Afrofuturism and its creative and cultural possibilities for community-building.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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