A Show of Power: Africans and African Americans in Science Fiction and Fantasy

A Show of Power: Africans and African Americans in Science Fiction and Fantasy

What is power? Some of us imagined having superpowers as children. Maybe it was the power to fly, deflect bullets, or climb walls. Was your power super-strength triggered by rage, or invisibility?

Did you visit new worlds through play? Remember how the blankets and pillows become a rocky terrain where your action figures went on adventures, fighting monsters and evil villains? There was power in creating your own stories, but how often did you see yourself in those stories?

Wearing the masks and costumes of our favorite superheroes took us outside of ourselves. We experienced worlds where good usually triumphed over evil. Sometimes, those worlds paralleled our own. When authentic Black characters appear in fantastic stories or possess amazing powers, they resonate with Black audiences. They also honor our history of achievement and overcoming discrimination, exclusion and racism in the U.S. and aborad.

This exhibition showcases the positive shift in popular culture where a growing number of Blacks use their powers to create and publish their own art and stories. It also celebrates how Blacks continue to inspire and influence the images and stories created by others.

 

Eugene Randolph Young,

Guest Curator

 

Featuring:

 

Milton Davis (author)

Balogun Ojetade (author)

Afua Richardson (artist)

Aubrey Williams (artist)

K. Ceres Wright (author)

Daniel Stone (artist)

Stanley Weaver Jr. (artist)

Kristopher Moseby (artist)

Michael Buffington (artist)

 
City College of San Francisco
Louise & Claude Rosenberg Library
(3nd Floor display case, near elevators)
50 Phelan Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112

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