African American Science Fiction Literature

Bloodchild and Other Stories is a collection of short science fiction stories by Octavia E. Butler. It examines our society primarily through the lens of Afrofuturism, from imagining a not-too-distant future collapse of society, to an out-of-this-world race of humans learning to cohabitate with aliens. The title story, “Bloodchild,” about a human boy and his relationship with an alien, even won several awards in 1984 and 1985 for best novelette. Another fascinating short story, "Speech Sounds" follows a woman living in a not-too-distant future in which a virus has wiped out nearly all humans' ability to speak. Butler examines the slow deterioration of humanity as they become more and more beastlike. In these stories, Butler critically examines our contemporary society, especially through racial and feminist lenses, imagining futures, for better or worse, that make readers think critically about themselves. I believe this collection is so important because through the variety of stories told in Bloodchild and Other Stories, the reader receives a very thorough introduction to the critical eye and at times uncomfortability that is common in African American SF as it seeks to tell the African story through the lens of aliens, dystopia, or the far future.

Nnedi Okorafor is one of the best examples of an African American voice rising to the top of SF today. This book, Binti, is the first installment of her most popular novella series of the same name. The novel follows a young girl of the Himba people who is offered a place at Oomza University to travel and learn among the stars. Yet there she must take up the gifts of her own people and her studies at the university to face off against an alien race, the Meduse. Okorafor beautifully blends her experience born in America to Nigerian immigrants and her experience as a lover of science fiction. Her writing offers a perspective that she prefers to call Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism, which seek to tell stories in relation to African history as opposed to a blackness that fits into a colonizing worldview. Okorofor specifically seeks to portray young girls that look like her in roles that would have typically been taken up by white, often male, characters. Binti is a beautiful glimpse at how science fiction can be used to honor African American culture and experiences and imagine so much for the future.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi has taken the YA world by storm, even winning a Goodread’s Choice Award for best debut book in 2018. The novel tells the tale of Zélie Adebola who lives in the once deeply magical land of Orïsha. One night though, the ruthless king of the land killed all the maji, including Zélie’s mother, stealing all the magic and hope from Orïsha’s people. Zélie struggles to control her own emerging powers, yet she wishes to use her position and gifts to strike at the monarchy and return magic to the land. This summary reminds me of many other popular novels in the YA market today, yet it is steeped with the history and magic of West Africa, immediately setting it apart. Adeyemi herself is Nigerian-American and writes more within the fantasy side of science fiction, but with a definite Africanjujuism feel that shows us that a story deeply rooted in African history can grab the attention and affect readers of all colors.

The Intuitionist is a work of speculative fiction and the debut novel of now-famous Colson Whitehead, most well-known for The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys. The novel follows two warring factions in the Department of Elevator Inspectors and their war for dominance in this parallel world slightly different than our own. Lila Mae Watson is the city’s first Black female inspector and a devout member of one faction, the Intuitionists. When an elevator crashes on her watch, she must fight to clear her name, but instead, she becomes entangled in a web of the factions’ deeper secrets and intrigue. The novel conjures a parallel universe in order to bring to light matters of morality, politics, and race. This novel is nearer a work of speculative fiction, a genre that often umbrellas science fiction. For those interested in popular novels of our time, they will recognize the name Colson Whitehead, and by reading this, his first published book, see a bit more of where he came from and his attention to racial issues.  

N. K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season is the first in a trilogy that follows a woman, Essun, who comes home one day to find her son murdered and daughter kidnapped by her husband. The same day, their great empire, Sanze falls, most of its citizens are murdered by a madman, and a great rift tears through their land which they name the Stillness. Essun journeys from her home across a dying land torn by war to find and save her daughter. While this novel may not contain overt racial themes, Jemisin does say that growing up with an awareness of systemic racial oppression helped influence her novel, especially with the inclusion of a group of people, Orogones, who can harness elemental magic, and who are subject to brutal oppression at the hands of those who see them as different. The Fifth Season is a dystopian tale that merges SF and fantasy, and Jemisin has taken care to build a vivid, complex world for us that necessitates not one, but two, glossaries in the back of the book. Jemision’s novel has gained great popularity in the world of adult science fiction and fantasy, winning the 2016 Hugo award. N. K. Jemisin is proving to be a fantastically popular rising author who frequently confronts themes of cultural conflict and oppression; those looking to be well-versed in speculative fiction should know her name.

In Babel-17, Samuel R. Delany writes about a future race of humanity that has spread throughout the universe and is involved in a war with the Invaders. The Invaders have been covertly assassinating officials, sabotaging the humans’ ships, and leaving strange messages behind. Rydra Wong, a poet and linguist, has been called upon by the military to decode this alien code, called Babel-17 and interpret these messages to stop the threat and protect her race. In this novel, Delany creates an entertaining and intriguing example of SF with all the space travel and action fighting tropes, while incorporating a fascinating study of the power of linguistics. Samuel R. Delaney was one of the first Black authors to gain much popularity within the science fiction genre, though he did face much racism from the community. I have chosen to include Babel-17 in this collection as it seems to be one of the most enjoyed of Delany’s writing and won the 1966 Nebula Award. Though the novel does not deal as directly with racial issues as many others I have included, it is a great example of SF by a prominent Black author, and its incorporation of linguistics may appeal especially to those interested in the study of literature.

Dark Matter by Sheree Thomas has proven to be a huge contribution to the genres of Black science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction. Thomas has compiled short stories, essays, and novel excerpts by authors such as Octavia E. Butler, Samuel R. Delany, and Walter Mosley with the goal to introduce a generation of readers to a group of significant and accomplished authors in a nearly completely ignored genre of literature. Thomas tells us that dark matter is an invisible yet essential part of our universe, just like the generations of authors who made great contributions to the body of SF literature yet were completely invisible because they did not fit into the mold. She says “for me, science fiction is the state of being Black on the planet. Living, observing, exploring what it means to be human in times and space that clearly devalue that humanity.” This anthology won the 2001 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, and subsequent volumes have also won awards. This first edition gives a bit of the history of the movement as well as looks toward current and upcoming voices in a way that gives readers an overview of what great works are to be found in Black speculative fiction.

“The Comet” is a short story from 1920 and one of the first pieces of SF by an African American author that gained some popularity. This is even more significant because of Du Bois’ status as one of the most influential sociological intellectuals and civil rights activists of the time. The story follows a Black man, Jim Davis, and a wealthy white woman, Julia, after a comet hits New York and unleashes toxic gas that kills everyone except for them. In their search to figure out what has happened and if there are any other survivors, the two reckon with the racial barriers existing between them. This story helped lay the foundation for the subgenre, Afrofuturism, and though it is short, it is significant, as it was one of the first to explore science and speculative fiction through a racial lens. 1920 is still decades before any other African American would gain recognition in the genre of science fiction. In this sense, it is definitely an important and poignant story for those interested in the beginnings of the movement in black America.

The anthology New Suns features 17 short stories of speculative fiction all by people of color. The stories span a wide variety of subjects from science fiction to fantasy to horror to ghost-story. Editor Nisi Shawl dedicates this anthology to Sheree Thomas in recognition of the groundbreaking effects her 2000 anthology, Dark Matter had on Black-written SF. Since Dark Matter, the number of speculative fiction authors of color has increased dramatically, and this great change is what Shawl seeks to highlight in her new anthology which is inclusive of many minority races. The anthology notably features a forward by LeVar Burton of Star Trek. One story worthy of discussion by a African American author is “Come Home to Atropos” by Steven Barnes. It is written as an infomercial aimed at rich white “euthotourists,” people looking for a comfortable death in an exotic locale. Barnes satirically reveals to us the long history of racism and slave trade in this Caribbean island Atropos, and that this death service may be a long-sought and deserved revenge. This anthology is perfect for readers looking for a more modern version of Thomas’s Dark Matter. For a contemporary overview of rising authors of color in speculative fiction, look no further than New Suns.