Afrofuturist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A visionary approach that merges speculative fiction with African heritage and identity
2. An imaginative genre that explores future possibilities through the lens of African culture and technology
3. A cultural movement that envisions future worlds by blending African traditions with elements of science fiction and technological advancement

Etymology: The most interesting thing about "afrofuturist" is how recently it arrived and how deliberately it was built: it is a compound of "Afro-", a combining form used in English to mean "of African descent or origin" (as in "Afro-Caribbean"), and "futurist", a word meaning someone who envisions or works toward the future. Each piece is old enough on its own, but the joining of them into a single label for a cultural movement is a modern act of naming. The word therefore describes a movement rather than a dictionary sense that was there from the start. Its first part marks a standpoint, a Black diasporic identity, while its second part borrows the forward-looking vocabulary of futurism, a term long associated with European and American visions of technology and progress. Putting the two together names a tradition that imagines futures in which African cultures, histories and inventions are central rather than peripheral.

Synonyms: futurist, visionary, speculative