Afrofuturism takes center stage at second annual MSU Juneteenth celebration

<p>This year's keynote speaker is <a href="https://cal.msu.edu">College of Arts and Letters</a> <a href="https://english.msu.edu">English</a> professor <a href="https://twitter.com/JulianChambliss">Julian Chambliss</a>, who has a focus on popular culture, comics, and digital humanities, and his research explores race, identity, and power in urban spaces. His address is titled “<em>Not Only Darkness: The Legacy and Future of Black Speculative Practice</em>.” Chambliss' keynote will focus on Afrofuturism, what it is, and its impact on society today. His keynote will also examine the relationship between Afrofuturism and speculative practice, which refers to the exploration of new ideas and pathways that will ultimately lead to liberation. </p><p>What is <a href="https://cal.msu.edu/news/ask-the-expert-msu-professor-julian-chambliss-on-what-is-afrofuturism/">Afrofuturism</a> and what has been its impact on society?</p><p>“Afrofuturism is the intersection between speculation and liberation born of African diasporic experiences. It often touches on science, technology, and knowledge production and how we do that and what are our aims are for that. Ultimately, Afrofuturism is really rooted in a set of concerns that are connected to the Black experience, and it’s theorized by people who are concerned with hierarchies and control and oppression looking through ways to create a system that's less hierarchical, less oppressive, more equitable, and safer. Ultimately, the impact of that is that there is a group of people, regardless of discipline, who are committed to the idea of trying to create a more equitable and safe society. That is the thing that makes Afrofuturism so appealing.”</p><p>What is speculative practice and what is its relationship with Afrofuturism?</p><p>“Afrofuturism is a term that's really describing Black speculative practice. Afrofuturism was really important when it was coined in 1994 because it captured a set of practices that Black people were having. But in a hierarchical system, Black pe