Science Fiction & Fantasy
by Arley Sorg
Sheree Renée Thomas was born in Memphis, TN. The eldest child of an air force vet, she grew up on various military bases. She eventually moved to New York, where she lived for twenty years before returning to live in Memphis. She worked at genre bookstore Forbidden Planet, as well as working full-time in publishing while freelancing on the side, doing everything from writing jacket copy to proofreading and copyediting to editing.
In 2000, Time Warner published Thomas’ groundbreaking anthology
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora under its Aspect imprint, followed by 2004’s
/ The painting Alien by Mawhyah Milton is one of many pieces included in Curating the End of the World: Red Spring. The online exhibit was created by Harris Stowe State University professor Reynaldo Anderson.
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, Reynaldo Anderson feared that many Black people would die and that an unequal health care system would exacerbate the community’s pain.
Anderson, an associate professor of communications studies at Harris Stowe State University, wanted to document those experiences through art.
“I just kind of forecasted based upon what I was seeing as these existential threats, like, plague, systemic racism, crashing economy,” Anderson said. “I guess for some people, this is going to probably feel like the end of the world.”
Afrofuturism isn't just about placing a Black person in a futuristic landscape. It takes into account the challenges Black people face and allows them to imagine futures of their own making.
2021 BFSA Juneteenth Observance
The University of Alabama Black Faculty and Staff Association, BFSA, will have a virtual 2021 Juneteenth Observance. Juneteenth (a portmanteau of June and nineteenth) also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day– is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Originating in Galveston, Texas, it is now celebrated annually on the 19th of June throughout the United States, with varying official recognition. It is commemorated on the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865 announcement by Union Army General Gordon Granger, proclaiming freedom from slavery in Texas.
We have confirmed Dr. Reynaldo Anderson, who will give a presentation on Re-Envisioning Freedom through Afro-futurism, Dr. Cynthia Gooch Grayson, who will present Juneteenth & Genealogy: The Exploration of the Black Family, Marvin E. Adams, UA Student Poet, and, Ms. Opal Lee, Juneteenth Activist and Advocate who wa