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People. Black people were just so absent in Science Fiction, and its a blind spot. Black panther was a massive moment in our culture. They thought it was going to make 700 million. But it actually made 1. 3 billion. So, it had a business impact. It had a community impact. It opened up doors. It showed that these kinds of stories, looking at black speculative fiction, looking at black looking at horror was also highly profitable. Scifi is really a conversation about our humanity and mans relationship to technology and exploring other worlds. Its really exciting to know that more blackcentric Science Fiction is making its way onto the Television Screens finally. Black people have always loved Science Fiction and have always loved fantasy. We just didnt know it. When you think of how broad that landscape is, to not include every single individual that is participating in the world, then its a lie. We have millions and millions of stories that need to be told. And us getting our due is literally just opening the gates for everyone else. Science fiction started off as a genera the in television, you saw a world in which black people did not exist. So, you saw a future that was void of black people. Theres a Fantasy Element to scifi. And so what youre saying is that when you imagine whatever world youre imagining, you dont want us there. Thats essentially what youre saying. I think it honestly gets back to how we are viewed and, to a large extent, the limited view on who we are as people and what were capable of representing. Zero minus 7 minutes skmoelding. I grew up watching lost in space. I remember saying to my parents, mommy and daddy, if we become astronauts, we could be the first black family in outer space. Theyre like, little girl, what are you talking about . In early Science Fiction, you would probably see stories about aliens or monsters before you saw perspectives from black People Incorporated into the story. And then when black people were brought into the story, it was usually to make a point about race or otherness. It reflected this concept of just not looking at black people as people and as a part of broader humanity. In the 1960s, as the nation is dealing with the socio and political unrest, to take the crea created the Twilight Zone. In all this darkness, is there anybody that can make out the truth . The first time you saw a black person on the Twilight Zone was in a famous episode called Color Me Black about a sundown town. The town, it went dark. They were going to hang a man for shooting his bigoted white neighbor. Do you know why theres night all around us . Do you know what the blackness is . Its the hate he felt, the hate you felt, the hate all of us feel. And its too much of it. Its just too much. The sun went down, and it never came up. Even though the Twilight Zone didnt showcase black characters for the most part in that series, by 1967, it does change, and were seeing more black performers and characters on the network schedule. Youve got to go all the way back to when she came on and took over the role of cat woman. This is cat woman. 1967, shes playing a reimagined version of a white character played by julia newmar. Youll never have another cat woman like that. I dont think anybody elses tongue works like that, i dont care what you say. Perhaps. Not gonna happen. It was so amazing because all of a sudden, theres a black woman that is fighting batman. Wait a minute. With the appearance on batman, Television Executives began to see what blacks could bring to this world of Science Fiction, and we got to see more afterwards. Space, the final frontier. As the 60s progressed, a new frontier was being forged. And one of those was star trek, developed and created by gene roddenburg. Its very serious. Engage. Star trek was a landmark moment, where we lived in this new egalitarian society, and jean talked about the idea of having a flight crew of different races. When i brought in crew, both the network and Desilu Studios came in saying, what are you doing . Youre going to ruin us. That was one of the first times i saw myself in the scifi genera. After the first season of star trek, mona king met with michelle nichols. He said, no, you cant quit. He said, you have the first nonstereotypical role on television for the world to see. This is not a black role and its not a female role, and youve got it. Michelle nichols, her characters, you heard whoopi goldberg. So, it gave us black actors who were in this scifi genre. Im glad to hear it. I came into star trek the next generation, so burton was the primary representation there, jody. That is not right. I was certain that jody la forge and Lieutenant Commander wharf really were the brothers in outer space. Everyones very curious about you. I bet they are. I said to lavar burton, tell him i want to play, i want to play. So, i go, and jean says to me, okay, you have to explain this to me. Why do you want to do this . I said, jean, do you know that before lieutenant ohora, black people didnt exist in the future. I want to be that for somebody else. Thats the thing about legacy is you want to further it. You want to just do your part to put more steps down for anyone who may be coming after you. All of you will go where no one has gone before, and you will make the path by traveling it. Star trek meant that black people made it to the future. Theres so many times we didnt make it. Not only do we make it to the future, were important. Diversity matters. My powers are gone. I cant do anything. It was just a shot out of a cannon. I am the king of rock and roll. Everyone was beholden to him. Little richard I Am Everything coming in september to cnn. I have Type 2 Diabetes, but i manage it well. Its a little pill with a big story to tell. I take oncedaily jardiance, at each days staaart. As time went on it was easy to seee im lowering my a1c. Jardiance works 24 7 in your body to flush out some sugar and for adults with Type 2 Diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. Jardiance may cause serious side effects including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and Genital Yeast or urinary tract infections. A rare, lifethreatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. Stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction, and dont take it if youre on dialysis. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Jardiance is really swell, the little pill with a big story to tell. Woman why did we choose safelite . Vo for us, driving around is the only way we can get our baby to sleep, so when our windshield cracked, we needed it fixed right. We went to safelite. Com. Theres no one else wed trust. Their experts replaced our windshield, and recalibrated our cars advanced safety system. They focus on our safety. So we can focus on this little guy. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. 5 all you can eat pancakes are back to celebrate ihops 65th anniversary. So come on in. Even if its your birthday, too. Available for a limited time only at ihop. Download the app and start earning free food. [people chatting] situation by yazoo [water splashing] blue eyed dressed for every situation moving through the doorway of a nation pick me up and. [opening can] upbeat music historically, Science Fiction, its always been told from an Eastern European lens. Afrofuturism tells that same type of story, historically, Science Fiction, its always been told from an Eastern European lens. Afrofuturism is from a lens of somebody of african decent. In the 1990s, the leadin show was man tis, which carl is the first black superstar on television. It was really groundbreaking to have a black superhero on television. And for many people, this was one of their first examples of afrofuturism in Science Fiction television. You have been stung by a mantis. He stars as this man whos been shot by the police somebody helps me. Hes paralyzed but builds an exoskeleton that gives him the ability to walk. And with that ability comes for him the responsibility of fighting violence. Im carl lumley, and i was televisions first black superhero. Didnt know it. Assumed that there must have been another one. Just, you know, one i hadnt heard about. You can go on destroying each other, or you can learn to live together. Mantis was a pilot that celebrated black seen yus. Celebrated black genius. They simply felt it was time for a black superhero. At the time i read the script, i thought, oh, this is a first. Weve never seen this before. Weve never seen a black superhero. And what also blew me around was he was also surrounded by black people. I heard it was being picked up, i thought, oh, magnificent. Well be picking up where this story left off. And i heard that sam ham and sam reammy were not going to be moving forward with it. Sam reammy is a very progressive guy. When he left the show, these other people came in, and they jacked it up. By the time it moved to series, the africanization stopped. Awesome idea, doc, awesome. All the characters of color, except me, were removed. Well, even if this works and you do walk again, youll still be the same you always were. The excuse, reason, that i was given was that we are looking to appeal to a broader audience. If mantis in 1994 was given a chance to live as it was originally conceived, then you would have told millions of people, not just black people, that this is also our world. And it would have normalized an entire genre and an entire way of being and an entire people. The fact that hes young and black doesnt make him a junkie. Even though gina torrez didnt make it to the mantis series, it really was just the beginning of her sort of scifi legacy. I watched her for a decade shes one of the people i like to say, like, raised me on television. I watched her in fire fly when i was in high school. I was watched her on zena, on hercules. I didnt fit in anywhere else. The fact that im ethically ambiguous to a lot of creators out there. Where i did fit was in scifi. I could be a stand alone badass. I dont think we notice when were watching what it means that this is a door that has never been opened, being opened. Im going to take his queens, his knights, his rooks. Im knocking all his pieces off the board. It was 22 years between mantis and luke cage. When luke cage came to television in 2016, mike culter got the opportunity to play the first black marvel superhero on television. Youve got a black man who cant be shot, a bullet cant pierce his skin. Thats a premise, yall. I like like cage hero for hire because, lets be real. Im not doing all that for free. When we were looking at the criminalization of wearing a hoodie, to choose to tell that story at that time, i think was so impactful. All of us saw what happened with trayvon martin, and you saw luke cage walking through and he was just invincible. Thats what we need. It was the best kind of superhero you could have. Usually, its set in gotham or its in manhattan. To put it in harlem, that was genius but also so necessary culturally. Harlem is supposed to represent our hopes and dreams. Its the pinnacle of black art, politics, innovation. It was hugely important that luke cage do well because it was not only for the show itself, but also for the future of other black show runners and other black creators to create a show that actually reflected their own vision. It changed the industry in a major, major way. And the best part of it is luke cage was just the tip of the iceberg for what would come in the genre. Imagine youre doing something you love. Rsv could cut it short. Rsv is a contagious virus that usually causes mild symptoms but can cause more severe infections that may lead to hospitalizations. In adults 60 and older. And adults with certain underlying conditions, like copd, asthma, or congestive heart failure. Talk to your doctor and visit cutshortrsv. Com. Moving forward with node positive Breast Cancer is overwhelming. But i never just found my way; i made it. And did all i could to prevent recurrence. Verzenio reduces the risk of recurrence of hrpositive, her2negative, nodepositive, early Breast Cancer with a high chance of returning, as determined by your doctor when added to hormone therapy. Hormone Therapy Works outside the cell. While Verzenio Works Inside to help stop the growth of cancer cells. Diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. At the first sign, call your doctor, start an antidiarrheal, and drink fluids. Before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. Verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. Lifethreatening Lung Inflammation can occur. Tell your doctor about any new or worsening trouble breathing, cough, or chest pain. Serious Liver Problems can happen. Symptoms include fatigue, appetite loss, stomach pain, and bleeding or bruising. Blood clots that can lead to death have occurred. Tell your doctor if you have pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain, and rapid breathing or heart rate, or if you are nursing, pregnant, or plan to be. Im making my own way forward. Ask your doctor about everyday verzenio. At pnc bank, you can find us in big cities and small towns across the us, where our focus is to always support the people who live and work there. Because you call these communities home, and we do too. Pnc bank. 5 all you can eat pancakes are back to celebrate ihops 65th anniversary. So come on in. Even if its your birthday, too. Available for a limited time only at ihop. Download the app and start earning free food. upbeat music after the success of luke cage, then dc said, oh, well, we should do one too. They looked around and theyre like, okay, weve got Black Lightning they took the property and modernized it after the success of luke cage, then dc said, okay, we should do one too. They looked around, okay, we got Black Lightning. They took the property and modernized it in really smart ways. Crest williams, who plays Black Lightning, was scooter on living single. So i get to watch scooter save the world, and i love it. I love it, i love it. What i love about getting the show on the air is that its the first black Family Superhero Show thats ever been on television. By day, hes the principal of a high school, and by night, he is a Crime Fighter on the streets of greenland, married to a brilliant neuroscientist. Guess who that is. They have two wonderful daughters who eventually take on some superpowers of their own and form a Crime Fighting team. It crumbled in my hands like it was nothing. And they said the older daughter, who is a fully out, gay character at the beginning of the show, i mean, also groundbreaking that you would have a black, out character supported by her family, not talked about, not discussed, not a plot point, not a story point. She just is. Whats really cool is that Comic Book Characters really kind of go one of two routes when it comes to television, right . You have the live action success, like Black Lightning, while other characters go on to become iconic characters. There was the fantastic four, there was batman, spiderman, and superman, but static shock. Static shock was a blerd before a blerd was a term. He was a black nerd, and he got superpowers. There was an explosion last night. It was a gas. It changed me. Check it out. Not only was it entertaining. You had this kid flying around with this sewer cap with this natural hair, but it also didnt shy away from things we were all talking about and dealing with at the time. Everything from gang violence, gun violence, homelessness. They were all baked into the fabric of the show. You know, look, there was peter parker out there. But he was our version of that. It also sounded and felt very much of black culture. The sound track was very hip hop. I believe the theme song was by, like, lil romeo. Playing it straight because crime never pays it felt very black and very authentic. Im the man. Youre the Black Panther. T Black Panther was the equivalent of Captain America. Captain america is everything thats noble and pure and good about america. The Black Panther is that for africa. God works through me the same as you. There is no feat i can achieve that you are not capable of. One time we were out at lunch, and they said, reggie, we should make a tv show out of your Black Panther comic book. Yeah, thats not a bad idea. And we put together the most amazing cast. We had kerry washington. I mean, it was an allkiller cast. And the show was a hit. The success of the animated series helped lay the groundwork for the movie. It is your time to be king. It was the first superhero to make over 1 billion at the box office. So, not only did it succeed. Black panther is the most successful superhero. Kids need to be able to see themselves represented as the main character in animation that theyre watching. These images become engrained in how we form our opinions about what were capable of. Because if we see the black characters on screen now, thats going to inspire a whole new generation of creators to come in and produce fantastic content thats going to highlight black stories, black life in horror, in scifi, and far beyond. Jitterbug [ Giggles Loudly ] jitterbug [ Giggles Loudly ] [ tapping ] you put the boomboom into my heart intuitive sittostart in the allelectric id. 4. Its the little things, its a vw. Somedays, i cover up because of my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Now i feel free to bare my skin, thanks to skyrizi. uplifting music nothing is everything im celebrating my clearer skin. My way. With skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90 clearer skin at 4 months. In another study, most people had 90 clearer skin, even at 5 years. And skyrizi is just 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. Serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine, or plan to. Thanks to clearer skin with skyrizi this is my moment. Theres nothing on my skin and that means everything nothing is everything nows the time. Ask your doctor about skyrizi, the 1 dermatologistprescribed biologic in psoriasis. Learn how abbvie could help you save. 5 all you can eat pancakes are back to celebrate ihops 65th anniversary. So come on in. Even if its your birthday, too. Available for a limited time only at ihop. Download the app and start earning free food. upbeat music black characters are getting more of an opportunity to be wellrounded human beings. Black characters are getting more of an opportunity to be wellrounded human beings. They have back story, and they have full, wellrounded lives in and of themselves. You finally figured out what it means to be alive. Was the number one kids and family show for Netflix Globely in 2019. It was a simple story about a mother caring about her son. Dionne. Uhoh. Dont be mad, mom. Get your stuff and get to the car. Raising a young black man in this environment whos a superhero at the same time. Time to clean up the neighborhood. Its an awesome show for kids to see themselves in a magical way. And even the actress going through the emotions of losing a husband and a father and that love and that connection. And for kids to see that there is black love even in the supernatural. It isnt true, is it . Youre just a figment in my head. Thats all there is left. In the beginning, there might be one black person in a scifi show. And you most certainly didnt ever see them at the center of that story. And now, with shows like i think black people are in the future in a way we didnt see before. Altered carbon was one of my favorite shows to direct. I go to the show, and i realize, oh, my god, this show has three black leads in it. We have Anthony Mackie and simone misic. I dont know how we have these three amazing black leads in such an iconic show. I dont want to walk into an ambush. Got it. Things are definitely changing. Always paying for it, darling. The difference is our cost is posted right there on the door. You talk about my favorite Science Fiction show. It would be west world. This pain. The acting is so good. Its all i have left of him. West world is set up in this futuristic world where you have elite people who get to live out their fantasies in this old west Amusement Park that is populated by artificial intelligence, robots. But these robots are very humanlike, and they stage an uprising. I love that show because the hubris of wealthy humans, it put them in a situation where they get to run everything, and then lets see the horror of that. I think that is a perfect metaphor in some ways for what were always living in. We have tandy way, jessie wright, tessa thompson, amazing, amazing, super talented black actors who have characters that are so complex and fully realized. They are not pfootnotes. They are not just side kicks. To have so many black talent sharing the space and sharing the screen in a significant way was important, particularly in a genre like scifi, where that hasnt traditionally been the case. I have three kids, ages 23 and 24. Their generation and even the Younger Generation have no idea the strides that have been made. They watch Something Like watchmen And See Regina King throwing down and being active and athletic and fighting and the supernatural aspect of it all. I find joy when i see these projects taking off and i see different representation. Its a beautiful thing to see that. Regina king plays this character, angela, who is a cop by day, superhero by night, whos investigating this racist entity thats infiltrated the city of tulsa. I was reading the writing, and he mentioned something in the case of reparations in just one paragraph, which was the tulsa race massacre, and i couldnt believe that i did not know that this horrific thing happened in tulsa, oklahoma, in 1921, where all of the white citizens of tulsa basically destroyed this immensely affluent piece of black culture. Damon wasnt alone. When the watchman premiered, america was watching real events that happened in American History that had all been erased from our education. And most folks had no idea of the brutality that happened at the tulsa race massacre. All of this played out not just in the ratings from the show but also in the search results on that evening, as folks tried to find out more about this incredible event they knew nothing about. Yeah. Weve come a long way from, you know, not being able to showcase real issues that happened to, i mean, highlighting the shit out of them. And i think its great for television. I think what happened very quickly was the writers in the watchmen room were sort of like, this is not about teaching you. We are going to vigorously defend this material and make sure you dont do something harmful. We generated this Incredible Television experience that was only authentic because i see the creative power, because i listened and learned. Well, these shows are resonating with so many people because they explore the human experience. As were thinking about technology, as were reconciling with history, we see ourselves in these stories and these characters, and were chaeeerin them on. So, while black characters of Science Fiction were being celebrated, another genre is coming about, and its whorror. Were kind of getting to a place through black horror and black Science Fiction to finally start to tell our stories in this format. Do you see her, mama . No, i didnt see anything, baby. But you felt it, didnt you . 5 all you can eat pancakes are back to celebrate ihops 65th anniversary. So come on in. Even if its your birthday, too. Available for a limited time only at ihop. Download the app and start earning free food. Woman why did we choose safelite . Vo for us, driving around is the only way we can get our baby to sleep, so when our windshield cracked, we needed it fixed right. We went to safelite. Com. Theres no one else wed trust. Their experts replaced our windshield, and recalibrated our cars advanced safety system. They focus on our safety. So we can focus on this little guy. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Im jayson. Im living with hiv and im on cabenuva. It helps keep me undetectable. For adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, longacting Hiv Treatment you can get every other month. Cabenuva is two injections, given by my healthcare provider, every other month. Its really nice not to have to rush home and take a daily hiv pill. Dont receive cabenuva if youre allergic to its ingredients or if you taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. Serious side effects include allergic reactions postinjection reactions, Liver Problems, and depression. If you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. Tell your doctor if you have Liver Problems or Mental Health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. Some of the most common side effects include injectionsite reactions, fever, and tiredness. If you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. Ready to treat your hiv in a different way . Ask your doctor about everyothermonth cabenuva. Every other month, and im good to go. Having triplets is. Amazing expensive. So, we switched to the bargain detergent, but we ended up using three times as much and the clothes still werent as clean as with tide. So were back with tide, and the clothes are clean again. Do 3x the laundry and get a tide clean. Its got to be tide. Living with metastatic Breast Cancer means i cherish my memories. But i dont just look back on them, i look forward to the chance to make new ones every day with verzenio. Verzenio is proven to help you live significantly longer when taken with fulvestrant. Verzenio fulvestrant is for hr , her2 metastatic Breast Cancer that has progressed after hormone therapy. Diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. At the first sign, call your doctor, start an antidiarrheal, and drink fluids. Before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. Verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. Lifethreatening Lung Inflammation can occur. Tell your doctor about any new or worsening trouble breathing, cough, or chest pain. Serious Liver Problems can happen. Symptoms include fatigue, appetite loss, stomach pain, and bleeding or bruising. Blood clots that can lead to death have occurred. Tell your doctor if you have pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain and rapid breathing or heart rate or if you are nursing, pregnant, or plan to be. Im making future memories every day with verzenio. Ask your doctor about everyday verzenio. upbeat music unlike scifi, horror actually did embrace black characters a lot more frequently, but they were often the first to die. dripping water tense music embrace black characters a lot more frequently, but they were often the first to die. But then we see hbos true blood come out, and it was just a beacon of representation left and right. And particularly for black characters. Lafayette, a Gay Black Character in a fantasy setting. Come on, its like my catnip. To see lafayette be gay and black and not die was actually a pretty groundbreaking sight. It was actually kind of revolutionary. And we see regina wesley. Aint too ashamed of yourself . What did you just say to me . I said, any particular brand of cognac. Theyre characters that started off in ways that could totally have been sidelined, and yet the show embraced them. True blood allowed the marginalization of vampires to serve as the marginalization for lgbtq, African Americans, people of color, and even marginalization of people within those communities. You still aint making me eat no aids burger. Well, all you gotta do is say, hold the aids. Here, eat it. The walking dead was ushering in new black characters in a very cool way. We can beat them. This isnt the end. Sick of playing defense. So youre just going to take on all of them. It was definitely a watershed moment with denye playing that character and really shifting some folks idea of what a Strong Female character can look like. Thank god. You know, people never really talked about the interracial relationship that myshone had with rick grimes and its because who has time for racism . Its zombies. I remember marveling about there being two black women in the core cast of this show and how amazing that was. We can take them. Especially because they were not at odds with each other. And because they were two completely different black women. That was huge. All right. You all go home too. Ill finish this one myself. Angela bassett played the revered voodoo priestess. Usually voodoo is completely villainized in most Science Fiction. And in this one, it was handled with an element of respect and certainly revered for a character many people didnt expect to see on screen. She done messed with the wrong witch, and she knows it. And now you know it. Black mirror is this exciting anthology series, which pulls on both horror and Science Fiction to create these stories in the not so far off future. When i think of black mirror, i think of really incredible performances by daniel letitia wright, michaela coel. Black mirror wasnt afraid to put black actors into the spotlight and show that they could carry a scifi or a horror episode and everyone would love it. And one of the episodes within that series, striking vipers, unbelievable. It was so good. Starring anthony mackey, nicole harmon. You seeing someone . No. No. Then why dont you want me . You always used to want me. My jaw hit the floor and never got up. This is some stuff, yall. No. No, no no. Two, Cis Black Straight Men in their vr fantasies having a full on love relationship. Mind blown. The Subject Matter alone is really exciting, and it does what Science Fiction is supposed to do, which says, this is plausible. Any time we have an opportunity to see black actors in shows that are telling stories that arent the run of the mill stereotypical stories, that helps an audience see us differently, embrace us differently, helps networks and studios realize that they can tell more unique stories and unique Points Of View from black people. And action. The next thing were going to do after this shot is the whole walk over. Jordan peele changed the game. He completely broke the door open not only to black horror films and black scifi but just black nerdiness in general. We see tv shows blossoming that are dealing with these racial traumas, looking at these tough histories as exemplifying in the Twilight Zone reboot, in them, in underground railroad, where people are learning about history. But theyre also realizing that, wow, these traumas are the basis of a horror that people have experienced. Them was about this family that moved into this neighborhood which was predominantly white, did not want them there, and tried their damnedest to drive them crazy to the point they would actually leave. Now, how many of yall have been in that situation where youve been the black person in a predominantly white environment and they want you out . I really enjoyed love craft country. I have so much respect for it because it was weaving in that Historical Context with the imaginative aspect of scifi. I just thought it was brilliant. You dont get to see enough programs where you feel like it is a representation of who we were at that time, where you saw middle class African American people who had jobs and families and we had neighborhoods and everything was together. I will see you when i get back, pop. You will, baby. From there, you built in the terror of just being black at the time. Were citizens. Youre a veteran. Misha green is a phenomenal writer and producer an d every time i put this thing on, i know there are millions of people out there who are going to hate me for it. Falcon and the Winter Soldier explores the evolution of sam wilson, as he takes on the mantle being the falcon, and ultimately evolves into being Captain America. First time that you see Anthony Mackie put on the Captain America uniform, there is something so special about it because it is saying i am america. In the marvel comic book, sam wilson has a moment where he becomes Captain America. And a lot of fans never thought they would ever see that story line on television. It makes a statement about black super heroes, but it also makes a statement about the contributions that black people have made to america. I start thinking about all the little black girls and black boys who are now going to be at home, believing and seeing and tearing up furniture and jumping off stuff they shouldnt because they saw Anthony Mackie as Captain America. They erased me, my history. But theyve been doing that for 500 years. Those of us who have been left out of the history books, who built the country, like all of that was in that moment to me. The red tails, the famous 332, fight for this country. Only to come home to find crosses burning on their lawn. Playing isaiah bradley, who really represents Anthony Mackies history. And Anthony Mackies character is the dream. Its like this saying you are your ancestors wildest dream. Thats who Anthony Mackie is in that moment. And i find it so powerful. Everybody ready . Yes, captain. Star trek is one of the most popular franchises in Science Fiction history. And now we have a black woman at the helm of the series, which is the ultimate dream for a lot of fans. Lets fly. Martin green currently stars as Captain Mica Burnham and that makes her the first black captain to lead a television show. It would be logical for you to take into account my success rate and execute my plan without further challenge before were dragged into war. This is the show where the smartest person in the room is very clearly this blam woman, and nobody will listen to her. Has to do with a concussion. People are struggling with her existence here, even though she is the very thing that is going to save them. When i was cast as the lead star trek discovery, i was equal part surprised and not surprised. There was a ton of backlash and negativity about me being a black woman. I did not expect it from people who claimed to dearly love the franchise. Because it is embedded in the heart of the franchise itself diversity and inclusivity. Its so incredibly groundbreaking, and also business dar that it took up until now for there to be the first lead role of a black woman in scifi with sonika martin green taking up that position on star trek discovery. Im not the first o Celebrate T Black Anything in 2021. Why did it take so long . She deserves our flowers, dont get me wrong. But im always just irritated by the way we are still having to break ground in spaces where we were always valid. When i think the future of scifi, i think about a lot of these amazing black scifi writers who tell stories in a different way about the future, if its really going change the narrative of what the future could look like. Its really exciting to see the celebrated books that were part of the Afro Features Cannon are being adapted into screens big and small. Octavia butlers books are in the canon of scifi. People all over the world are studying her works. And now theyre being adapted into television. They have been adapted into graphic novels, and now were going to see them in tv. A lot of my early writing had to do with my own feelings of powerlessness. There are no real walls around sfikz. We can build them, but theyre not there naturally. She is most celebrated because she deals with these really tough nuanced questions about our future. People have looked to her to think about how you create new features. And kate jemison is adapting her own book, the interhate importance trilogy into conversation. Im drawing on the Human History of structural oppression as well as my feelings about this moment in American History. I look to Science Fiction and fantasy as the Aspiration Tribe of the zeit gist. I love that were not just seeing these black stories, but black stories told by black people. Thats the magic to it all. I think one of the biggest things in this sort of evolution of black actors in the scifi genre is black actors are now front and center. Were just Automa Authentica the middle of stories like everyone else. Were in all of these places where folks may be thinking of the future, may be thinking of the past, seeing us saving the day, but also living in a world that has extra powers in it, more myth around it. It allows us to dream, to continue to dream, and to know that were a part of the dream. There is no end to this journey, for our capacity for growth is infinite. Dick solomon i suppose to the outsider we might seem a little unorthodox but what does this outsider know anyway . Who is he to judge us . John lithgow the whole notion of the outsider. I mean, its a strand that goes through most sitcoms, i think