“We Have Always Dreamed of (Afro)Futures:” a Lecture by Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas

 

On April 14, 2021, the NCSCL was delighted to host Dr Ebony Elizabeth Thomas’ for her fantastic talk “We Have Always Dreamed of (Afro)Futures: The Brownies’ Book and the Black Fantastic Storytelling Tradition.” With over 100 people registered, we were not the only ones who were so excited to have Dr. Thomas virtually visit SDSU.

Situating her talk in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and current anti-Black violence and racism, Dr. Thomas explores the portrayal of Black characters within children’s and young adult books and how these characters indicate a future for those who are represented. Dr. Thomas introduced the concept of “storying,” the ways in which Black writers have forged their own identities and freedom within these texts. This act is especially prominent since “we are in a cultural moment where speculative storytelling reigns supreme.”

As Dr. Thomas writes in her book The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to The Hunger Games, there is a lack of positive representation of people of color in speculative fiction. Although there have been excellent fantasy novels written by authors of color as of late, Dr. Thomas focuses her research on the presence of Black characters in texts authored by the majority population for two reasons: first, because some of today’s popular texts written by Black authors were not available at the time of she wrote The Dark Fantastic and second, because the texts written by the majority population are the ones that make up the mainstream, which is read across diverse populations. For those reasons, she examines characters such as Rue from The Hunger Games in order to identify what kind of portrayals frame Black characters, concluding that “our reading and imagination are as segregated as our lives.” Black characters are trapped in the “Dark Fantastic cycle,” which Dr. Thomas defines as a pattern of “spectacle, hesitation, violence, and haunting.” Black girl characters especially are seen as “monstrous, invisible, and always dying;” their stories mirror the high rate of Black deaths outside of literature. Despite the oppression and violence they face, Dr. Thomas reminds us Black people have always dreamed of (Afro)futures. She spotlights the act of “rememory,” using the example of Toni Morrison who creates an Afrofuturistic world in Beloved wherein the protagonist, Sethe, recalls memories of the past. Like Morrison’s Sethe, imagination creates a new world, an Afrofuture. 

The above graphic demonstrates that only 10% of characters are Black while 27% of characters are non-human as of 2018 according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since that time, the diversity “renaissance” in children’s literature publishing has excited Dr. Thomas. She recognizes that she has been cautioned against too much optimism, but wants to give credit where it is due. Dr. Thomas acknowledges that quality is not guaranteed simply because representations are present. As Black storytellers forge their own identities and liberation, there is still much more to be done in the field to address the books -- and the experiences -- missing from bookshelves. These absent stories of the everyday experiences of Black readers are labeled “shadow books” for their invisibility among mainstream readership.

In light of the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the current trial of Derek Chauvin and the discussion of anti-Black violence in our country, Dr. Thomas reminds us, “the persistence of anti-Blackness in pandemic space-time cannot be overstated.” She recognizes that the rates of Black deaths in novels mirror the deaths of the COVID-19 pandemic; that is, they are disproportionately higher than majority population deaths. Future dreaming allows an escape for Black readers from this reality. Books written especially for Black audiences, like The Brownies Book, allow for a look into the life of a Black child, but these books are few and far between.

To repair for the lack of representation, Dr. Thomas offers the concept of “re-storying:” how marginalized readers can read themselves into the stories that have historically excluded them. Re-storying, Dr. Thomas says, is a way for underrepresented POC to feel seen. The rise in representation follows a period of time that has been called “The New Jim Crow.” In some of these texts, narratives of Black pain are the focus, creating a burden on young readers seeing their own identities being brutalized and murdered.

 

Some portrayals of enslavement create what Dr. Thomas calls a “sanitized view of slavery.” These books often position Black characters beside famous white figures for the comfort of white readers, like in the book Unspoken: A Story of the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole, a white author. Many of these books are written from a third person perspective, distancing the reader from slavery. Dr. Thomas labels this pattern “#slaverywithasmile” and argues that humanizing depictions of people in bondage can reshape the images that dominate Black historical fiction.

Dr. Thomas concludes with the following question: “If even Black authors of youth speculative fiction are haunted by the afterlife of slavery, what might it mean for our Afrofuturistic Dreams?”

 

We would like to turn, now, to the Question and Answer Section in which Dr. Thomas answered questions posted in the chat. Here are just a few of the thoughtful questions that were posed, as well as Dr. Thomas’s responses:

 

How do you see multicultural picture books fitting into this conversation?

Dr. Thomas responded that the territory is vast. She turns to friends doing work on multicultural texts, recognizing that there is much to be read and written on the works produced by members of the African diaspora, such as Black British, Caribbean, and African authors. She powerfully claims that “the Afrofuture should be an inclusive future” and advocates for cultivating scholars with deep insider knowledge and direct experience with the communities who are producing those books.

 

Are there any texts that are encouraging, enriching, and empowering Afrofuturist narratives out there at the moment?

Dr. Thomas points to resources compiled by colleagues such as ReadingBlackFutures.com and the work done by Dr. Rukmini Pande (in fan studies from India).

 

Do you think that the obstacles to honesty in children’s literature about black life in America (or abroad) is on both sides—the dangers of all books being about slavery and horror and trauma of racism, Jim Crow, etc., thus fetishizing pain and trauma, and leaving out more positive, nuanced tales. And the problem of too much utopianism without the realities of racism, trauma, and pain being there to treat black American (or African) life honestly? If so, how do the best works treat pain and hope both?

Dr, Thomas candidly admitted that she had “been wrestling with this.” She was frustrated by growing up being told the same Black history by authors, but now it is “what I breathe.” After studying such a complex issue for so long, she acknowledges that “it takes a genius to break the Dark Fantasy cycle, and that’s why so few of us publish.” She also made reference to texts such as NK Jemison’s The Broken Earth trilogy and Ty Frank’s The Expanse. Ultimately, there is a knife edge between Black pain and Black joy -- not just joy or pain. Black people have a range of emotions which should likewise be depicted in the texts that portray them.

 

We would like to extend our gratitude to Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas for making the time to present such a fascinating and thought-provoking lecture, and to all who were able to attend. Please follow the National Center for the Study of Children’s Literature on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to hear about the events to come!