Recommended Reading: February

A F R O F U T U R I S M

Traditionally many libraries honor Black History during February, but this February Highline's Libguide and library are elevating and celebrating Afrofuturism!

Afrofuturism is a cultural movement & philosophy focusing on shared interests in envisioning Black futures & Black liberation different than oppression and violence from the past and present. Afrofuturism is at "the intersection between Black culture, technology, liberation & the imagination; with some mysticism thrown in, too... It's a way of bridging the future and the past to reimagine the experience of People of Color" (Ytasha Womack, author of Afrofuturism: The world of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture).

This libguide was co-created by librarians Wadiyah Nelson & Sam Sermeno

Source: Highline College Library display, S. Sermeno, 2019

Source: Seattle Public Library, Douglass-Truth branch  2018 display, S. Sermeno

UMOJA Scholars Program 

"Umoja, (a Kiswahili word meaning unity) is a community and critical resource dedicated to enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African American and other students. We believe that when the voices and histories of students are deliberately and intentionally recognized, the opportunity for self-efficacy emerges and a foundation is formed for academic success.  Umoja actively serves and promotes student success for all students through a curriculum and pedagogy responsive to the legacy of the African and African American Diasporas.."

Center for Cultural & Inclusive Excellence

The CCIE is committed to increasing consciousness and campus leadership and learning about diversity and social justice, empowering students as social change agents, and the dismantling of institutional oppression.

Intercultural Center 

The ICC promotes campus dialogue and advocacy within a social justice framework of inclusion and equity. Through leadership development, students are empowered as social change agents in their local and global communities. 

The Movement for Black Lives: website 

AFROPUNK: Afrofuturism tagged articles, pages of fashion, art, and politics

Both photos from AFROPUNK website articles; bottom picture from Fashion designer House of ENID. 

How We Get To Next: Afrofuturism Reading List

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY BLACK PEOPLE: African & African-American Steampunk!

The Guardian -- From Beyonce to Sorry To Bother You: The New Age of Afro-Surrealism

"From psychedelic sketch shows to far-out satire, black artists are expressing the absurdity of life in a racist society by embracing the disturbing and bizarre..."

The Moments That Defined 2018's Surge in Afrofuturism (Vice Magazine)

"Black Panther' reignited a longstanding cultural tradition celebrating sci fi, technology, Africa, and the power of Blackness in art.."

AFROFUTURISM READING LIST: Seattle Public Library, Rainier Beach Teen Librarian

Afrofuturism combines elements of science fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, and magic realism with Afrocentric & non-Western belief systems to tell stories that center and celebrate black people throughout time - especially in the future! These stories critique present day oppression and force readers to examine history, the present, and the future. This list was created by a librarian at The Seattle Public Library.

How to Survive the End of the World PODCAST:

a podcast from activist and writer sisters Autumn and Adrienne Maree Brown; a podcast about learning from the apocalypse with grace, rigor and curiosity.

Free streaming videos through Films on Demand database (library/canvas login)

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (PBS documentary)

Free streaming videos through SWANK database (library/canvas login)

MOONLIGHT

GET OUT

Free streaming videos through KANOPY (library/canvas login): BLACK HISTORY MONTH FILMS

The Harlem Renaissance and Beyond

Standing on My Sisters Shoulders: Women of the Civil Rights

Mr. Civil Rights - Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP