Afrocentricity in AfroFuturism : toward Afrocentric Futurism /

Edited by Smith (Temple Univ.), Afrocentricity in Afrofuturism is a welcome collection examining the creativity of artists of African descent working in different genres. Molefi Kete Asante provides an enlightening foreword and also contributes a substantive chapter detailing how artistic, technological, and spiritual creativity are practiced together to advance creativity for the benefit of all. In the introduction, Smith narrows the definition of Afrofuturism to mean African American futurism in a way that clarifies Nigerian American writer Nnedi Okorafor's objection to the term and her preference for Africanfuturism as what defines her own award-winning books, which are not mentioned here. In chapter 1, M. Ndiika Mutere departs from Smith's exclusive focus on the diaspora and refocuses on hantu, the interconnectedness of time and space in Ubuntu philosophy, to buttress African contributions in the past and the "manifest destiny" of Africana innovations in the future (p. 25). Smith outlines some past innovations in technology by diaspora Africans but does not mention African Fractals, which Ron Eglash has credited with influencing modern computer engineering. Other chapters highlight futuristic technological innovations emerging from the Haitian revolution, hip-hop, the Black Panther films, and Afrofuturist science fiction novels that appeal to all. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers through faculty. --Onwubiko Agozino, Virginia Tech