Afrofuturism is a look to the future where African-Americans are re-imagining, reinterpreting, and reclaiming the past and present for a liberated future. It is an expression of Black identity through activism, art, and creativity to reach a utopia. 

Dr. Isiah Lavender III is among the leading Afrofuturists and the newest University Professor at Syracuse University. He is the author/editor of 7 books and 2 special issues of journals, his forthcoming book Race, Law, and Speculative Fiction: Future Pasts will appear from the University of Pennsylvania Press next June. His current research agenda concerns Afrofuturist tropes in the novels of John A. Williams, a Syracuse University alumnus. Likewise, his current editing project Survival Mode: Anticipating Social Problems through Science Fiction is under consideration at Liverpool University Press. Finally, he edits for the oldest SF journal Extrapolation.

Dr. Lavender sees himself primarily as a teaching scholar. His greatest impact on the world has come through his teaching by inspiring his students to develop a lifetime of intellectual curiosity. In this capacity, he strives to build a sense of community in his discussion driven classes, leading to student success.

Dr. Lavender has provided 30+ keynotes and invited lectures across the world at places big and small with the pinnacle being the Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum. His ideas about race and SF as well as Afrofuturism have been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, Insider, CNN, and Smithsonian Magazine.

So far, being awarded 2023 International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts Distinguished Scholarship Award by his peers must surely be his proudest moment as an active scholar. It recognizes his commitment to the study of race and ethnicity in science fiction dating back to his earliest memory of Star Wars in 1977 as a three-year-old.

Join us at ArtRage Gallery to listen to Dr. Isiah Lavender give an insightful talk on Afrofuturism and its thematic correlation to Najee Dorsey’s Poor People’s Campaign.