How Afrofuturism Redefines Our Past

Afrofuturism is an old idea that’s reaching new people. Hollywood production designer Hannah Beachler walks us through some fantastical, imagined paths to Black liberation.

There is a cosmic vision of Black freedom seen across universes from Seneca Village to Wakanda, exemplified across artistry from Sun Ra to Lil Nas X. Among the culture makers propelling the Afrofuturism movement is Hannah Beachler, an Academy Award-winning production designer and lead curator of the exhibit Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Beachler – who’s worked on box office films like “Black Panther,” “Moonlight” and  Creed,” as well as Beyonce’s “Lemonade” visuals – joins host Kai Wright to share how Afrofuturism calls on our history to reimagine the next steps in our journey. 

This episode was was originally published as ‘Black People Are From Outer Space’ on February 14, 2022. Listen to more episodes here. 

Companion listening for this episode:

Billy Porter on Bringing Blackness, Queerness and Fullness to Art (12/19/2022)

What does a next level victory look like for an Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner? For actor Billy Porter - it’s an authentic sense of self.

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Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.