Dozens of arrests have been reported, with riot police descending on Brooklyn’s East Flatbush neighborhood as New Yorkers came out for a third night of protest over the police killing of 16-year-old Kimani Gray.

The demonstration began at Brooklyn’s 67th Precinct in East Flatbush, the part of New York’s Brooklyn section where Gray was shot to death by police on Saturday. Witness and police accounts differ on whether Gray was brandishing a weapon before he was killed.

According to autopsy results, Gray was shot seven times – four times in the front of his body, and three times in the back.

afrofuturistaffair:

*GRIOTWORKS Presents: ‘Afrofuturism’: Exploring the Future of Black Media, Myth and Culture*

Hosted by: *Vivant Art Collection* and *ReelBlack Presents* 

With 7 slavery themed movies scheduled to release in 2013, to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, this conversation will focus on exploring the role of history through a futuristic lens. What does the future look like for Black movies and media? How will the stories we tell today impact our culture? What methods will be used to distribute those stories? How does ‘Afrofuturism’ contribute to shaping ideas, beyond oppression? 

Let’s talk about it. 

GRIOTWORKS Community Discussions are gatherings that focus on the voices of the people in the room. The panelists expertise in the subject areas give shape and direction to the discussion, as led by the moderator.

*Opening Poem by Shayna SheNess Israel*

*Rasheedah Phillips*, Moderator
Rasheedah Phillips is an attorney and the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair, a community formed to celebrate, strengthen, and promote Afrofuturistic culture. She is the author of several published science fiction works and essays. She is currently completing her first speculative fiction novel, Recurrence Plot.

*Yumy Odom*, Panelist
Yumy Odom is an award-winning educator, BlogTalkRadio host and Founder of The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC, Inc.) which focuses on sharing new ideas and technologies, combating illiteracy, creating ennobling images of Black superheroes / super-powered characters and promoting professionalism in the comic book industry. Mr. Odom’s latest work is a 250-page web document (2010) entitled “A Public Resource & Guide to the Epic Myth Continuum” that outlines and contextualizes 10,000 years of ancient, modern and neo-mythology. 

*Li Sumpter*, Panelist
Ph.D. candidate in Mythological Studies and Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Sumpter’s research applies archetypal, aesthetic and quantum theories toward understanding humankind’s existential condition in the 21st century. She believes our future trajectory through the multi-verse is fundamentally shaped by collective participation in a mythic paradigm that supports a corresponding reality. In her dissertation, Apocalyptic Soul: Seeing through Image in the Age of End Time Sumpter examines the impact of apocalyptic art and media on psyche and the phenomenological world. 

*Ozzie Jones*, Panelist
Mr. Jones is a writer and director of stage and film, and a musician and composer who has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Mr. Jones co -wrote, dramaturgy, and performed in the Bessie Award winning, Olivier award nominated Rome and Jewels for Rennie Harris Pure Movement. Mr. Jones has directed or performed with Patti Labelle, Ruby Dee, Ntozake Shange, Sonja Sanchez, Jill Scott, Guy Davis, The Roots, Wu Tang Clan, Schooly D, Public Enemy, Poor Righteous Teachers, to name a few. Mr. Jones developed and directed staged readings of his new plays, Chasin’ the Bird at Penumbra Theater and an African Continuum production of Kind of Blue at Arena Stage in DC, both of these new works are a part of a larger series of plays on Jazz called, The Real Book. 

*Caroliese Frink Reed*, Panelist
Caroliese is a doctoral candidate, educator, storyteller and librarian who has done extensive research on traditional and contemporary storytelling and the timelessness of African oral traditions. She has performed at libraries, schools and festivals across the United States, South America and South Africa. She is a co-editor of Sayin’ Something’:Stories from the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. and is a founding member of Keepers of the Culture, Inc, Philadelphia’s oldest storytelling organization.

LOCATION: Vivant Art Collection, 60 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia

DATE: Sunday, February 24th || TIME: 3pm - 6pm 

DONATION: $5

Light refreshments will be served.

Reserve your spot: http://griotworkstalk.eventbrite.com/

References: 
Slavery-themed films
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/7-other-slave-themed-films-for-you-to-look-forward-to-this-year-2013

Academy Award Nominations (Awards will be broadcast at 8pm the evening of the event)
To include: Lincoln, Django Unchained (slavery-themed films)
http://oscar.go.com/nominees

Afrofuturism - Wikipedia - Includes list of films, art and cultural references
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrofuturism

(via experimentaltimeorder)

Keith Josef Adkins’ The Abandon follows five African American men who go on a camping trip together, only to find out that aliens have invaded the planet.

Adkins, a former staff writer on The CW show Girlfriends, talks to Colorlines about pitching The Abandon for network television and being told that there was “no reliable demographic” for a science fiction show featuring non-white heroes. And he also talks about how his childhood prepared him to create this show.

afrofuturistaffair:

A very thorough essay on the history of Black science fiction, speculative fiction, and the coining of Afrofuturism, by Lisa Yaszek

(via experimentaltimeorder)

afroastrochannel:

Getting In A Twist Over Time

A professor of theoretical physics at Connecticut University, believes he has found a route to the past that uses something much more down to earth: light.

by Michael Brooks
London - May 19, 2001
Ronald Mallett thinks he has found a…

The AfroFuturist Affair has the incredibly awesome honor of being recognized by the Huffington Post as one of the five Tumblrs Every Black Sci-Fi and Comic Lover Should Know About!!!!!!!!  Thank you to The HuffPost, Writer Lucette Jefferson, Black Voices, all of the new supporters, and the ones who have been riding, and congratulations to all of the other blogs on the list! Tumblr is a serious communal effort, and we could not have made it on to the list without you.