Afrofuturism

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noun

An Afrocentric literary and cultural aesthetic that combines elements of science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, and magic realism in relation to the African diaspora, especially in the Americas.

First used early 1990sScrabble 20
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Meanings

nounAfrofuturism (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAn Afrocentric literary and cultural aesthetic that combines elements of science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, and magic realism in relation to the African diaspora, especially in the Americas.First known use early 1990s

    Post-Blackness and Afrofuturism are related in that the latter offers a method of problematizing the idea that a progressive way ahead involves the dissolution of race and erasure of racial performativity.

    2019, Eddie Chambers, The Routledge Companion to African American Art History, Routledge, →ISBN

Origin

From Afro- + futurism, coined by American journalist Mark Dery in 1992.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Afrofuturism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Afrofuturism

MLA

“Afrofuturism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Afrofuturism. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Afrofuturism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Afrofuturism.

Source: Afrofuturism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.