Since the release of Marvel’s Black Panther in 2018, Afrofuturism has become an almost household term: a powerful way to celebrate Black creativity and explore its political effects. But there’s much more to the Afrofuturist tradition than superheroes and kings, and it extends beyond film into literature, music, dance, and fashion—and even politics.

In a moment defined by the growing awareness and rejection of the systemic racism highlighted by the disparate impact of the pandemic and the killings of Black citizens by law enforcement, the project of imagining a future where Black people are surviving, thriving, and leading technological and social change is more urgent than ever. Black Lives Matter, and so do Black futures—to all of our futures.