Designing
Black Futures
THERE ARE BLACK PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE. Artist Alisha Wormsley originally used the phrase to comment on the lack of nonwhite faces in science fiction film and TV. It became the title of a project that took many forms: video, installation, street art, performance and billboard. Afrofuturism, as the writer Florence Okoye explains, "dares to suggest that not only will Black people exist in the future, but that we will be makers and shapers of it, too."
What can design do to dismantle systems of oppression?
How can we reimagine an economy that works for black Americans?
What makes for great learning experiences?
Why is the care black Americans in healthcare not the same?
How can we understand the disproportionate housing patterns?
How do we confront the racial disparity in the American legal/penal system?
Why do some communities not have access to healthy food?
How do we make sure our systems are not biased based on who builds them, how they’re developed, and how they’re ultimately used?
WHAT TO DO:
define.
What are the underlying causes of existing racial disparities?
interrogate.
Where can we find solutions to these problems?
Why does it matter to understand history?
What has been attempted? What were the results?
imagine.
What steps do individuals and society need to make to eliminate the disparities?
How can we use an understanding of the past to reimagine the future?
What are possible visions of a black future?
articulate.
Design possible solutions to the problems you've identified.