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Space is the Place

Space – the worlds beyond the Earth – is an important feature in Afrofuturism. It is also an ancient one. An empirical and symbolic interest in space was widespread throughout the African continent. As the African diaspora spread throughout the world, individuals brought their understandings of space with them, influencing new communities.

Major General Charles Bolden manning the pilot’s station on the Space Shuttle Columbia

Schematic guide to the night sky that decorated a ceiling in the tomb of Ancient Egyptian official Senenmut

Captain Edward J. Dwight, Jr., the first African American selected for astronaut training

Moon Mask, ca. 1880 (Baule peoples, Côte d'Ivoire)

Jeanette A. Scissum, Scientist and Mathematician at NASA