Your piece is a powerful articulation of what Afro-Surrealism truly is: not just an artistic movement, but a lived reality shaped by the absurd contradictions of Black life in a white supremacist world. You echo Amiri Baraka and extend his insight—that to be Black in America is inherently surreal. Your writing captures that beautifully.
What struck me most is how you weave together the trauma and transcendence of Blackness. From the horrors of lynching and cannibalism to the joy of fantasy and creativity, you show that Afro-Surrealism lives in both our pain and our imagination. You remind us that Black people have always made the unimaginable tangible—through music, literature, conjure, and community.
Your references to Black Imagination and Willow Smith’s empathogen underscore how Afro-Surrealism spans genres and generations. I especially appreciate your focus on Black whimsy and how it is too often ignored, as a vital form of resistance and healing. Creating safe, fantastical worlds where we are centered isn’t escapism, it’s survival.
This essay is more than cultural commentary; it’s a call to honor the full spectrum of Black experience. Thank you for writing with such clarity, depth, and love for our people.
“Though our whole existence is surreal by nature. How we express it is our golden ticket.” Love how you framed that!
Your piece is a powerful articulation of what Afro-Surrealism truly is: not just an artistic movement, but a lived reality shaped by the absurd contradictions of Black life in a white supremacist world. You echo Amiri Baraka and extend his insight—that to be Black in America is inherently surreal. Your writing captures that beautifully.
What struck me most is how you weave together the trauma and transcendence of Blackness. From the horrors of lynching and cannibalism to the joy of fantasy and creativity, you show that Afro-Surrealism lives in both our pain and our imagination. You remind us that Black people have always made the unimaginable tangible—through music, literature, conjure, and community.
Your references to Black Imagination and Willow Smith’s empathogen underscore how Afro-Surrealism spans genres and generations. I especially appreciate your focus on Black whimsy and how it is too often ignored, as a vital form of resistance and healing. Creating safe, fantastical worlds where we are centered isn’t escapism, it’s survival.
This essay is more than cultural commentary; it’s a call to honor the full spectrum of Black experience. Thank you for writing with such clarity, depth, and love for our people.
—A Fellow Scholar of Black Dreaming