Chapter 1: Curating Space

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In molding a world for Black folX in the future, we must be intentional with our actions. No new world can form without Black folX. No new world can develop, especially without Black WomXn. We are "mother civilization." Societies and pop "culture" is Black culture appropriated and watered down from Black WomXn.

The CommXndmXnts and Undebatables are in direct correlation with physical space. As we construct a physical space that is a safe space for Black WomXn, these CommXndmXnts and Undebatables are rules that will enable this space to come to fruition while catering to the needs of Black WomXn. In modeling and intentionally creating an Afrofuturistic future where Black bodies are free to be merry about, the success of an Afrofuturistic future lies in the protection of Black WomXn.

Black WomXn have been on the frontlines of every liberation movement. Despite our work that contributed to the success of other groups, white supremacy and patriarchy still profoundly affect the lives of Black folX, but more specifically, Black WomXn, ranging from racism, reproduction rights, not receiving recognition and credit, and more than there is space to list. This experience alone brings an inseparable connection of racism, sexism, and classism. These three elements are tied so bound together that for exclusion of one will only prompt the other two to be highlighted and take center stage. Without racism, sexism and classism take hold. Without classism, racism and sexism are intertwined. Upon encountering a Black WomXn, the societal definition of gender and the color of our skin leaves no escape from the inseparable chains of racism, sexism, and classism, all of which are to be present simultaneously.

Black Queer WomXn's recognition was often shoved to the back end "for the good" of the Black community. In part due to their identity considered not crucial to the movement; thus, their identity would "muddle" the message that correlated with conservative views, despite fighting for the liberation of all Black folX. Along with internalized homophobia, those who identified as Queer or a WomXn, our voices were often diminished and "shushed" away for a male leader to carry the voice of the Black community. We are currently experiencing Black WomXn continuing to lead the fight for Black and Brown bodies' liberation. In the male-dominated Civil Rights movements, the sexism and marginalization again Black Queer WomXn has led to Black WomXnism. Despite the Suffrage Movement, white feminism used the work and labor of Black WomXn while simultaneously silencing Black voices and benefiting off of white privilege.

How do we get to this point?

The Afrofuturistic CommXndmXnts and Undebatables serve the purpose of creating a space where the inseparable chains of oppression associated with Black WomXnhood do not hold the velvety to cause harm for Black WomXn.

An Afrofuturistic landscape acknowledges that Afropessimism and Afrofuturism coexist simultaneously [2]. Like Black folX, there are intersections of both that influence the other. Varying identities can coexist, so will in the Afrofuturistic landscape. Afrofuturism revolutionizes patriarchal systems that were created to confine and control Black bodies. Rather than rewrite, revise, gloss over, or suppress history, we must acknowledge these patriarchal systems and revolutionize through dismantling and destroying so that Black folX can, in fact, frolic freely. Afrofuturism is the result of these systems, and we craft our own. Rather than integrating into "dominant culture," we should be allowed to live separately without the threat of the "other," which is non-BIPOC folX, invading and colonizing us. Afrofuturism allows for Blackness and Black folX to be eXpansive, not confined. To be free, we cannot submit to white culture or seek their validation and approval.

With Afrofuturism, there must be a balance for Afropessimism as well. In an Afropessimistic world, the reality and weight of colonialism and imperialism's lasting effects have no escape. This constant reality is reinforced by institutional, social, and systemic institutions, reflecting racism, classism, sexism. The Afropessimism is that of the present moment, reminding us eradication of exploitative systems is not synonymous. When reform occurs in abolishing these systems, it is in correlation with an Afrofuturistic world being molded.

The very act of thinking and molding a space for Black WomXn is a radical act. While we can take steps to this radicalization, the systems of racism, classism, and sexism are the productions of a patriarchal and capitalistic world that have profited and have been sustained by the exploitation and labor of Black WomXn. 

Reclaiming time and space is such a radical act that the systems that exploit and benefit from the bodies of Black WomXn will be dismantled and destroyed to pave a true revolution that is not centered around white liberalism.

For an Afrofuturistic world to exist, it must first be a world that is a physical and mental safe space for Black WomXn. Black WomXn birthed us, and yet we have exploited off of their pain and labor. Black WomXn must be able to be free and not policed by our bodies. The CommXndmXnts and Undebatables are a beginning step in molding and crafting this space intentionally inclusive of Black WomXn.

[2] (Edwards, 2020)