Interestingly enough (in connection to the readings in Black Utopia”) I am currently working on a series of paintings that are inspired by thoughts of Black freedom, Black utopia, and Afro-futurism. Unlike the premise of Zamalin’s conclusion however, the images I am working on do link Black utopia to violence: to violent revolution. It is difficult for me to imagine a Black utopia absent a scorched earth event. In this way, I find a lot of “sense” in Sun-Ra’s “philosophy” as stated in the book that this “cruel planet”, this “mean world” looks to never afford Black people the possibility of utopia or anything close to it.
