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Black Futures Book Review mikaela adams

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Black Futures Hardcover – December 1, 2020

by Kimberly Drew (Author), Jenna Wortham (Author)

797 ratings

Editors' pick Best Nonfiction

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“A literary experience unlike any I’ve had in recent memory . . . a blueprint for this moment and the next, for where Black folks have been and where they might be going.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?

Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham have brought together this collection of work—images, photos, essays, memes, dialogues, recipes, tweets, poetry, and more—to tell the story of the radical, imaginative, provocative, and gorgeous world that Black creators are bringing forth today. The book presents a succession of startling and beautiful pieces that generate an entrancing rhythm: Readers will go from conversations with activists and academics to memes and Instagram posts, from powerful essays to dazzling paintings and insightful infographics.

In answering the question of what it means to be Black and alive, Black Futures opens a prismatic vision of possibility for every reader.

From the Publisher

WARNING: California’s Proposition 65

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A dynamic mixed-media exhibition of Black creativity and culture . . . The work is vivid, juicy, thick—as fecund as all of Black culture—and equal parts anthology, scrapbook, and art xhibition. The editors and contributors make clear the ‘infinite’” nature of Blackness via more than 500 crammed pages of essays, art, interviews, and ephemera. . . . A must-own compendium illustrating the richness, joy, and power of the modern Black experience.”—Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)

“An intriguing and beautiful book meant to inspire . . . Punctuated throughout with photography and other artwork and using vibrant colors smartly, the book is as interesting visually as intellectually. In their introduction, the editors state that one of their intentions with this book ‘is to encourage readers to follow their interests into a deep warren of rabbit holes and discoveries.’ They succeed; every reader will engage with this work differently, and will be able to come back to it again and again for inspiration.”—Booklist (starred review)

“[A] multifaceted and visually arresting anthology of essays, poems, and art . . . Bold graphics, vibrant artwork in a plethora of styles and media, and contributions from activists, scholars, and journalists across a wide range of experiences and perspectives showcase the multidimensionality of Black voices in America. This unique and imaginative work issues a powerful call for justice, equality, and inclusion.”—Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Kimberly Drew is a writer, curator, and activist. Drew received her B.A. from Smith College in art history and African-American studies. During her time at Smith, she launched the Tumblr blog Black Contemporary Art, which has featured artwork by nearly 5,000 black artists. Drew's writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, Elle UK, and Glamour. She lives in Brooklyn, New York (just a few blocks away from Jenna Wortham).

Jenna Wortham is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine. She is also co-host of the podcast Still Processing, as well as a sound healer, reiki practitioner, and herbalist, all of which she lovingly practices on Kimberly Drew. She is currently working on a book about the body and dissociation. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Welcome to Black Futures, the first iteration of “The Black Futures Project” by co-editors Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham.

“The Black Futures Project” started a few years ago as a Direct Message exchange on Twitter and has evolved into a shared desire to archive a moment. In developing Black Futures, we sought to answer the question: What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?

We sought to make sense of our unique paradox: We have never been more empowered and yet, in many ways, are still so disenfranchised. Social media has granted Black folks a platform to tell our own stories, but it has also made us subject to a new brand of surveillance and unprecedented co-option. How can we find innovative ways to define ourselves, for ourselves, without fear of erasure or the deterioration of the Internet? We feel part of a long lineage of projects, artists, activists, thinkers, and creators centered on the Black experience. We consider Fire!! magazine, The Black Book, The Black Woman: An Anthology, Conditions: Five: The Black Women’s Issue, the work of Kathleen Collins, and 9 More Weeks by Sinazo Chiya as some of our most influential elders.

Black Futures is not designed to be a comprehensive document. Blackness is infinite—a single book cannot attempt to contain the multitudes and multiverse. This is just one manifestation of a project that spans millennia. We are in a continuum of those who came before and those who will come after and make a dent in the archival project that is required of us as humans on this planet. We strove to nod to those we admire who are making history, and those taking history and doing something anew with it. We aimed for a perspective that was global, atemporal, not dominated by America and the West, not constructed by binaries, and as dynamic as possible for a print book.

We invite you to read this book alongside a device so you can search out names and terms that intrigue you. See where they lead. Our intention is to encourage readers to follow their interests into a deep warren of rabbit holes and discoveries. This is not an art book. This is not a scholarly journal. This book is a series of guideposts for current and future generations who may be curious about what our generation has been creating during time defined by social, cultural, economic, and ecological revolution.

Like us, this book is not linear. Like us, this book lives and breathes beyond temporal Western frameworks. There is no past, present, or future, nor is there a beginning, middle, or end. Start where you please. This book was brilliantly designed by Jonathan Key and Wael Morcos to have its own geography, a map that can be navigated however you see fit. There are color schemes and indices throughout to serve as tools, but we did not want to subject the material to a major order, or any suggestion of a hierarchy. This is an invitation to create Black futures alongside us. For example, throughout the book, there are geometric symbols designed by Megan Tatem that resemble a fractal teacup. Those indicate recipes, or instructions, for you to consider implementing beyond our book.

Our process: We worked together and independently to collect these submissions. On these pages you’ll find screenshots, original essays, manifestos, memes, artworks, poems, song lyrics, recipes, and creations of all types. Themes in this book will provoke you, entice you, enrage you, spark joy, and call you to action. Some of the connections are obvious, but many are not. We think that that’s okay. Wherever possible, everything in this book was made by Black hands.

As you read, you may notice that some pages of the book are different colors. We made this choice with intention. Each color indicates a subgenre or theme that guided our collection process. Additionally, we wanted to ensure
that there was as little white space as possible within the book. Pages that are yellow feature some key wisdom or observations of trends on social media. Pages that are black include prophetic prose and poetry. White pages indicate incendiary essays and artworks. You will also notice green pages, with a special geometric symbol designed by Megan Tatem, which indicate recipes. In some cases, it might be a recipe for something edible, like Pierre Serrao’s coconut bread recipe on page 452. In others, it might be guidelines for how to start your own Black art collection—see page 316. We invite you to see these pieces as exercises to inspire you beyond the book, to care for yourself, to start an archive, and to feed you as you create your own Black Futures.

Thank you for trusting us enough to come on the journey with us.

In light, love, and solidarity.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ One World (December 1, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 039918113X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0399181139
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.45 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.64 x 1.4 x 9.48 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #200,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #522 in Popular Culture in Social Sciences
- #1,506 in Sociology Reference
- #14,025 in Arts & Photography (Books)

Customer Reviews:
797 ratings

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Jenna Wortham
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Jenna Wortham is a staff reporter for the New York Times Magazine and co-host of the podcast 'Still Processing.' She is a reiki practitioner and training to be a sound therapist.
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Kimberly Drew
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Kimberly Drew is an author, activist, and art longer living and working in Brooklyn, NY.
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Customers find this book to be a fascinating modern history book, with one review noting it provides insights into truths. The collection receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as more than just a coffee table book. They appreciate the unique page layouts.

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Readability Collection Page layout

11 customers mention "Readability"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and engaging, with one customer describing it as a modern history book and another noting its gallery of experiences and musings.

"Unique and unlike any other book I own, the book provides insights to the truths, experiences, triumphs and challenges of what it is like to be..." Read more

"...hardcover and unique varying page layouts create for an elevated, exploratory, and fun reading experience." Read more

"Love the layout and content of this book. A lot of important history - art and otherwise. Wish every library had a copy!" Read more

"Buy this book and be a part of understanding and seeing the magic. Thank you for making this beautiful piece of art/work." Read more

5 customers mention "Collection"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate this collection, with one noting it's more than just a coffee table book and another describing it as a staple in every art library.

"...This book is so much more than a coffee table book, but a gallery of experiences and musings...." Read more

"...Black Futures is a lovely collection of work on the contemporary black experience...." Read more

"Great compilation of perspectives and fantastic collections! Need more books like this :D" Read more

"Should become a staple in every art library!..." Read more

3 customers mention "Page layout"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's unique page layouts.

"Unique and unlike any other book I own, the book provides insights to the truths, experiences, triumphs and challenges of what it is like to be..." Read more

"...Gorgeous hardcover and unique varying page layouts create for an elevated, exploratory, and fun reading experience." Read more

"Love the layout and content of this book. A lot of important history - art and otherwise. Wish every library had a copy!" Read more

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plainasday
A Modern History Book
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2020
Verified Purchase

Unique and unlike any other book I own, the book provides insights to the truths, experiences, triumphs and challenges of what it is like to be black in the universe through images and words. You'll read this in a different way, leaping in and out of it frequently, no start, no end, a continuous, beautiful collective - a modern history book. Kudos to Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham on the vision. This is beautifully bound and will look great on your coffee table, but more than a coffee table book. More than a conversation starter - it IS a conversation and an important one to have. What a collision of beauty and pain looks like.

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9 people found this helpful

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KS
Beautifully bound transformative read
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2020
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Bought Black Futures for a birthday gift and couldn’t help but flip through myself. This book is so much more than a coffee table book, but a gallery of experiences and musings. Gorgeous hardcover and unique varying page layouts create for an elevated, exploratory, and fun reading experience.

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KS

Beautifully bound transformative read

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2020
Bought Black Futures for a birthday gift and couldn’t help but flip through myself. This book is so much more than a coffee table book, but a gallery of experiences and musings. Gorgeous hardcover and unique varying page layouts create for an elevated, exploratory, and fun reading experience.

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9 people found this helpful

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Wendy Natter
Should become a staple in every art library!
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2021
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Love the layout and content of this book. A lot of important history - art and otherwise. Wish every library had a copy!

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lee
Pure magic
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2021
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Buy this book and be a part of understanding and seeing the magic. Thank you for making this beautiful piece of art/work.

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Elizabeth Vosk
Excellent collection
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2021
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Many of my favorite writers were included in this and I discovered new favorites too! I also learned a lot and there's so much I didn't know that I want to research more.

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Amazon Customer
If you can buy it from a bookstore, please do!
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2021
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I’m putting 5 stars for the actual book content because yes!! Very excited to read this through and through.

I would take some stars away on Amazon’s end though. Unfortunately, like many, my book came dented up and sticky so I’m a bit annoyed by that.

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Morris D.
Textbook Size Book
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2021
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Beautiful book. Amazing pictures. Just smaller than I thought it would be. I was looking for a bigger size coffee table book but still such a fascinating read!

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Morris D.

Textbook Size Book

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2021
Beautiful book. Amazing pictures. Just smaller than I thought it would be. I was looking for a bigger size coffee table book but still such a fascinating read!

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JRpotential
Powerful
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2021
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If you're Black and are looking for encouragement please buy this book. You will see how despite our challenges we refuse to let society contain us. We will exist and cause the world to change.

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Julian Roy
Damaged
Reviewed in Canada on March 12, 2024
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It arrived damaged. It's a coffee table type book, so it's pretty much garbage now. Not worth the hassle of returning. It's heavy, so if it's not packed properly (with some packing paper) it will be ruined like mine was.

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Lilis Soares
Achado
Reviewed in Brazil on January 24, 2025
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Ótimo livro. Conheci muitos artistas relevantes e pude pesquisar mais profundamente sobre casa um deles depois na internet. Colaborou muito na minha pesquisa sobre estética. E ainda foi um achado pois comprei usado e com um valor muito mais acessível no Brasil. Chegou rápido e em otimo estado.

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Black Futures Hardcover – December 1, 2020

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