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Afrofuturism
Photo credit: Hally Bellah
$24 Adults, $19 Kids, FREE for Members
This Black History Month, join us as we uplift and celebrate Afrofuturism: a movement in literature, music, art and more featuring futuristic and science fiction themes that incorporate elements of Black history and culture!
Ongoing Experiences
AfroComicCon Booth | Rotunda
We are proud to be partnering with AfroComicCon to bring you this year’s Afrofuturism celebration! “AfroComicCon entertains, educates, and unites a diverse global audience around comics, art media, technology, and culture.“
AfroComicCon is the annual event of the nonprofit Oakland Technology & Education Center (OTEC). It is a unique platform that celebrates and empowers artists who have been historically denied access to equal opportunity.
OTEC also hosts The AfroComicCon International Film Festival, as well as other events and youth programs throughout the year. For more information, check out their website at afrocomiccon.org
Consious Culture: African Stories Reimagined | Rotunda
Founded by Marlon McKenney, Conscious Culture Publishing creates bold stories rooted in history, community, and imagination. Books and films that educate, entertain, and spark conversations across generations.
Kingmakers Booth | Mezzanine
Kingmakers of Oakland is a non-profit focused on improving the educational and life outcomes of Black boys and men from Pre-K through Ph.D., while building systems that uplift all students and communities.
The Bookshop | Studio 3Head up to Studio 3 to explore The Bookshop, featuring local authors Alie Jones, Jenee Darden, Duane Horton, Dr Lonny Brooks, and Audrey T. Williams.
Pantheon Card Game | Classroom 1
Stop by the Pantheon table to check out this engaging and strategic game inspired by African mythology. Play, have fun and learn about African culture and traditions!
Timed Activities
Bar Wakanda | 6:00pm – 9:30pm, Cafe
Stop by the bar to try our specialty themed cocktail & mocktail for the evening! Beer & wine also available for purchase.
Star Dust Live | 6:30pm & 7:30pm, Planetarium
Join us in the Planetarium to experience Star Dust Live – a special, one-night only performance that fuses HipHop, science, and storytelling into an electrifying STEAM experience, inspiring audiences with self-love, unity, cosmic wonder, and the message that we are all made of star dust.
Starlight & Ink | 8:00pm, Theater
An Ekphrastic Afrofuturist Tribute to Bay Area Visionaries
Beneath planetarium stars, local Afrofuturist writers conjure stories inspired by Sinners, Ironheart, and Black Panther…transforming Oakland’s cosmic legacy into living, liberated verse. Join us as ancestral memory meets interstellar imagination.
Panelists:
Alie JonesAlie Jones is a writer, artist, and Creole mermaid. The author of Saltwater Moonshine, a poetry collection that honors her matrilineal Creole heritage through poetry, music, and reflections of love. Alie is passionate about centering breath work as sacred and hopes to build a legacy of awareness and expression.
Jenee Darden | @jenee.darden
Jeneé Darden is an award-winning journalist and author from Oakland. She is the host of two KALW shows: Sights + Sounds Picks and The Sights + Sounds Show with Jeneé Darden. Her book, When a Purple Rose Blooms, is a collection of essays and poetry about her personal journey through Black womanhood.
Duane Horton | @duanethewriter_
Duane Horton is a black queer fantasy writer who believes in writng his intersection of identity into his fantasy stories to widen the cannon and so that folks who lay on his intersection can see themselves represented. Duane hosts a radical book club and likes to watch anime with his cat.
Dr. Lonny Brooks | @avilonny
Dr. Lonny J. Avi Brooks is Professor & Chair of Communication at CSU East Bay & Visitng Professor at Stanford school. He co-founded AfroRithm Futures Group and co-designed the Afro-Rithms from The Future card game. A producer, editor, and scholar, he advances Afrofuturist and Indigenous futures through play-based worldbuilding & speculative design.
Audrey T. Williams – MODERATOR | @audthentic_stories
Audrey T. Williams, MFA, is a Southern Black poet/author with Indo-Burmese heritage. She is a PhD student in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute and founded the Ancestral Futures nonprofit to promote ancestral cultural preservation, wellness, and collective liberation through literary arts.
Live Performance with Cal Eternal | 9:00pm, Studio 2 AstroLight
Cal Eternal is an American Recording Artist currently residing in Oakland, California. Recently, Cal Eternal performed during the BET Awards weekend (Los Angeles 2024 and 2025), and in 2025 he was also invited to be featured talent at the NBA All Star Weekend celebration. Cal-E (as he is also known) recently released his debut album “The Audacity of Smoke.” Follow Cal-E @CalEternal, on YouTube and all major streaming platforms.
