In my cyber travels, I have been fortunate enough to come across many interesting people, and some fascinating online communities. I've been able to cross paths with like-minded individuals, and other artistic souls. Since I've always been one to infuse my politics with my art, I had always hoped to be able to find a place where I could do just that.
Enter the Black Science Fiction Society.
They exist on a Ning platform. They're an online community that you can easily join, dedicated to expanding the Black/African presence in the genre of Science Fiction. Instead of just whining about not getting acceptance from white folks in that field, these people are actually doing something about it. They are very progressive in their ideas, and also in their creative ventures. One main thing about them that I like, is that they do a lot of stuff offline, as well as on their site.
You have many creative brothers and sisters on that site. They go from self-published authors, to artists...animators to publishers...poets to performance artists. They are a very tight-knit community, and are very supportive of each other.
They have many different genres that they cater to; Sword and Soul, Fantasy, Steampunk/Steamfunk, Military, Action/Adventure, Suspense, Fan Fiction, Comic Books, and so many others. They're not all diehard Afrocentrics, but a lot of their stories have elements of not only our continental culture, but also elements of the Diaspora.
Many are trying to collaborate with each other to work on projects. They've already produced a magazine, and a few anthologies. They even have an online store where you can purchase a number of the members' books. They've even created an online TV channel; you can join that site, and upload your content.
It is definitely a way for me to be able to creatively express myself. I've even posted and excerpt or two of some novels that I want to work on. I've always wanted a way to 'edu-tain' the masses. Perhaps for my next book idea, I should try my hand at fiction....?
If you get the opportunity, please go to their site, and join up. Purchase some of their products, and sample some of the groups that they have to offer. We need to support our own. Because if we don't....who will?
www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com
They also have a sister site called Wagadu
www.wagadu,ning.com
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