When you think of science fiction writers, your mind probably goes to people like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke. However, science fiction is no longer an exclusively white genre. We have writers of color who are pushing the boundaries of the genre as well as anyone else. The only difference is that they are enabling black readers to imagine themselves as heroes rather than side characters.
These are the writers we are talking about today. They are people of color, and they have written at least one stellar book.
Octavia Butler – Xenogenesis Trilogy
Octavia Butler is arguably the most celebrated black science fiction author. She writes about frightening futures, where nuclear war has wiped out most of humanity, alien viruses have mutated people into monsters, and right-wing theocracies govern dystopian societies. One of the common elements in her stories is that black women are not victims; if anything, they are the ones who offer a ray of hope.
Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy is one of her best works. It is based on humans who are saved by aliens after a nuclear war wipes out most of their race. The aliens, called the Oankali, have three genders—female, male and ooloi—and they have ulterior motives for saving humankind.
NK Jemisin – Broken Earth Trilogy
NK Jemisin is one of the most celebrated authors of the 21st century. Her works have broken records set decades before; like winning the Hugo Award for Best Novel three years in a row. Most of her stories get nominated—or win—the major sci-fi and fantasy honors.
Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy is one of the most critically acclaimed trilogies of all time. The first book in the series, The Fifth Season, takes place in a supercontinent where every few centuries, catastrophic climate change occurs. In a single day, main character Essun discovers that her husband has killed their son and kidnapped their daughter, the empire collapses after most of its citizens are murdered, and a great red rift spews ash into the sky that will last years. Jemisin spins a good yarn, and it’s no wonder her stories are as acclaimed as they are.
Nnedi Okorafor – The Shadow Speaker
Nnedi Okorafor is a Nigerian-American author known for her Afrofuturistic worlds. She has won the biggest awards in science fiction, from the Hugo to the Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy and more. Other than novels and novellas, she has also written comics like Wakanda Forever and Black Panther: Long Live The King.
The Shadow Speaker is a book that takes place in 2070, after the Earth experiences a nuclear fallout. The fallout has caused some humans to develop both magical and mystical abilities. The story focuses on Eeji, a shadow speaker; someone that shadows can talk to. After an earthquake breaks down the boundaries between Earth and other worlds, Eeji is forced to look for a way to broker peace between the different worlds.
Karen Lord – The Best of all Possible Worlds
Born in 1968, Karen Lord is a writer known for her works in speculative fiction. Even though her works were published from 2010, she’s already gained attention for the unique way she tells her stories.
Her novel, The Best of all Possible Worlds, starts with the destruction of a planet, which makes its race—the Sadiri—endangered. The surviving Sadiri reach a multiracial world, and they start looking for other Sadiri who had emigrated to the planet years before. The book shows us that even in a future with significant telepathic and technological advances, injustices like slavery and discrimination still remain.
Nalo Hopkinson – Midnight Robber
Jamaican-born Nalo Hopkinson has written a range of speculative novels and short stories. She has also edited two anthologies, Mojo: Cure Stories and Whispers From the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction. Her stories take place in various settings, from worlds similar to our own to ones that far into the future.
Midnight Robber, for instance, takes place in the distant future, where traveling between dimensions is possible. In the Caribbean-colonized planet called Toussaint, young Tan-Tan’s father commits an unforgivable crime, which forces them to escape to another world. But this new world is full of monstrous creatures and humans who are just as bad.
He also believes that crypto has unlimited possibilities, and we are just at the starting point.
The partnership also benefits the musician’s XO Humanitarian Fund; this is a fund that works with the United Nations World Food Program.
Binance has funded the fund with $2 million, and 5% of sales from NFTs sold during the tour.
And the singer wants the fund to offer life-saving support to those on the verge of starvation.
In fact, when the fund launched in March, The Weeknd donated $500,000 and promised to donate $1 for every ticket he sold in North America.
The World Food Program also refused to be left behind, donating a further $1 million.
Pushing Through A Slump
Photo credit: Twitter – Binance
It’s no secret that billions of dollars have been lost in the crypto market.
But it’s not the end of the market, according to the Hedge Trust CEO, Eric Zhou.
Even though the crypto market has taken massive hits, collaborations like this show how cutting-edge Web3 might be given a chance.
The partnership has already shown innovation through NFT tickets, merchandise, metaverse projects, and more.
Zhou added that for as long as crypto remains viable and accepted by countries, he is optimistic about the future and will ensure his company remains at the forefront.
The Weeknd: Pushing Boundaries
Photo credit: Twitter – The Weeknd
The Weeknd is also optimistic about the future of crypto if this partnership is an indicator.
Time will tell if crypto returns to its former highs, but at least we are getting a kickass Weeknd tour out of it.
Photo credit: Twitter – LeBron James Family Foundation
This is a multimillion-dollar facility in Ohio that offers a range of medical services like:
Lab services
Dental
Optometry
Pharmaceutical
Mental health
I Promise HealthQuarters will open next year and close to other I Promise facilities like the I Promise Village and I Promise School.
The medical center has teamed up with local health providers who include:
Peg’s Foundation
Coleman Health Services
AxessPointe
Together, they plan to give local residents affordable healthcare.
Coming Together
Photo credit: Twitter – LeBron James Family Foundation
According to LeBron, it takes a whole village to raise a child the right way, and that’s what he’s trying to do through his Foundation.
And the LeBron James Family Foundation executive director, Michele Campbell, revealed that their work will keep expanding in ways they never thought possible.
Accessing affordable healthcare is essential for low-income families, and this need was heightened thanks to Covid.
So, the Foundation brought the community together to create a roof with all the experts.
Naturally, this would not be possible without help from like-minded partners who also wanted to help the community.
In 2018, I Promise School was launched courtesy of the LeBron James Family Foundation and Akron Public Schools.
Its mission was, and remains, to help the community’s most at-risk students.