‘Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film’
“Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film” by Adilifu Nama (2008) is the first book-length study of African-American representation in science fiction films. “Black Space” demonstrates that science fiction cinema has become an important field of racial analysis, a site where definitions of race can be contested and post-civil rights race relations (re)imagined.
‘The Conjure Woman’
“The Conjure Woman” is a collection of short stories, written by Charles W. Chesnutt in 1899, that deal with major themes through the lens of an African-American man living in the antebellum South. The prose is a bit dated, and very 19th century, but it establishes the genre very well. Chesnutt’s work is one of the first collections to be truly considered Black speculative fiction/sci-fi/fantasy. Also, “The Conjure Woman” collection is 100 percent free on Project Gutenberg.
‘Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation’
“Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation” edited by Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II (2013) is an analytic history of the diverse contributions of Black artists to the medium of comics. Covering comic books, superhero comics, graphic novels and cartoon strips from the early 20th century to the present, the book explores the ways in which Black comic artists have grappled with such themes as the Black experience, gender identity, politics and social media.