Calling this a book is inadequate. It’s a work of art. I loved everything about this. Perfect coffee at table experience.

It took me a while to get through Black Futures, and I took breaks while reading other books. There is a lot to take in with the book's unique structure. There are essays with photos, interviews, social media posts, and more that touch on a wide range of black experiences.

It's an enlightening, valuable book that does a good question giving the reader many things to think about while exploring the question, "what does it mean to be black and alive right now."

This book is fantastic. Do you need a white lady's opinion on it, though? No, though I did love it and hope more people pick it up.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC digital copy. I have not been compensated for my opinion and this is an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this ARC digital copy before needing to switch to other books that were being archived. The book remains on my Goodreads "want to read" list, and I will update my review to reflect an updated opinion when I finish it at a later date..

Black Futures is an incredible powerful and complex anthology of Black art in all its forms: pictures, writing, social media, activism. Bringing together diverse perspectives and styles within the Black community, the text explores what it means to be Black now and what that Blackness may look like in the future. A long and challenging read (if you're doing it right, I think), but a worthwhile one.

This is a stunning collaborative work of art that I think belongs in all college libraries. I'm not sure if it would be necessary to every small public library, as budgets can be strained. Overall it's an impressive collection.

This book was stunning on a screen, so stunning that I knew I had to have a physical copy for my home! If you're unfamiliar with Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham, I cannot recommend giving them a follow on social media enough. I've learned countless things from the two of them, and I'm better for it.

In this beautiful volume, Drew and Wortham seek to answer the question: What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?

In photos, interviews, snippets, social media posts and more, the book answers the question in multitudes.

Thank you to Netgalley and One World Books for advanced access to this title!

Black Futures is an anthology of modern Black art in all of its forms. They have put together a great grouping of visual art pieces, poems, interviews, songs all the way to tweets, social media posts. As someone who is not part of this community it was an interesting way in which to see/experience art that I would not normally be exposed to.

It has taken me a very long time to finish Black Futures but it was worth it. This book. THIS. BOOK. It is required reading. It is our hopes. Our Dreams. Our realities. It is our future.

I am a GIANT fan of both Jenna Wortham and Kimberly Drew. Each woman is a powerhouse of art, activism, words and a damn good selfie. The two of them came together in friendship and in this endeavor to show that there are Black people in the future. Their hard work, along with every writer, artist, musician, photographer and activist who contributed to this must-read.

I can say that there are so many contributors in this book that I had never heard of before reading. Part of me felt shame for not knowing who these people were but I got over it because now I DO know who they are. It took me awhile to read this book because I kept stopping to Google the contributors and their work. I watched videos, read articles and stories and even played a video game where the player slaps the hands of white people trying to touch a Black woman’s hair as she tries to get through an airport (that game is FUN). There are recipes to try, suggestions on how to create a history of your life and how to collect art. There is so much to read through and experience.

This review is just a fraction of what I want to say about this book. Once I get my thoughts together, I will update this review with a link to my website. Until then, I HIGHLY recommend that you buy Black Futures for yourself and other family members and friends.

Thank you to NetGalley, One World, and Random House for the eARC of <i>Black Futures</i> edited by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham. I have been following both for a while on social media and I have a ton of respect for them and other Black creators for documenting our movement in culture in such a respectful and intersectional way. I love my people and if that statement makes my review biased then so be it.

I think that a lot of Black content is part of the #BlackLivesMatter genre with a constant police brutality theme and begging white people to understand that we are human beings. I appreciate that this book isn’t solely about that. Of course, being Black is equal parts celebrating revolutionary joy and love, but it’s also about confronting pain so that we can continue the fight that our ancestors started. There is no corner of the world that is a safe space for Diasporic Black people, especially those of us who are Black in America (this includes Afro Latinos, Black Caribbeans, and African Americans from immigrant African families) but we have such an enduring spirit that is revolutionary in its own way.

Immediately I knew what I’d be getting with this collection of essays, art, and photography because as I said, I have been following the editors for a long time. I know that they show out for us and I feel represented and empowered. Going back to some of the more painful topics as we investigate the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the memory of our murdered and brutalized, it stirred up deep emotions inside of me. This book is divided into several sections that work as their own theme such as: Black Lives Matter, Black Futures, Power, Joy, Justice, Ownership, Memory, Outlook, Black is (STILL) Beautiful, and Legacy. Each section has collected essays, photos, art, and conversations about those topics.

As a Black woman who is a big genre reader, I usually avoid non-fiction topics about Black people because I feel like not many people get the Black experience right. This collection is massive and touches on a wide range of Black experiences. We are a diverse people and that’s just looking at the United States alone, it doesn’t begin to explain the Black experience across the Diaspora and not Indigenous African people. Nevertheless, I think that this is a good starting point for those interested in Black American culture, history, and our future. Perhaps the most revolutionary sentence in this book for me is that “Black people exist in the future.” Afro-futurism not only puts Black people in that aesthetic but it’s also a way of saying that not only are Black people going to still be around, but we are going to be leaders in the future whether people like it or not.

I think that while it is important to look at our past and celebrate Black history, we also need to be steadfast with carving out our future and be loud about the fact that we expect liberation. This book is called <i>Black Futures</i> and I have never been more excited about what this future holds.

Wow, what a book, every Black person should have this in their home. Black Futures is like the Black bible that we need. I highly recommend this book.. Thank you, One World for this gifted copy.

Black Futures is an anthology of essays, conversations, art, poems, paintings, interviews, and more in response to the question, “What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?” As a white woman, I found this to be a very enlightening book. Nevertheless, I don’t know that I can ever truly comprehend on a visceral level what it means to be Black in today’s world.

While I received a free Kindle ARC of this book from NetGalley and Random House, I found that the small screen on my Kindle was not conducive to viewing the format of much of the artwork, illustrations, and even the text. Ultimately, I was able to get the hardcover book from the library. While this book is also available in audio format, I would strongly suggest reading the hardcover edition to get the most out of what this book has to offer.

This has to be one of the most unique books I’ve ever read.

This is a book featuring the voices and art of diverse Black people, filled with mixed media art, photography, poems, music, essays, and transcribed conversations— all connected to the Black experience.

As a white woman, I really have no place critiquing this book— it’s very much a book written and curated by Black folk for Black folk.
However, I did find it a very intriguing and eye-opening look into Black culture. I feel like I’ve gained a much deeper understanding.
I enjoyed my time reading it.
4 stars.

**ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is more than a book. It's a gorgeous collection that deserves a home on your shelf or coffee table. Selected by Roxane Gay as her first book for her new book club, this curated anthology gives readers a poignant look into Black art, writing, and other media. I loved it so much I bought a physical copy.

Many thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

As I read on the book became more valuable to me. I'd love this in my personal collection. 5 stars from me.

Easily my most immersive and unique reading experience of 2020. BLACK FUTURES is a collection of essays, art, memes, conversations, recipes, lyrics, and more that attempt to detail and encompass the experience of Blackness today. This book is a time capsule of Blackness and a dream for our future.

I loved this book so much. It is massive and rich and full of wisdom and joy and creativity and activism and defiance and beauty. It is the embodiment of the saying “Blackness is not a monolith”. The topics range from Black Indigeneity to self-care, from Ocean preservation to Colin Kaepernick. And it’s not just about each of these things the book connects the many seemingly disparate dots and exposes the multitudes we, Black folks, contain. Drew & Wortham clearly poured so much love into this collection and into telling our stories. A blessing.

If you’re looking to treat yourself I highly suggest picking up a copy of BLACK FUTURES. It is an honor to hold this book in your hands.

First and foremost: I’m not an Own Voices reviewer for this book, nor was this book written for me. But it’s been widely acclaimed by people it was written for, and since its publication, it’s become a New York Times Editors’ Choice and Roxane Gay’s first-ever book club book (among a lot of other praise!).

Still, I’m really, really glad I read it. Black Futures is not the kind of book you sit down and read cover to cover; it’s more like a gorgeous, moving, inspirational (and at times heavy) coffee table book, although calling it that feels like a disservice. It’s so much more than a coffee table book. It’s a celebration, an amplification, a deep-dive, a time capsule of a culture. A gift to everyone who reads it, but especially to the Black community. I was blown away by the breadth and detail and research and love that went into creating it. This book is a triumph.

This isn’t the point AT ALL, but as a sort of bonus benefit, I also think that it’s a really powerful tool for white allies like me to glimpse and learn more about what it’s like to be Black in America, without asking Black people to do the labor of educating us. I plan to buy a copy and read it in even closer detail, piece by piece, over time, multiple times.

Thank you to One World for the digital review copy via NetGalley.

This is a momentous collection of art, interviews, stories, and other writings by Black thinkers. It is free, joyful, intense, energetic, angry—it embodies the whole of humanity, in a way. I especially loved the discussions of Black internet culture and technology, it was something I knew absolutely nothing about. I found many of the essays eye-opening, and I am eager to flip through the finished edition to admire and learn from the artwork found inside, as I read this on my Kindle so only got a brief, black and white, glimpse at these beautiful works.

Some of my favorite pieces/essays included "Soul Fine Farm: Black to the Land," "Time to Reclaim Our Skin" by Adrienne Marea Brown, and "The Notion of Pride" by Rahim Fortune.

I’ll start out by saying that there are no words I can write to do this work of art justice. It is a complete visual journey that needs to be experienced. It is all centered around the question, “What does it mean to be Black and alive today? It is a collection of pictures, essays, conversations and more, from some our known and respected black voices. I will go back to experiences it again and again.

This book is gorgeous, and I will be purchasing a physical copy because reading it online is not nearly as beautiful.