Afrofuturism, Dreaming, and Fiction as Praxis for Educational Transformation

• In Event: Ancestral Futures: Sankofa, Afrofuturism, and Black Educational Imagination

Abstract

This paper supports the 2026 Research on Black Education Special Interest Group’s theme “Black Futurity, Sankofa and AfroFuturism” by exploring the profound utility of Afrofuturism, dreaming, and fiction writing as critical tools for expanding imagination, fostering empathy, and driving transformative change in education. Fiction offers unique avenues for critical thinking, knowledge dissemination, and humanizing complex phenomena. Afrofuturism, through its prioritization of inclusivity, collectivism, and creativity, provides a powerful lens for speculative world-building and "freedom dreaming." This paper outlines how educators and researchers can leverage these approaches, with or without empirical data, to generate new narratives, challenge existing inequities, and cultivate generative spaces for renewal and hope.

Author

• Sosanya M. Jones, Howard University