ABSTRACT
In his 1999 essay “Racism and Science Fiction,” Samuel R. Delany writes of his discomfiture with the oft-given title of “the first African-American science-fiction writer” (383). In order to give a more accurate portrayal of the early contributions of African-Americans to science fiction, Delany briefly highlights the “proto-science fiction” writers M.P. Shiel and Martin Delany and the early alternate histories of Sutton E. Griggs and Edward Johnson (383–4). Delany also includes a lengthier review of George S. Schuyler’s twentieth-century texts (384–6). This short literary history reveals Delany’s desire to reform the science fiction community and its relationship to race; it is a first, small step towards increasing the inclusiveness of the science fiction field. While Delany acknowledges the generally liberal atmosphere of the science fiction community, he speaks of his experiences during his 40-year career in order to highlight how race and racism operate even within this liberal environment (386). He ends with specific suggestions to “combat racism in science fiction” (396): “That means actively encouraging the attendance of nonwhite readers and writers at conventions […,] actively presenting nonwhite writers with a forum to discuss precisely these problems […, and] encouraging dialogue among, and encouraging intermixing with, the many sorts of writers who make up the science fiction community. It means supporting those traditions” (397). Delany’s racial history, narratives, and call for action intermingle in his article, published in a 2000 anthology, Dark Matter: a Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora. Here Dela-ny’s fiction joins that of Schuyler and W. E. B. Du Bois, complementing the historical revision Delany sketches in his essay. Likewise, the non-fiction section of Dark Matter is a written “forum” for non-white writers to discuss the “problems” associated with race in the science fiction community (Delany, 106“Racism” 397). More broadly, one goal of such an anthology must be to expand the “non-white readers” of science fiction and, of course, publishing these texts encourages non-white writers of science fiction as well, especially the younger and/or relatively unknown authors. In the introduction, editor Sherre R. Thomas writes, “[i]t is my sincere hope that Dark Matter will help shed light on the science fiction genre, that it will correct the misperception that black writers are recent to the field, and that it will encourage more talented writers to enter the genre” (xi). Dark Matter, then, in many ways embodies the corrective spirit Delany discusses in “Racism and Science Fiction.” The 2000 publication date is an auspicious sign of a more inclusive century of science fiction to come. Yet, Delany baldly titles his essay “Racism and Science Fiction” with good reason. Whether past, present, or future, the “racism” of science fiction must be addressed in order for the science fiction community to truly come-of-age and realize its full potential.
