I kinda believe a pandemic will be the cause. Seriously, most sci fi novelists have been white men who write mainly for their targeted audiences. Issac Asimov, whom I loved for his non-fiction mainly, almost exclusively used white male characters in his stories, as did others.

We came out on the wrong side of the revolution???

This post is depressing.

Something is wrong with you! HAH!! I love all of these above ... the only thing I can think of is that we all picked up and left... outside of that it make no sense. We are the back bones of everything in the world we are the future that is for sure!!

But I am intrigued as to what would set off all the F bombs about Matrix?...Does it have anything to do with Sophia Stewart? Spill it... spill it... :-D

Have you seen DS9 yet? The only Star Trek with a black captain, who even says he doesn't like holodeck programs set in the 20th century because of Jim Crow.

Hey don't forget Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: DS9! He rocked. And he had a black wife with a career of her own who stood up to him, comforted him and supported him. And was totally cute. His son Jake was cute too. In the UK we had a sci-fi series called Red Dwarf with a mixed race "captain" and a black cat/guy (don't ask), twas a cult classic. So there are a few, though of course not nearly enough for my tastes.

Am I a bad person for laughing out loud when I read your top five?

Just wonderin'

I think its the science fantasy (white fantasy that is) of science fiction genres that is the cause of this. The "Wouldn't it be great if they just weren't around?" feeling that authors (intentionally or not) illicited in their readers. The "they" of course would be anyone ranging from brown on down. I call it the Flintstones-Jetsons Phenomena. We won't exist in the future because we didn't exist in the past. *sigh*

Hey Danielle,
I Have something that has been on my mind for a while. I have been thinking about the deal with the liberals and liberal media. It is true that the MSM is responsible for most of what society deems is good and what is bad, and it is also true that MSN has liberal leanings. Do you see where I am going? I am a Democrat, although, I have been upset as of late to find out about some of the racist history of the party. I know that was a long time ago and the demographics shifted alot since then, but do you think that the underlying racism of the Democratic party is still in tact? I mean, we champion some good stuff now, but did the platform have to change so much to get blacks who were disenfranchised?

@Snob: This post is hilarious! I'm into sci-fi books/movies/show and some sci-fi anime (Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Outlaw Star are my faves) but I never noticed the lack of color in the future. When it comes to books, Ray Bradbury's Martian Cronicles short-story "Way Up in the Middle of the Air" is the only thing that I can think of where Blacks are the main focus of the story.

And do tell (w/ or w/o the f-bombs) your feelings about the Matrix Trilogy. Does it have something to do w/ the Wachowskis stealing the story from a sista?

@John: Yeah, your right, "Deep Space 9" had brothas comin' up but unfortunately they're stuck babysitting space stations. IMO, it was the least exciting of all of the Star Trek shows. If Sisko had been the captain on "Voyager" that would have made an even more interesting show.

I in no way am trying to bash anybody on the left, I am just think out loud. I have been wondering if there is really some conspiracy in this all? Do the Democrats have the true interests of blacks at heart? I mean, the Republican mantra as of today is Take Responsibility for Yourself, and Government Doesn't Solve Problems, They Create Them. Has expansion of government really invented some problems for blacks? Im really young and have just started paying attention to government, even though I always believed I knew the difference between a liberal and a conservative.

Bottom line i guess is, Are liberals really good for black americans? Or are they just telling us what we want to hear and really sinking us? I mean, don't get me wrong, im not one of those, blame government for everything that is bad people. i just don't trust governement. i don't trust the IRS, and I don't trust politicians either. i just don't trust anybody, not when it comes to really caring about the poorest among us.

*Ahem*

Well, most of the auteurs in the SF genre have grown up seeing and participating in a cultural circuit where the people they've communicated with were presumably white. Not saying that there haven't been black geeks forever, but in arenas-- mailing lists, behind-the-scenes, online venues--where you don't necessarily know there are people of color, the white supremacist assumption is to give everyone equal credit for being white (and male) unless DIFFERENCE suddenly gets introduced. Especially among youth, not because kids are cruel, but because they don't know any better and their parents are usually not good at schooling them otherwise. This is true for any medium, right? If you only ever hear that white dudes write books, you write books and show us pictures of book-writers who are usually white dudes, unless otherwise specified. Most of the time, racial difference is there to "teach a lesson" or "make a point," as the fact that we even have to have a conversation to explain "why so few negroes" evidences.
Now, the more sophisticated explanation says, oh ho, well, in the future, these black people may look subordinated, but you have to remember that they all feel equal, because racism is not as much of an issue. To which I say, sure, yeah, but if you're the actual! black! woman! playing Zoe on Firefly or Dualla on BSG, you're the odd woman out, in the industry, when you look around at your peers on the set. Because all those points about how liberated everybody should be are there to be made in the future, not in the present by, say, casting and employing many, many more people of color to reflect how diverse California, or Vancouver, or New York, or the planet where you''re actually shooting, really is. The majority of the people in the world are not white. But the majority of the ones who make up the societies we see on TV, and the ones driving the action, are-- unless we're supposed to be looking at a shocking! expose! of racism! So you won't see a majority of the gainful, enfranchised, fully-employed participants in a TV ensemble or film, in front of and behind the camera be people of color except in venues that are specifically, nay, affirmatively, acting to make that performance a route to rewarding diversity and shared opportunities. This isn't a problem for fancy action sci fi future TV, so much as it's a problem that evidences the disconnect between liberal Hollywood's ideal vision of itself (we're not racist! See? Kandyse McClure loves her job! which may be true enough, in which case, get down girl, go head, get down) and the utter blindness with which it operates when it comes to hiring and writing for the characters it's sending into the "liberated" future. At least, until later seasons, when even that promise that "these negroes will be hella liberated-- in the future!" gets sent hunting with Dick Cheney, to give Apollo more angsty screen time.

Also, lay off Alexander! If he was kinda whack as a Klingon, it's because Klingons are the negroes of the universe. They're never allowed to be sensitive (gay) Wesley Crusher or even ...bland Jake Sisko (who as a "war correspondent" is probably about as actually talented as Anderson Cooper). Ferengi homeboy (Nog) was my president, though, I feel you on that.

If you haven't already check out Cosmic Slop. One of the three vignettes is space related, (the one starring Robert Guillame), where the aliens make a deal with white America. The martians (or whatever they are) solve all of Earth's problems if all Black people get on board the space ship and leave the planet. You can guess how fast White America decides to close that deal.

Thank you for telling me that. I don't know a lot about sci fi and I wondered where that story came from, and how HBO had the balls to air it.

One just has to wonder about how big network folks think the black sci fi audience is I suppose. Most sci fiers are dorky white guys still (although my own presence at the Baltimore Comic Con is proof that this is changing). To me sci fi needs a little bit of a rebranding as do comic cons. The market is widening but the same herd of drooling girlfriendless mysathropes still run the party. (I know I'll catch heat for that).

PS I'm bringing Y:The Last Man series with me on the trip DB you'll love it, has a gorgeous black woman as a major lead, if not the pivotal character. The whole series is a huge step forward. Tho of course, most white dudes think the endings depressing.

Girl, I knew there was a reason why i come to your blog even when i'm tired as hell. I just put Mr. Bell's book on my reading list.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers Benjamin Sisko. One of the most well rounded characters in sci-fi. Strangely enough, Ron Moore, show runner for BSG, was working for DS9.

Thanks Danielle. you always give great insight. It must be the people. Im s Democrat, nonetheless, but my Crazy libertarian teacher had a chick questioning her politics. I always ask you for advice, I like to hear both sides.

There is a prominent black character on Star Gate, one of my fave shows-Teal'k (sp?). Lt. Uhura and the random black people who are usually sacrifced at the begining of the movie....oh yea, Sam Jackson and Billy D in Star Wars.....Whoopi on TNG was it?

Anyway, please pick up an Octavia Butler noverlor 2.Amazing, easy to read books w/ people of color protagonists!! Nerds unite!!

I had a MEGA crush on Wesley Crusher. I think I may have stolen a Bop magazine with him on the cover cuz I knew my Moms was def not buying it for me. The boy was a nerd girls dreamboat.