“The Goophered Grapevine” by Charles Chesnutt
The only selection in the book is a short story published by a biracial writer whose name belongs in any serious discussion of America’s greatest short story writer. This story, his most well-known, tells of a slave who unwittingly eats grapes from a vine that has been “goophered” by a conjured woman. The result of eating the grapes makes the man age almost an entire life in a year before beginning the process all over again with the arrival of he next spring. The plantation owner figures out a way to exploit this strange transformation by selling him to other owners at a premium price when he is at his healthiest and then buying back at the end of the year at a bargain when his aging has made him all but useless.
“The Comet” by W.E.B. Du Bois
While Du Bois is one of the most famous African American authors in history, his fame is not derived from the genre of science fiction. As a result, many fans of Du Bois might be surprised to come across this apocalyptic short story that describes what happens in the aftermath of a cosmic cataclysm which, at least temporarily, leaves a black man and a white woman together believing they are last two humans on earth.
“separation anxiety” by Evie Shockley
This may well be the story which most closely fits the average reader’s conception of speculative fiction. It is set in the distant future of the 22nd century and takes place in a dystopian society in which the U.S. government has mandated the institution of a forced separation of the races.
“Sister Lilith” by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
This story arguably qualifies as the most speculative fiction in the collection as it reaches all the way back to the very beginning of humanity. Apocryphal biblical texts exist of a woman named Lilith who precedes Eve in the story of Creation outlined in the Book of Genesis. Lilith was created by God as an equal to Adam and thus had to be banished so that God could build Eve from the rib of Adam, thus making her subservient. Jeffers offers a unique reinterpretation of this myth steeped in the theme of race in which Adam and Lilith are both black but Eve is white.
“Chicago 1927” by Jewelle L. Gomez
This story may serve to introduce readers to Gomez’s The Gilda Stories which features the same protagonist, a black bisexual female vampire. The stories in that collection follow Gilda’s adventures across time and space which finds her in Missouri in 1921, New York in 1981 and New Hampshire in 2020.
Excerpt from Black No More, a novel by George S. Schuyler
Although Gomez’s story features the protagonist from her full-length book, it is not excerpted from The Gilda Stories. In this particular case, the entry which appears in this collection is excerpt and as such disappoint readers looking for a full resolution. The full title of the novel from which entry has been excerpted is Black No More: Being an Account of the Strange and Wonderful Workings of Science in the Land of the Free, A.D. 1933-1940. It is a satirical work published during the Harlem Renaissance. The title is a reference to the discovery by a black scientist of a process capable of turning black people white.
“The Space Traders” by Derrick Bell
Fans of speculative fiction looking for a tale about aliens making contact with humanity will find it in this story set in the year 2000 though published in 1992. It is also one of the stories which most directly confront the prevailing theme of racism in the future through its story of the alien civilization offering to trade advanced technology and gold in exchange for all the dark-skinned black citizens of the United States.
“Future Christmas” by Ishmael Reed
The speculative element has mostly to due with the lesser known companion of St. Nicholas. Zwarte Piet is a well-known figure of folklore in the Low Countries who is controversial to say the least because he is usually depicted as a white man in blackface, thus making him a perfect for vehicle for speculative fiction touching on themes of racism. The entry in this collection is an excerpt from Reed’s novel, The Terrible Twos.
“The Evening and the Morning and the Night” by Octavia Butler
Butler’s novelette features a story about the development of a genetic disorder which develops among the offspring of those who were the first to be treated with a cure for cancer. This disease produces a number of serious symptoms including self-harm and psychotic episodes. The thematic focus of this tale is on the psychological impact of the social exclusion necessitated by the extremity of these symptoms and the danger the children represent to others.
“Racism and Science Fiction” by Samuel R. Delaney
In addition to speculative fiction, this collection also features non-fictional essays about the process of writing within that genre for black authors. This essay features the author’s insight into the impact racism has on the publishing part of the writing process.
“Why Blacks Should Read (and Write) Science Fiction” by Charles R. Saunders
Saunders offers advice on the benefits to black readers who may be hesitant to read science fiction. On the other end of the process is advice to black writers on secrets to successful writing about race within the genre.
“Black to the Future” by Walter Mosley
This essay is the shortest piece in the collection but uses its limited space to great advantage. The message from Mosley is that speculative fiction has a rich history of introducing ideas deemed outlandish when written that have actually come to fruition over time. Essentially, he is telling young black writers that if they want to write something that can change the world, this is the genre in which it can be done.
“The Monophobic Response” by Octavia Butler
Butler’s non-fiction contribution offers a philosophical approach to connecting issues of "otherness" in racism with "otherness" represented in speculative fiction by alien life forms. It is essentially a meditation upon the urge and need to produce alien creatures in fiction as a way of working through the concepts in real life which their presence in fiction represents.
