Journey to Afrofuturism

by Donald “C-Note” Hooker
Issue 10: Afrofuturism

© Donald “C-Note” Hooker

On a journey
long, long, ago
Afrofuturism was long-sought
The maps of its existence
were misleading
like the maps to Wakanda
but She
a student at an HBC
found the truth
Afrofuturism
would not be found in Africa
but California
Like the Raiders to the Lost Ark
who sought God’s covenant
so too
Spanish Conquistadors
sought the Califia
The Queen
of the land
of Black women
She ruled with a Saber-tooth scepter
adorned gloves
from the Mammoth’s wool
She nursed
the Earth’s oldest and tallest trees
in the forests
of Redwoods
Invited the Blue whale
Earth’s largest mammal
to suckle her young
off Her coastal waters
In ancient times
Her Queendom fed the world
In modern times
It’s called
America’s
richest
farming region
But She
a student
from HBC
just like me
Prayed
to the Queen Mother
at a place
known as
Nob Hill
in San Francesco de Assisi
is enshrined
a mural
in a hotel
for one-percenters
The Califia spake
to our dear sister
in a way
only understood
by feminine energy
and so she wrote
as only a scholar can
the map
to Afrofuturism
It did not lead to Wakanda
in Africa
or the East
Where the Sun rises
but in the West
Where the Sun sets
in America
will Afrofuturism nurse itself
In the Queendom
of the Califia
California

Poet’s Note: For the uninitiated, California’s name is derived from a Black woman.

 

Donald "C-Note" Hooker

Donald "C-Note" Hooker

Donald “C-Note” Hooker is a California state prisoner. In February 2020, the West Oakland Branch of the Oakland Public Library held the 30th Annual African American Poets & Their Poetry Celebration. One of the themes of the event was “400 years of African-American history in California”. Per his research, Donald discovered California was named after a Black woman. Based on this knowledge, he created a Back to the Future poem titled “Journey to Afrofuturism,” which was recited at the event.