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A review by nmcannon
(h)Afrocentric Comics: Volumes 1-4 by Juliana "Jewels" Smith
5.0
When I picked up (H)afrocentric off the library shelf, I did not know I was picking up a bomb beyond language. Juliana "Jewels" Smith's writing, Ronald Nelson's art, and Mike Hampton's colors don't hold back, and together they're quite the knockout.
The plot is pretty simple, with typical comics silliness popping up as needed. Naima, her best friend Renee, her brother Miles, and his best friend El are some of the very few students of color at Ronald Regan University in Oakland, CA. A self-proclaimed black radical feminist and great admirer of the activists of by-gone days, Naima wants to do something to fight Oakland's gentrification problem. With her upbeat attitude and fiery ideals, she puts together a block party to save an older resident from being pushed out and to fund a new website idea, mydiaspora.com, as a social media meeting place for black and brown folks to get away from crushing, racism-riddled reality. In the second arc, RRU requires internships for its students to graduate, and Naima & co. struggle to find employment that is meaningful but doesn't compromise their ideals.
When I first read (H)afrocentric, I was a little lost. This comic is not introductory material. It references and assumes readers already know the basic overview of black history/activism, black feminism, and black queer thought. Elizondo “El” Ramirez is Chicano and brings Mexican nationalism into the story, while another character, Kwame, brings hotep tendencies to the page. I felt like I was back in undergrad again, where I knew I was in the presence of wisdom, but did not yet know how to understand it.
And so I went to the (H)afrocentric website. Came back to the comic. Went back to Google. Downloaded a QR reader so I could get the links embedded in the art. Listened to (H)afrocentric's soundcloud. Listened to this brain explosion of an interview with Dr. Frank Wilderson. Thought some more until something shifted, and now, I think, I know a fraction. Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn, this comic put me back in school. I loved every second.
Like other reviewers have noted, (H)afrocentric is not a light read: it's here to make the reader think about American society's current limits, visceral struggles, and betterment through grassroots activism. I definitely recommend it to everyone who has either already studied the aforementioned topics or is willing to put the effort in to educate themselves. This comic is full of power and change.
The plot is pretty simple, with typical comics silliness popping up as needed. Naima, her best friend Renee, her brother Miles, and his best friend El are some of the very few students of color at Ronald Regan University in Oakland, CA. A self-proclaimed black radical feminist and great admirer of the activists of by-gone days, Naima wants to do something to fight Oakland's gentrification problem. With her upbeat attitude and fiery ideals, she puts together a block party to save an older resident from being pushed out and to fund a new website idea, mydiaspora.com, as a social media meeting place for black and brown folks to get away from crushing, racism-riddled reality. In the second arc, RRU requires internships for its students to graduate, and Naima & co. struggle to find employment that is meaningful but doesn't compromise their ideals.
When I first read (H)afrocentric, I was a little lost. This comic is not introductory material. It references and assumes readers already know the basic overview of black history/activism, black feminism, and black queer thought. Elizondo “El” Ramirez is Chicano and brings Mexican nationalism into the story, while another character, Kwame, brings hotep tendencies to the page. I felt like I was back in undergrad again, where I knew I was in the presence of wisdom, but did not yet know how to understand it.
And so I went to the (H)afrocentric website. Came back to the comic. Went back to Google. Downloaded a QR reader so I could get the links embedded in the art. Listened to (H)afrocentric's soundcloud. Listened to this brain explosion of an interview with Dr. Frank Wilderson. Thought some more until something shifted, and now, I think, I know a fraction. Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn, this comic put me back in school. I loved every second.
Like other reviewers have noted, (H)afrocentric is not a light read: it's here to make the reader think about American society's current limits, visceral struggles, and betterment through grassroots activism. I definitely recommend it to everyone who has either already studied the aforementioned topics or is willing to put the effort in to educate themselves. This comic is full of power and change.