Rasheedah Phillips is an American artist, author, community activist and lawyer based in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. She is the creator of The Afrofuturist Affair and, together with
Camae Ayewa, the
Black Quantum Futurism multidisciplinary
An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, ...
artist collective.
Art and writing
Rasheedah Phillips founded The Afrofuturist Affair in 2011 to provide a web-based platform and a community for writers of color working in
speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...
and similar genres. The project contributed to the founding in 2014 of the multidisciplinary
Black Quantum Futurism collective, with artist and musician
Camae Ayewa. An exhibition of their work was held at Vancouver's
Western Front gallery in 2019. Phillips is also an
Afrofuturist science fiction author who has written several self-published books, including ''Black Quantum Futurism Theory & Practice, Volume I''.
Legal work and community activism
To Phillips, creative work and community activism are interrelated dimensions of her fight against
racial inequality. Phillips graduated from
Beasley School of Law at
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
in 2008, notably while working and caring for her small child.
The same year, she began working for Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, where she later became Managing Attorney of the Housing Unit.
In 2016, Phillips established the Community Futures Lab in the
Sharswood-Blumberg neighborhood of
North Philadelphia
North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as ...
to serve as a community hub and workshop space for residents of the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
The Lab hosts readings, workshops, a library and facilities for community
oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from
people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...
documentation.
Awards
*2017 Housing Justice Award, National Housing Law Project
*2017 City & State Pennsylvania 40 Under 40 Rising Stars
*2017 Pew Fellowship (together with Camae Ayewa)
References
External links
Community Futures LabThe Afrofuturist AffairBlack Quantum Futurism
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Living people
Afrofuturist writers
21st-century African-American lawyers
21st-century American lawyers
American science fiction writers
American community activists
Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni
Temple University alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)