Making the World of Imperium In Imperio

I’m working on new reader about Afrofuturism for the classroom. The text brings together many of the resources I’ve used to teach my class over the last few years into one volume with timelines, discussion questions, and framing commentary from myself. Given my background as a historian, I always take the time to do is consider early afrofuturist texts such as Imperium In Imperio (1899). I’m particularly fascinated by Imperium because the author Sutton E. Griggs is contemporary to figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois and is recognized by Du Bois as someone producing work for a black readership. The plot of Imperium is really a reflection of the implications of the rise of Jim Crow segregation, but one element of the book is particularly speculative and offers the opportunity to expand the story world of the novel. I’m using AI tools to bring these scenes to life.

"You will remember, Bernard, that there lived, in the early days of the American Republic, a negro scientist who won an international reputation by his skill and erudition.”

This scene appears at a crucial point in the novel when the lead character reveals the existence of a secret society founded by the black scientist.

“This wealthy negro secretly gathered other free negroes together and organized a society…”

The scene continues with the central characters discussing the nature of the secret society. Many details about the society are offered in this section of the story. Some details are strong, while others are left to the reader’s imagination. My goal will be to use AI tools to tease out some of these ideas over the next few weeks.

It is a thought exercise…don’t freak out.