FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2023
MEDIA CONTACTS
Charles Coleman, charles@facets.org
Paul Gonter, paul@facets.org
FACETS Announces “We Can Be Sheroes: Celebrating Black Women in Sci-Fi” Screening + Panel Event
Press Release
CHICAGO—FACETS is pleased to partner with new brand and podcast Color Comics to present a special night of curated screenings highlighting three Black superstars of sci-fi on Friday, June 30 starting at 6:00pm for a pre-show reception, followed by screenings & a panel discussion with the Color Comics team and special guests, concluding with a post-show reception. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Monday, June 12 at 2:00pm and can be purchased in advance through FACETS’ website. Tickets cost $12 for general admission and $10 for FACETS Members with proof of active membership.
WE CAN BE SHEROES: CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN IN SCI-FI
Friday, June 30th @ 6:00pm
Event Description
Losing Star Trek legend, Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura) in 2022, sparked conversation on what her trailblazing career meant for Black women actors in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. Join FACETS and Color Comics, for a night of curated screenings and a panel discussion about three Black superstars of sci-fi, including:
- Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek Discovery’s ‘Michael Burnham, The Walking Dead’s ‘Sasha Williams’)
- Aunjanue Ellis (Lovecraft Country’s ‘Hippolyta’)
- Jo Martin (Doctor Who’s ‘The Fugitive Doctor’)
We’ll examine some of the best performances from our favorite fandom, and hear from thought leaders in comics and science fiction. Afterwards, you can sound off during a Q&A with a panel of media and comic scholars.
Event Schedule
6:00pm – Doors open + Pre-show reception
6:30pm – Screening block 1
7:30pm – Intermission
7:45pm – Screening block 2
8:45pm – Post-show reception
9:30pm – Event ends
Full event description, schedule and ticketing can be found on FACETS’ website here.
PANEL DISCUSSION
What can a time lord, a Starfleet officer and a housewife who travels through time and space tell us about depictions of Black women in modern sci-fi? Stick around after the show to find out. Our panel of experts and enthusiasts will take your questions as they ponder the evolving role of Black women in science fiction.
More panelists to be announced soon.
SNACK & DRINK RECEPTION
Doors will open at 6pm for a pre-show reception with complimentary snacks, wine and beer. Stay after the panel event for a post-show reception to chat with the panelists and other sci-fi super fans. Complimentary snacks and drink specials available for purchase.
GUEST + PANELIST BIOS
Ytasha Womack, Virtual Commentator: Ytasha Womack is a critically acclaimed author, filmmaker, dancer, independent scholar, and champion of humanity and the imagination. Her book Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci Fi & Fantasy Culture (2013) is the leading primer on the exciting subject which bridges science fiction, futurisms, and culture. The book is a 2014 Locus Awards Non Fiction Finalist. Womack tours the world championing Afrofuturism and the role of the imagination. She’s published essays in the anthologies Black Quantum Futurism: Space Time Collapse, Artists Against Police Brutality. The short Afrofuturist Prince ode “For Digital Girls Who Drink Tonic Water When Purple Rain isn’t Enough” appeared in Jalada.com and 2709 Books (Spanish Translation). Womack’s other books include Rayla 2213 (2016) Post Black: How a New Generation is Refining African American Identity (2010), which was a Booklist Top 10 Black History Reader, and Beats, Rhymes and Life: What We Love & Hate About Hip Hop (2007). Her films include the romantic comedy Couples Night (2018/screenwriter) starring Tony Rock and Reagan Gomez Preston; The Engagement (Director) starring Bernadette Stanis and Clifton Davis, and Love Shorts (Producer/Writer). She was also coproducer for the documentary Tupac: Before I Wake and appeared on E True Hollywood Story’s Rappers Wives documentary as a guest commentator. View her website here.
Erin Allen, Panelist: Erin Allen is an artist and communicator, driven by her curiosity about the stories of people. She has a dynamic background in audio, from producing multimedia work at Michigan Radio and WDET to co-hosting Radio Campfire, a live, listening event series. Her passion for social justice and art with her skills in marketing and communications have led her to spaces like Stone Soup Housing Cooperative and Allied Media Projects. Erin holds a BA in psychology from Grand Valley State University. With spare time, she dances her heart out at music festivals and binges science fiction media of the Octavia Butler persuasion.
John Jennings, Virtual Commentator: John Jennings is a Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside. His research interests include the visual culture of Hip Hop, Afrofuturism and politics, Visual Literacy, Horror, and the EthnoGothic, and Speculative Design and its applications to visual rhetoric. Jennings is co-editor of the Eisner Award-winning collection The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of the Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art. Jennings is also a 2016 Nasir Jones Hip Hop Studies Fellow with the Hutchins Center at Harvard University. Jennings’ current projects include the horror anthology Box of Bones, the coffee table book Black Comix Returns (with Damian Duffy), and the Eisner-winning, Bram Stoker Award-winning, New York Times best-selling graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler’s classic dark fantasy novel Kindred. Jennings is also founder and curator of the ABRAMS Megascope line of graphic novels. View his website here.
Cianna Greaves, Panelist: Executive Producer at Color Comics. Public radio reporter and producer. A pop-culture enthusiast, who’s into anime, British tv, sci-fi tv., food, film and Nintendo.
Steve Bynum, Moderator: I’m Co-Executive Producer of Color Comics. I’m also a broadcaster, podcaster, host, storyteller, conversation-starter, DEI thought-leader and global citizen.
Josh Bynum, Emcee: I’m a member of Color Comics. I am also an experienced panelist, healthcare worker by day, and local nerd by night.
Stanford W. Carpenter, PhD, Panelist: Dr. Stanford W. Carpenter (AKA Brother-Story) is a Culture Anthropologist and Comics Scholar who conducts ethnographic research with an archaeological sensibility while using comics, memes, the spoken word, and writerly things to communicate with a surrealist vibe.
ABOUT COLOR COMICS
We at Color Comics leverage BIPOC-driven, multi-platform conversations, experiences and storytelling to lift up diverse aspects of comics, anime/manga, graphic novels, sci-fi, gaming, fantasy, cosplay and more! Our multidisciplinary approach through anthropology, political economy, art, history, and journalism interrogates media representations and industry practices. Intrigued? Then Color Comics is for you! Join our movement to explore the diversity of fandom!
“Color Comics” is a brand of Worldview Solutions (WVS), an independent, nonprofit, media social enterprise inspired by “Worldview,” WBEZ’s 25-year global affairs/news program. WVS aims to leverage solutions-oriented stories and projects, through a global lens, which reflect the resilience, joy, and progress of diverse communities.
About FACETS
Established in 1975, FACETS expands perspectives and affirms a shared humanity through inclusive engagement with film. FACETS‘ mission is to create cinematic experiences for youth and adults that foster vital conversations and community action through film exhibitions, media education, and film resources. Learn more at facets.org
FACETS presents the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (CICFF), the largest children’s film festival in the world and an Oscar®-qualifying children’s film festival. Learn more at facets.org/cicff
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