Dancing the Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop, and the Dunham Legacy

Osumare’s (emerita, African American and African studies, Univ. of California, Davis) follow-up to her first memoir, Dancing in Blackness, finds her entering a new phase of her life while still drawn to the immense power and spirituality of dance and Black culture. After many years as a force in creative communities in California, she journeys to Hawai‘i for her doctorate and eventually back to California. This book focuses on her search for change as she becomes a scholar of Black arts and humanities. Ever loyal to the teachings of her mentor, Katherine Dunham, Osumare permeates the narrative with her love of dance, whether mastering the hula in Hawai‘i or being one of the first academics to study hip-hop culture in the late ’90s, after years of self-discovery. Osumare gives readers a deeply personal look into her world as a dancer, choreographer, scholar, professor, activist, and all-around powerhouse.