Afrofuturism describes a cultural movement by black artists and thinkers who embrace science fiction, fantasy, and other visionary storytelling forms to explore the complex realities of people of color. We kick off Black History Month this year with a salute to the pioneers of Afrofuturism: writers like Octavia Butler (1947–2006) and W.E.B. DuBois (1868–1963), space jazz pioneer Sun Ra (1914–1993), and expressive painter Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988). All have left creative legacies that inspire visions of a imaginative future as seen through the diverse lens of humanity’s past.