Afrofuturist author looks to empower black women in novel ‘Where it Rains in Color.’

Afrofuturism has been an emerging subgenre within both music and literature. Films like Black Panther and artists like Janelle Monáe are some of the most well-known examples of the genre that’s rewriting the rules of engagement for how African diaspora members are perceived.

With the release of “Where it Rains in Color,” decorated journalist and novelist Denise Crittendon hopes to add a colorful mosaic to the genre while reimagining beauty stereotypes among Black women.

CapRadio’s Chris Campbell spoke with Crittendon, who spoke about her foray into Afrofuturism and how she wants to impact readers with her novel.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Interview Highlights

On Crittendon getting signed by the Angry Robot Books publishing company

During the aftermath of the George Floyd [and] Black Lives Matter riots, publishing companies across the world began rethinking the messages they were sending out regarding Black Lives.

Angry Robot Books decided to start an initiative called Black Voices Matter. Under this initiative, they put out an open call to Black writers from around the world, and I’m honored to say that I was the first writer selected under the initiative. They understood my vision and loved the idea and title of the book and the fact that dark skin was being celebrated.

Cover of "Where it Rains in Color" Courtesty of Angry Robot Books

On what influenced her to write the novel

On what influenced her to write the novel

I spent a year in Zimbabwe under a fellowship sponsored by the Rotary Foundation, so I took a year off from the Detroit News, where I was a reporter. I didn’t realize how much it would inspire my imagination. Various elements of Africa influenced the book, such as the trances that inhabitants go through to connect with their ancestors, the beautiful, exotic Jacaranda trees, and the women in Africa who carry on the tradition of ululating and chanting.

Other influences on the book included my attendance at a melanin lecture in Detroit and what I was observing about the continued marginalization of Black women. The book pulled from all those experiences.

On how her experience as a reporter and editor informed her writing process

As a journalist, you tap into so many different worlds and realities. As a Detroit News reporter, I remember being sent out on assignments and interviewing people who were enduring ordeals I never considered possible.

I’ve interviewed people who were at their highest and at their lowest. Working for a national publication like the Crisis Magazine, then coming back to Detroit and editing African American Family Magazine, helped me to tap into what the Black Family [magazine] needed and enriched me as a person. When your mind is on fire like that, there’s no limit on what you can produce.

On how she hopes the novel will reshape the perception of beauty standards for Black women

The novel is categorized as science fiction/fantasy, but it is really Afrofuturism. When you write in the Afrofuturist genre, you look at our past and present to project ahead to the future for something more beautiful.

In the book, melanin is something that is admired all over the galaxy. [Main character] Lileala’s shimmering skin is revered because she is dark — that is the Afrofuturist aspect of this novel that I hope lifts Black women up to a greater glory.

On what she hopes readers will take away from the novel

I hope readers decide that Africa has a wise, vibrant and resplendent culture. I hope readers understand that we do not see with our eyes, but we see through the lens of social conditioning. In the book’s reality, [the characters] have no reason to question “midnight dark skin that shines” and that it is [a normal and accepted reality.]