What is ‘afro-normalism’, and what can it tell us about Black ways of knowing, being and belonging?
Join Black feminist historian Dr Jade Bentil in conversation with contemporary artist and researcher Jacob V Joyce as they explore this emerging concept and its relationship to colonialism, gender, representation and time. They will be joined by Dr S. M. Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Gender Rights and Human Rights at the LSE, to bring further insight and historical depth to the discussion.
‘Afro-normalism’—a term first coined by performer, author and storyteller Joél Leon Daniels—is the art of capturing the ordinary. It offers a counter to the polarised depictions of Black lives in mainstream narratives, which often oscillate between trauma and exceptionalism. Instead, afro-normalism centres the richness and complexity of everyday Black life.
This conversation will delve into how afro-normalism reimagines visibility, resists spectacle, and affirms Black existence on its own terms. Together, the speakers will examine how this idea opens space for reflection, healing and cultural truth-telling across time.
The event is part of the ‘Future Legacies’ series—an online platform sharing films, writings, conversations and creative exploration by Black creatives responding to the enduring legacies of empire, colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade.
Come to be challenged, inspired and invited into a deeper understanding of what it means to live, create and belong as part of the Black Atlantic.
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