LEGACY OF ORÏSHA:

RETHINKING BLACK GIRLHOOD IN SPECULATIVE FICTION

Abstract

This paper aims to contextualize Black women authors’ work inside the Speculative Fiction genre and to argue on how Tomi Adeyemi’s Legacy of Orïsha (2018, 2019) is a liberatory piece of art concerning Black girls’ representation. Our scope considered Ebony Elizabeth Thomas' (2018, 2019a, 2019b) affirmation that Black girls in imaginative settings are limited and stereotyped as much as in any other literary genre. Correspondingly, we are based on the Dark Fantastic theory established by Thomas, especially focusing on the stage of emancipation where we defend that Adeyemi’s books are grounded in Black feminist storytelling. Therefore, first, we address the ways in which qualities of innocence, goodness, beauty, and intimacy relationships are racialized as White in our society — consequently, having effects on the media and literature for the masses. Later, we analyze how the Black girl characters from Legacy of Orïsha, mainly the protagonists — Zélie and Amari —, subvert mass media and literature limitations since they are portrayed as having the qualities previously discussed alongside with their role as heroines. Finally, we assert Legacy of Orïsha can contribute to helping us rethink our collective imagination regarding Black girlhood in Speculative Fiction.