The Comet: A Brief Introduction to Black Speculative Fiction

The Comet (1920), by WEB Dubois, is an example of early African American Science Fiction sometimes referred to as black speculative fiction. The short story appears as the final entry in a collection of works entitled Dark Water: Voices from Within the Veil. The story tells the tale of a black bank messenger named Jim Davis. The reader meets our protagonist shortly before a comet passes dangerously close to the Earth, emitting deadly gases into the atmosphere which we are led to believe kills every living person on the planet save for one white woman, Julia. Julia and Jim travel together through the ruins of New York City to search for their loved ones and attempt to communicate with any other possible survivors. Finding nothing but a silent throng of dead bodies and left with the belief that they are the lone survivors of this cataclysmic event, they seek refuge on the roof of a building. Jim and Julia share a brief moment of mutual acceptance and understanding; they are confronted with the daunting prospect that they may be responsible for furthering the human race. However before they can act, they are miraculously discovered by other survivors, including Julia’s father, and discover that only New York was destroyed. Just as quickly as Jim and Julia are prepared to throw away the chains of the racial divide between them they are swept right back to reality and assume their previous roles.

The Comet is unique for several reasons. Chief among them being the rarity of science fiction elements in African American literature although there are some examples of Black Science Fiction dating back to the 1850’s. One such example, Blake, or the Huts of America, was penned by a prominent black leader, Martin Delaney in 1859. Delaney was a noted abolitionist, physician, and perhaps the first proponent of Black Nationalism, or the concept that promotes total separation of blacks from European or white society. Delaney’s novel tells a revisionist story of a successful slave revolt in the South during the American Civil War in which the black heroes form a new independent country in Cuba. The novel was written after a pivotal moment in Delany’s life. In 1850, Delaney was one of the first three African American men accepted to Harvard Medical School. After only a few weeks of study several of his peers complained about the presence of Delaney and the other black students and as a result all three were dismissed. This moment appears to have been the catalyst for Delaney’s Black Nationalist beliefs which he detailed in a book prior to publishing Blake, or the Huts of America. Delaney’s book, The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States, Politically Considered (1852) argued that blacks had no future in the United States and proposed that blacks leave to form a new nation elsewhere. Delaney’s work influenced that of future African American science fiction writers such as Frances Harper and Edward Johnson. Undoubtedly, Delaney’s ideas of the inevitability and perpetuity of racial divides struck a chord with Dubois, which shows in his work, The Comet.

Dubois’ story touches upon several interesting themes. The first and most obvious being race. Upon describing the first meeting between Jim and Julia, Dubois writes, “They stared a moment in silence. She had not noticed before that he was a Negro. He had not thought of her as white…yesterday he thought with bitterness she would scarcely look at him twice” Immediately we are made aware that Dubois places the characters in an alternative timeline, a speculative world of hypothetical “What if’s,” however in this post-apocalyptic world of his creation, the issue of race is still squarely in the minds of our protagonists despite the more pressing concern presented by the dire circumstances in which they find themselves.

Another theme is one of religion. Rather than placing Jim and Julia in an idyllic Garden of Eden they are thrust into a hellish nightmare and simultaneously cast in the roles of Adam and Eve. At this moment the story takes a hopeful turn. Jim and Julia are described as transcending their racial identities. Dubois writes of Julia, “She was neither high nor low, white nor black, rich nor poor. She was primal woman; mighty mother of all men to come and Bride of Life.” Despite this brief moment of racial transcendence, reality quickly comes crashing down upon them with the arrival of Julia’s father and the other white survivors.

The story echoes the Black Nationalist sentiments posed years earlier by Delaney. Despite the shared ordeal of these two characters, upon their discovery, Jim is again cast in the familiar light of the nameless Negro who is not to be trusted. Fred, one of the men that discovers Julia along with her father says:

“’Who is this man here?’ He asked, encircling her drooping form with one arm and turning toward the Negro. Suddenly he stiffened and his hand flew to his hip. ‘Why,’ he snarled. ‘It’s- a- nigger-Julia! Has he- has he dared?” Julia later responds, ‘He has dared-all, to rescue me,’ she said quietly ‘And I thank him-much” But she did not look at him again.”

Jim is immediately relegated to a nameless and faceless yet dangerous black man. He is quickly dismissed by Julia’s father who throws cash at him as they curtly leave Jim behind. Dubois seems to be not so subtly hinting at his belief that the racial injustices that have been perpetuated over hundreds of years are perhaps so deeply entrenched in the psyches of whites and blacks alike that nothing, not even a world ending event, could shake these deep seated tensions.

Dubois and Delaney’s sentiments appear to continue to ring true today. While we have made tremendous progress towards improving race relations since the writing of The Comet, we find ourselves at perhaps the most racially divisive time period since the Civil Rights Movement. What was once an undercurrent of racism permeating the murky racial waters of our society, has now surfaced as a swell of controversy following high profile race related police shootings and a political climate which has emboldened many Americans to openly voice their racist beliefs with a sense of impunity.

African American Science fiction in general, and black speculative fiction in particular is a rich literary format that allows writers the freedom to address racial issues within the confines of hypothetical fictionalized events. Their stories combine elements of science fiction, historical events, and Afrocentric themes, in order to discuss the present day issues faced by African Americans and serves as a means to re-examine the historical events of the past. African American writers continue to make up a small minority within the world of Science Fiction. As younger generations are exposed to these fascinating works of fiction one hopes they will be inspired to continue to use this literary style to allow us to look at ourselves through the ‘looking glass’ which is perhaps more important now than ever before.