NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Dr. Sonita Singh is a health infrastructure system specialist who uses artificial intelligence and data science. She is also a fierce woman who loves science fiction and art. Singh is part of the Women of Wakanda, a New Orleans Mardi Gras walking krewe organization made up of African American women.
Singh uses her knowledge as a scientist to create Mardi Gras floats. “We can create real substantive change, just by changing people’s minds through art. I’m a scientist who is sort of masquerading as an artist. This is my build for the Women of Wakanda for 2024. What we were building was the jet that you see in the first scene of the movie,” explains Singh.
The Women of Wakanda krewe grew out of the Krewe of Chewbacchus in 2018, a large Mardi Gras Krewe specializing in dazzling science fiction themes. The Women of Wakanda started as 15 women and is now close to 80 women and growing. It was birthed to create a safe space for professional Black women to get together, cosplay and be fabulous. This is a theme that is part of an internationally growing concept of afro-futurism, which is defined by the National Museum of African American History, as: expressing notions of Black identity, agency and freedom through art, creative works and activism that envision liberated futures for Black life.
Carnival and afro-futurism has always been Singh’s heart. She is of Guyanese and Trinidadian heritage and grew up a fan of Star Trek and comic books. Singh’s mother was also a doctor, and her father built the oldest Caribbean club in Washington D.C., known as the Kilimanjaro Club. Now, Singh travels all over the world from Ghana, to Italy, to Burning Band, in Nevada. She has been to over 20 countries, learning art, practicing healthcare and science and expanding her knowledge of humanity all along the way.
This year, her Mardi Gras float for the Women of Wakanda features the spaceship that was in the Wakanda movies. The Mardi Gras float is interactive with sound. “This float is sound based. As afro-house music is pumping through the speakers and the music is going, every sound creates light,” explains Singh.
One of the many inspiring components about the Women of Wakanda and the Black Panther concept, in general, is that professionals can be at the top of their fields and also have fierce fun. It also shows that Black Americans should have always had a seat at the table when it comes to being front and center as Science Fiction and Horror protagonists and antagonists.
African Americans haven’t always been at the forefront of science fiction and the afro-futurism movement challenges racial archetypes. The power that fuels afro-futurism is dreams. Dreams in the past have powered the African American story as a whole. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of a world that only existed in the minds of people who saw integration as possible. in 2024, African Americans continue to be integrated into both real and fictional worlds.
Singh explains what drives both her heart, brain and soul, saying, “since I was a small child, that has been a very core driver in my afro-futurist, vision. It is a prayer to anyone watching, that where they take their imagination, can then transform into a reality.”
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