My talk Neptune and the Black Condition explores the theory that Black people and Black experiences fall under the rulership and influence of Neptune. In this talk, I explore known and novel faces of Neptune — like delusion, white-washing, suffering, slavery and media — and bear out parallels between these significations and the universal experiences of Black people, past and present, and the culture of Blackness itself. From the transatlantic slave trade, to the birth of hip-hop, Neptune has played a powerful role in shaping the humanity, value and gifts of black people. Neptune — it’s indelible magic, it’s ache, it’s longing, it’s proliferation, it’s transcendence — is in our DNA
