Imagining slaves and robots in literature film and popular culture : reinventing yesterdays slave with tomorrows robot Introduction : Reading the writing on the wall Racing robots and making slaves : how the past informs the future Proslavery thought and the black robot : selling household appliances to Southern belles The true cult of humanhood : displacing repressed sexuality onto mechanical bodies The tragic mulatto and the android : imitations of life in literature and on the silver screen AI (artificial identity) : the new negro From Fritz Lang to Janelle Monae : black robots singing and dancing Conclusion : When the revolution comes