Superpowers as Black Liberation

Ella's superpowers in Riot Baby are a symbolic form of Black liberation from systemic racism. As a child, her powers only show her the consequences of systemic racism, as when she has a prophetic vision of her neighbor's baby Jelani dying as a result of gang violence. But as she learns to control her powers, they become a tool she can use to get what she wants, whether that is educating Kev on intergenerational trauma through astral projection or acquiring shoeboxes full of money for her mother. As the consequences of systemic racism become more extreme and more present in her life in the form of police shootings of Black Americans she sees constantly on the news, Ella becomes increasingly focused on using her powers to liberate herself and others from oppression.

Ella's powers are frequently a destructive force, as is evidenced by...