When St. Louis native Nikki Alexander was a student at Harvard Law School, she made a discovery that fueled her passion project.
“I had never heard of space law before,” Alexander said.
She was instantly fascinated. Alexander realized that while there were private companies and billionaires going to space and making plans to settle on Mars, there were not many laws to ensure that equity would be incorporated in these future settlements. There didn’t seem to be very many people of color in the room – or any Black people working on the blueprints for these future endeavors.
A deep dive into the concept of space law posed questions that wouldn’t leave her alone.
“If we are going to space, how do we do it thoughtfully,” Alexander said. “How do we include everybody’s voice, and what does it look like for that to be fair.”
These inquiries became the premise for her debut novel, “Arc of the Universe,” which hit bookstores and the digital literary landscape on June 24.
“This feels like a really important time for this book to be coming out,” Alexander said. “The last year has seen a lot of disappointments coming out of the election. Personally, I was kind of shocked by it. And [by] seeing the consistent attacks on DEI and companies pulling back from their efforts, saying, ‘we don’t need to do this anymore,’ and that it’s not important.”
The current political climate, particularly in the past two weeks, has been an instance of life imitating art with respect to “Arc of the Universe.” Alexander started writing the book in 2021.
“I think it is an incredibly timely topic,” she said. “It’s fiction, but it is rooted in things that are happening around us right now.”
When she graduated law school in May of 2020, the world was upside down thanks to a global pandemic and international protests in response to the murder of George Floyd.
“There was a lot of activity happening and I really wanted to do something,” Alexander said. “I wanted to speak out. I wanted to call attention to them and use my law degree in a different way. To get people thinking. That really was the biggest driver for the book.”
She will return home to discuss the book on Sunday afternoon as part of Authors at Tower Grove Pride and on Monday evening in a special conversation with Adrienne Davis of Washington University at Left Bank Books.
“Quite honestly, I’m so excited to be in conversation with Professor Davis,” said Alexander, who is also a graduate of Washington University. “So much of her work revolves around really similar themes. She has written a lot of important and incredible pieces about race, gender and the law. I’ve always looked up to her work.”
Davis is the William M. Van Cleve Professor of Law, Founder & Co-director of the Law & Culture Initiative and Professor of Organizational Behavior and Leadership for the Olin Business School.
Alexander is predicting a fun and lively chat about the book and parallel themes.
“What does social justice look like in the book? What does it look like in our lives,” Alexander said. “What is the impact of futurism and technology? Where are companies going now – and who is getting left behind?”
In “Arc of the Universe,” protagonist Dr. Carrie Davenport is a key member of a team charged with developing governmental framework for Mars colonists who will establish permanent residency on the planet.
“It’s not a story that I’ve seen told before,” Alexander said. “Not a lot of people are talking about diversity in space the way that I would hope.”
Davenport is a constitutional law professor, and the sole Black woman in a leadership role in the project.
“Carrie is a reluctant hero,” Alexander said. “At first she was showing up and doing her job. She wasn’t focused on racism. She wasn’t addressing any social justice issues.”
After suffering a traumatic incident, Davenport reevaluates everything in her life and her work.
“There are parts of me in the character of Carrie as well,” Alexander said. “And to see her go from being very shy to being a real voice in the room, and encouraging people to take action, is very inspiring. I love the character and I love what she stands for.”
She hopes that readers are also inspired by Davenport to have the courage to take action in response to injustice.
“We are all in different jobs, we are all in different roles – even within our own community and our own families – but we can all take steps to try to make the world a better place.” Alexander said “Even when it is hard, it doesn’t always have to be the biggest change. But when you have the opportunity to make a change, I want people who read the book to think about what each of us can be doing to speak out.”
Nikki Alexander will sign and read from her new novel “Arc of the Universe” at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 28 in Tower Grove Park as part of Authors at Tower Grove Pride.
She will appear in conversation with Adrienne Davis at 6 p.m. on Monday, September 29 at Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid. For more information, visit www.left-bank.com.