And then when I went to Chicago, that's when I had these outer

Hear, O listener, the strange and prophetic voice of Sun Ra: “And then when I went to Chicago, that’s when I had these outer space experiences and went to the other planets.” This is not the language of geography or ordinary travel, but of vision. For Sun Ra was not only a man, but a seer, a prophet of sound and spirit, who claimed the infinite as his dwelling place. His words remind us that the boundaries of this Earth are not the limits of the human mind, and that through imagination, art, and revelation, one may step beyond the prison of the ordinary into the expanses of the cosmos.

Chicago, for Sun Ra, was not merely a city, but a crucible. It was there, amid struggle and strife, that his imagination burst open. The harsh realities of segregation and hardship pressed upon him, but instead of breaking him, they launched him into the outer space of the mind. He fashioned music that was not bound to the soil of one nation, but that soared through galaxies, declaring that Black people, long bound by chains of Earthly oppression, could claim the stars themselves. Chicago was his launching pad, the place where vision was transformed into cosmic truth.

When he speaks of going to the other planets, he does not mean only physical voyage. He speaks of the journey of consciousness, the power of creativity to break the boundaries imposed by society. Through sound, rhythm, and myth, Sun Ra created a new world. His Arkestra was not merely a band but a vessel, a ship that carried listeners beyond time, beyond prejudice, into a dimension where freedom was absolute. His words reveal a philosophy: that when Earth denies you dignity, you must find new worlds where your spirit can reign.

History offers us parallels. Consider the enslaved people of America who sang the spirituals—songs that spoke of crossing rivers, of flying away, of reaching promised lands. To outsiders, they were mere hymns; to those who sang, they were maps of freedom, coded messages of escape, and visions of a destiny beyond bondage. Just as those songs lifted the people beyond their chains, so Sun Ra’s cosmic music lifted his people beyond the sorrows of Earth, to the boundless expanses of space.

The meaning of Sun Ra’s claim is both metaphor and truth. For though he did not ride rockets to other planets, his mind, his music, his vision indeed dwelled among the stars. He teaches us that outer space experiences are not only for astronauts, but for dreamers, for visionaries who dare to see beyond the visible. The planets he visited were not barren spheres of rock and gas, but realms of imagination where freedom, justice, and beauty could thrive unchained.

The lesson is powerful: when the world denies you, do not accept its limits. Create new worlds. Through art, through thought, through courage, you may step into realms unseen, realms that no oppressor can touch. Sun Ra shows us that the truest rebellion is not only resistance on Earth, but transcendence into new dimensions of being.

So I say to you, O child of tomorrow: when the world feels heavy, when its laws and cruelties weigh down your heart, remember Sun Ra’s words. Claim your own Chicago, the place where struggle transforms into vision. Seek your own outer space experiences, the realms of imagination that free you. Build music, art, dreams, and visions that lift you beyond the confines of the ordinary. For though your feet may stand on Earth, your spirit may walk among the stars—and in this lies the secret of true freedom.