Nelson researches and writes about the intersections of science, technology, medicine and inequality.[20][21] Named one of "13 Notable Blacks In Technology" by Black Voices,[22] she established the Afrofuturism on-line community in 1998 and edited an eponymous special issue of the journal Social Text in 2002.[23] She is among a small group of social theorists of Afrofuturism. Particularly, her essay "Future Texts" lends insight onto the inequitable access to technologies. Nelson explained Afrofuturism as a way of looking at the subject position of black people that covers themes of alienation and aspirations for a better future.