In Parable of the Sower, a fire-ravaged California endures a climate change future that is now reality. In the 1993 speculative fiction classic, American science-fiction author Octavia E. Butler, who lived in nearby Altadena, predicted the catastrophic Los Angeles fires.
The Afrofuturist’s grave rests in Altadena, which was hit hard amid the recent fires that left thousands of Californians without their homes. But her burial site survived: the AP shared an image of the location and reported that it received “minimal damage,” citing a statement on the Altadena Mountain View cemetery’s web site. Butler passed in 2006 and her footstone reads “All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you,” a quote from Parable of the Sower.
Altadena, which CBS News described as “a historically Black community,” is now working to rebuild. Octavia’s Bookshelf, a Pasadena bookstore named for the inspiring author, is an activity hub that is working tirelessly to support Butler’s beloved Los Angeles enclave. For more information on how to help with relief efforts visit here.
Watch the interview below with Octavia’s Bookshelf owner Nikki High on the work they’re doing—and the importance of Altadena as a great American city that should be preserved and not bought out by real estate capitalists.
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