In this episode, Shannon and Leigh discuss Octavia Butler’s dystopian, afrofuturistic novel, The Parable of the Sower and the current coronavirus pandemic. Butler has imagined an all-too-real version of the United States if things like climate change and corporate greed are left unchecked. Much like Butler's imagined crisis, this pandemic has amplified the stark social, financial, and political inequalities that define life for so many of us. It is also shining the necessary light on the people that hold our society together. Uncertainty for the future resides, leaving some wanting to return to “normal” as quickly as possible and some, much like Lauren Olamina, planting seeds for something new to emerge.

We discuss important themes of death & resurrection, and how this pandemic is a time to reflect and reimagine a new way of being based on trust, equality, collaboration, and most importantly, agency in creating a future that cares for all people and the environment. Has Butler created a dystopian civilization on the verge of utopianism? Should we all be reading utopian fiction for inspiration to rebuild? We will have to read the second book in the unfinished trilogy to find out.

In our episode, we mention the Livestream event, Movement Building in the Time of the Coronavirus Crisis, hosted by Angela Davis, Naomi Klein, & The Movement for Black Lives. You can find this webinar and others on the Rising Majority website.