When Octavia E. Butler wrote Parable of the Sower more than 30 years ago, she imagined a world torn by climate change, economic disparity, political violence and water shortages. It's a world that may sound prophetic, given today’s political landscape and changing climate. 

From noon to 1:30 pm Monday, Feb. 17, experts on Butler’s work and Afrofuturism will discuss her legacy and how her literature can inspire us to see new futures and view the past through a new lens. The panel is at Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center Multipurpose Room, at 1870 E. 15th Ave. 

“Given the current political landscape, drawing inspiration from Butler’s body of work to center social justice and chart new possibilities for social change seemed timely,” said Kemi Balogun, one of the event organizers and an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. “Imagination and out-of-the-box thinking, key features of her pioneering work, encourage innovative solutions to social problems.”

Butler was one of the titans of science fiction. During her lifetime, she received some of the highest accolades in writing, from the Hugo and Nebula awards, as well as the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.

“Octavia E. Butler’s work remains as urgent and essential as ever,” Balogun said.

The event features Walidah Imarisha, director of the Center for Black Studies at Portland State University; John Jennings, professor of media and cultural studies at University of California, Riverside; and Stephanie Jones, assistant professor of English and digital rhetoric at CAS.

Butler has been dubbed by many to be the “mother of Afrofuturism.” Afrofuturism, a theme of the Feb. 17 event, is a form of speculation that has been used as a creative vessel by many Black artists, from Parliament-Funkadelic to Marvel’s Black Panther. It encourages world building to envision Black liberation outside realities within the US, Balogun said.

“Afrofuturism reclaims the past to think about the future to champion the resilience of Black people,” Balogun said. “Through a focus on technology, space, and digital cultures, Afrofuturism explores themes of alienation, freedom, and transformation to reposition Black people as creators of knowledge.”

Butler’s work centers on power, violence and survival and she bridges those themes through multiple disciplinary approaches, from science and technology studies to literature, politics, history and religion. That broad approach that Butler could have with storytelling is what Balogun said is what she hopes will appeal to a large audience.

“Butler presents familiar issues of oppression in unfamiliar settings. This pushes readers to reflect on real-world injustices when they are framed through a speculative lens,” Balogun said. “Fantasy fiction strips away historical linearity and scientific truths, opening up new possibilities outside of those constraints. Black futures are envisioned as sites of agency, resistance, and dissent.”