Remembering Octavia Butler: Black Sci-Fi Writer Shares Cautionary Tales In Unearthed 2005 Interview

[@phantasmicnico7645]

Octavia Butler is not only a science fiction cautionary writer, she is a prophet

[@Jj-qe6fl]

The fact that the imaginary American president's slogan in her book was "make America great again" gives me goosebumps

[@robertstan298]

@Wally World It's never too late brother.

[@gloriaa3652]

I hope a lot of her stories don’t come true!

[@P.Funk22]

Came here to say this... 🗣 She is a prophet!

[@fatumaadam3067]

@@P.Funk22 yeah no more prophet coming

[@queenmommie8295]

She knew the truth of this wicked world. She saw the future.

[@NellieKAdaba]

👍🏾

[@showintell]

She?

[@geemcgraff8281]

@@showintell please do not start with the physical bashing.

[@showintell]

@@geemcgraff8281 biology matters. ead

[@artisticagi]

@@showintell are you just spewing toxic unfounded drivel from your socially conditioned head or do you have a basis for this statement?

[@allenkracalik7662]

"Religion is such a powerful thing it's bound to be misused." And it CONSTANTLY is!

[@israeliana]

It is profound

[@Stoney-Jacksman]

Power is corruptible. Any power. Wether religious or atheistic. The bias lies in super atheists tending to think that religion is at fault, the belief in a God...Instead of seeing that it is mankind that when in/with power it can easily be corrupted and corruptive. But we as humans love to shift blame and kill dissonance. The irony here-in is huge.

[@JEHill]

@@Stoney-Jacksman Most atheists see the notion of a god as a man-made construct,so I'm not sure what you mean.

[@Stoney-Jacksman]

@@JEHill I added a 'the' in my edit. Maybe now it is easier for you to understand?

[@JEHill]

@@Stoney-Jacksman This wasn't a misunderstanding so much as your comment doesn't make sense as it relates to atheists.

[@mr.e8561]

Damn, that lady had a beautiful mind.

[@showintell]

Lady? This is a guy

[@Armistead_MacSkye]

@@showintell You're an idiot.

[@showintell]

@@Armistead_MacSkye indeed, im a private person

[@OneTrineMendUs]

@@showintell Quite possibly born an hermaphrodite.

[@Redd91ful]

Right?!! I was going to comment this lol💙✨

[@jodifisher2183]

Brilliant woman...brilliant writer. Lost much too soon. R.I.P. dear lady.

[@raddish4256]

To all young writers...write something today. Dont worry if its good enough.

[@hhhnfryhgf9560]

Will do!

[@cookee888]

Thank u! ❤❤❤❤❤

[@skywalktriceiam]

@Sum of all Fears it's a "style", if you wish.

[@skywalktriceiam]

@rad dish old & middle aged writers, as well😉🙌

[@will_the_warlord8913]

I will try...

[@PrimordialChaos07]

I read her books in the '90s and can't find any sci-fi author I enjoy more. Black people need to write their own stories, regardless if it gets published or not. There is power in the word.

[@carbonoriginal6743]

I love her books too but try Tananarive Due

[@MsLuvmusic81]

Haven’t read Tananarive due but I know blair Underwood is behind publishing those books

[@israeliana]

@@MsLuvmusic81 whose Blair Underwood

[@KtotheG]

@@israeliana An actor

[@ompiba]

Try Nnedi Okorafor. I'm actually pretty sure it's the Black student Ms.Butler is talking about in the video because Nnedi herself told this story.

[@Jeannie_wl]

What a brilliant mind! ❤ Gone to soon. Rest In Peace, Octavia Butler! 🕊️

[@mattharvey78]

WOW! These words resonate deeply in 2024. Thank you Octavia Butler.

[@michaelanderson9792]

61 never knew this about the first black sci fi writer my loss thank you

[@sagesufferswell]

Not too late to read her books!

[@showintell]

Her? This is clearly a man

[@f.h.4552]

@@showintell And your clearly a piece of 💩 grow up

[@israeliana]

*Black* women are powerful. Octavia Butler is a beautiful example. It's never too late.

[@showintell]

@@israelianasubconscious mind control 101: 1)choose a known person of antiquity (Octavius Valentine Catto) 2)attach said person to a concept ("The Butler") you wish to promote for your agenda (perpetual servants/victims) 3)Combine (1) & (2) into an entity you can control (See movie Get Out) 4)Funnel your agenda through said entity as a buffer so you are free from liability. Have them speak glowingly of the concepts that will usher in your beliefs (Black lives matter, Naacp, The Root etc) and more importantly AGAINST anything that is counter your beliefs i.e free thinkers.

[@cookib.8924]

I could cry hearing her read one of my favorite parts of that book. In her voice. HER words. I've now just found her BY ACCIDENT 07/2024

[@pjones0424]

Same!!!

[@LaChilenitaJeanne]

I’ve loved Octavia Butler since I first found her years ago. This interview is prescient. Wishing we’d all paid attention. Thanks Democracy Now for giving this wisdom back to us.

[@ericka77]

The phenomenal Octavia Butler did her level best to warn us. So many of the exact same issues she raised back in the 90's are the red flags smacking us in the face today.

[@DenverHornsbyJr]

Thank You Democracy Now! Octavia Butler Is One Of A Kind. A National Treasure.

[@jazandjaxk5051]

I Have Never Heard Of Ms. Octavia Butler Until Now. I Must Read Everything She Has Ever Written. Omain Shante Tu Yah Ase' ~°~

[@naturally-youtube]

Excited for you!

[@paulabrintley3044]

Yes. you are in for a treat.

[@stringname.youtubegooglepl2505]

That's the great thing about books. It's never too late to discover a new author. Enjoy!

[@goddessagirl]

You will find them highly addictive and original!!

[@showintell]

Looks like a former Mr

[@blessedormessy6336]

58 years young. Rest in Peace Queen.

[@thecowboypreacher6568]

I believe some artists are in communication with a higher power when they create, Orwell, Octavia Butler, many others. Parable of the Sower and Talents are both prophetic novels that we see unfolding in the world today. She was ahead of her time and a genius in her own right.

[@Armistead_MacSkye]

A true Artist recognizes the artist's place is to channel spirit from the Source. I agree.

[@TSquared2001]

Insightful point

[@AnimalTime659]

Octavia is a phenomenal writer. I hope and pray that the Parable of a Sower does NOT come true. That book is terrifying.

[@EzeICE]

@@AnimalTime659 Agreed. But the ways things are looking now in this world we are living in, I fear the worst 😳😳😳

[@Chuxx1000]

True

[@dreamlife2351]

What a brilliant person. I wish 🕊 I would have known about her earlier in my life. Now I will read her books.

[@bowerydoll]

Her work has always inspired me. Wild Seed and the Parables are among my faves. I've been missing her so much over all of these rocky years. We need her voice more than ever. Thank you for this segment today💗

[@agravery223]

My first introduction to her was Wild Seed and then Kindred... I love Wild Seed much better followed by the Parable books.

[@ompiba]

We're lucky and blessed she was so prolific during her short stay on this Earth 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@dmystfy]

This video was suggested by KZbin. I watched it bc I’m getting into the tech field and I wanted to start reading sci-fi. I’m a young black woman that just graduated from Michigan state university and this just inspired me to write my own in the future. I was meant to see this video, it gave me the epiphany I needed. Out of all the universities in the country she said MINE. That’s fate and I won’t be convinced otherwise.

[@moniquepaints4419]

Her voice is so beautiful and luscious

[@Bbbirgani]

Rest in power Queen and certified genius. You changed what I thought was possible in Literature and taught me so many lessons on life and the human condition. Thank you for everything Octavia.

[@AtR-h4c]

lol

[@gloriaterry333]

I started saving seeds because of , The Parable of The Sower.

[@SouthCountyGal]

Me, too! I still can't bear to throw out seeds from my produce, either. I am terrible at growing things, but I can't help trying. I have also spent 4 decades considering how I and my neighbors would succeed in living in our neighborhood if we had to wall it off from the world and survive collaboratively. This book made a huge impression on me.

[@keho723]

@@SouthCountyGal so glad you pointed this out! I’ve had nearly the same thought many times

[@SouthCountyGal]

@@keho723 lol A thought now reinforced by the Walking Dead, but I remember for me the thoughts started immediately after reading Parable of the Sower when I was 13.

[@yvonnemccalla7282]

Loved that book! True. This lady is a genius...Beautiful soul.

[@marlbankian]

Excellent food for thought. Visionary.

[@jasminescott2454]

A coworker told me about her book Dawn and since than I’ve become obsessed with all her work. It really makes you think about now and every aspect of life.

[@TSquared2001]

Thank you. It's as if she was seriously foreshadowing the last 3 years.

[@jean6453]

Would include 2021 as well, and the years to come.

[@sonnyroy497]

Absolutely. We all know she's talking about rumpie.

[@yourerightimwrong4567]

@@sonnyroy497 And the fool is Beebee. 😉

[@tigerlily238]

just discovered Octavia during the year of covid and love love love their writing.

[@lisablack8892]

She was a hidden treasure . You can count me of one the people. Who have never heard this late writer. But she live on through her writings in books.

[@femmenoir8847]

Their? She is one person

[@tigerlily238]

@@femmenoir8847 When I am unaware of how a person identifes with preferred pronouns, I default to they/theirs.

[@moniqueloomis9772]

@@tigerlily238 She's dead and can't give you that confirmation. So, just use her...😔😒

[@tigerlily238]

@@moniqueloomis9772 My default; You do you boo!

[@israeliana]

I love to find other females with deep androgynous voices. It is entrancing. R.I.P Queen.

[@tothelighthouse9843]

Some visionaries don't get the acclaim they deserve during their lifetimes. Van Gogh, for example--& like him, Octavia Butler. Imagine, Van Gogh sold just a single painting while he was alive...but today he's recognized as a genius, a master of colour, & is loved & admired around the world. Octavia's day is coming. I hope I live to see her widely recognized as one of America's greatest visionaries, a day when she's read in every classroom & her novels sit on every shelf. She deserves it all. If you haven't read her two Parable novels, you have one of life's rarest pleasures ahead of you: immersion in a truly great novel, written by an author with extraordinary powers of vision & storytelling.

[@yvonnefoster-smith7597]

Thank you for introducing me to this author Octavia Butler.

[@sondrajean955]

"I wanted it and I assumed I could have it." This is a mantra that should be chanted by ALL American Descendants of Slaves.

[@shodges31]

We are more than that. Read Babylon to Timbuktu

[@pedrohippocaus8488]

Depending what you want,that mantra and practice could be bad for your health.

[@nonaeubinis7891]

All who seek enlightenment 🕉

[@dextergarner1286]

Mantra? Only if you seek self-destruction

[@israeliana]

They were not slaves. They were engineers, doctors, teachers, and artists. They so happen to be enslaved but Black History is rooted in Africa. It is rooted in the birth of humanity in the beautifully Black genetically diverse African continent. Don't internalize what the white men call you. You're not from slaves you're descendent of Africans. Find our ancestry through DNA and embrace the culture. Africa to the world!

[@femmenoir8847]

Make Octavia required reading as well as other brilliant black authors. So tired of Europe literature stuffed down our throats in school and considered classics. Black children need representation in books in various genres.

[@meinegeheim2801]

Femme Noir....... ABSOLUTELY.

[@gentleasa5728]

Yes, I’m older and white, and they were killing me with no culture ! We should all be taught , and have access to the great black authors, ect . Even currently for black history month, they teach about more ppl, but I would switch her with Jay Z , who is now represented! It’s like they hide the gold from us. Maybe if other cultures, were taught about all these hero’s, great minds , ect. The black race could have the respect they deserve.

[@concepcionmenzona-stewart4615]

Yessss thank you😊

[@Jadedgems]

Yes!

[@Stolat79]

Huh? You can do both.

[@I2AmUS]

I've loved Octavia Butler since I was a little girl. I love science fiction like Star Trek, Lost in space, Isaac Asimov and others BUT when I found Octavia Butler, I knew Black people had a real future in the future. She humanized Black people. She made Black people powerful and creative. I am so glad to see this interview.

[@JimmyNails27]

I am blessed that I had a really quality English teacher when I was in high school ( around the time this interview was recorded) who gave me a copy of Parabel of the Sower. It changed my life. I would not have survived the hardships of my young adult life without EarthSeed and I deeply believe Octavia was a prophet.

[@Armistead_MacSkye]

Parable*

[@MrJreed1000]

Kindred was the 1st "adult" book...before that it was goosebumps... kindred is my favorite book ever... RIP to the goat😔

[@andreadaniel8792]

Kindred is my favorite too. I’ve read it twice and will likely read it again some time.

[@BLaurenDesigns]

I’m so late to her work. I’m reading Kindred now and wow! I’m in awe! It’s so good!

[@KassJuanebe]

I'm a culturally Jewish white person. You will pry the books of Octavia, Ursula LaGuin, Robert Heinlein and Hermann Hesse out of my cold dead fingers.

[@evaosborne6985]

I too read O Butler 20 years ago. She blew me away. The thing I remember most is her statement that we must accommodate change.

[@sistersheba]

Thank you for republishing this, and for the original interview.

[@mmckenz89]

She predicted the future we are currently in. She was a gem and a legend. RIP

[@thatdude123]

There's a guy that did a Ted talk back in 2015 that predicted what kind of technology will be coming out in the next 5-10 years. Does that make him a prophet? Or someone that is living in the future and projecting themselves in that moment/reality at the time? That is what is happening.

[@Francisco_Manos]

Not only in politics but even the slogan, ”make America great again”?

[@ewalker1057]

Octavia Butler's words on electing leaders is the pin on all my social media accounts.

[@rebeccamd7903]

I love her!! She's so prophetic yet so down to earth and realistic. I would have loved to meet her.

[@jeremiahjoseph3973]

Throughout this clip I wanted to comment something, this is the first I've heard of Octavia. But I had to stop myself from thinking and just listen to what was being said. I'll be going back and watching this again.

[@nadiadragonfly11]

If you're a Reader, start EnJoying Her immersive, prophetic & brilliant Books-:)

[@jeremiahjoseph3973]

@@nadiadragonfly11 Right 🙂. I am a aspiring writer myself, it was very enlightening to be graced by the words she spoke.

[@np700]

Such a sharp mind. I could listen to her for hours

[@G_zuz]

Her voice is as badass as her way to speak You can feel the inteligence leaking

[@IndigobluBeauty]

I’ve heard of her and even was JUST looking at Parable of the Sower in a stack of books in my house that was my son’s from his English class in hs and thought that I needed to read this. I NEED to read her books, I see that now💜

[@terejosh13]

it will be a easy and revealing experience

[@Altruismisreal27]

I appreciate DN for exactly this kind of treasure.

[@raes6829]

Such a gem! So happy to have found this video❤

[@darkanser]

I remember her. I didn't know she passed away 15 years ago. How prescient was she!! I'm sure I have one of her books somewhere on my bookshelf!!!

[@dsioux2001]

She was anointed by YAH to speak future events. It wasn't science fiction, it was prophecy. SELAH.

[@JenJaneway]

Yes

[@teachatami45]

Thanks KZbin for bringing this to my account.

[@rayenalowenssr5146]

RIP QUEEN

[@Blacklitology]

She set the bar for sci-fi writers. I loved how she created a community in one of her Patternist series books (Pattern Master)and after she finished it she decided that she wanted to know more about this community she created, so she wrote a book(Clay’s Ark) to learn more about them. That’s nothing but genius right there!

[@ladyd8028]

Splendid!! Thanks, Amy & Juan! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@Brainhoneywalker]

This is CHILLING. She was a true visionary.

[@MQTAful]

Thank you, thank you for airing this. I love her books, and it was wonderful to hear her. So sad her life was cut short--for her, of course, but for all of us, too.

[@mrgee918]

Thanks for sharing, as I never knew of this deep thinker. Peace and praise be to you Octavia E Butler.

[@paulabrintley3044]

R.I.P octavia Butler. I always loved Sci Fi and then when I found Butler's work; I really fell in love. I just read Kindred for the third time and Fledling for the fourth time. Parable of the Sower and Talents are favorites. She was just a fabulous writer with both her characterization and plot twists. I loved that her novels were multiracial as well as multispecies. I miss her. she was a brilliant lady.

[@Transformational_change]

She is incredible 😍😍😍😍definitely going to read her work!

[@flutefunk]

I needed this interview this morning! Thank you Democracy Now and happy anniversary.

[@HarlequinDrFaustus]

One of my very favorite writers, whom I only "discovered" a few years ago. Last month finished reading PARABLE OF THE SOWER, which was rather frightening for it's possibilities. Thanks for re-sharing this.

[@Hollis_has_questions]

I am passionate about her short story, “Bloodchild” - read it, everybody! Everything she said in this interview came to pass. So she needs to be read, because she knows what’s coming.

[@showintell]

This is clearly a MAN

[@ddsfarmacy692]

@@showintell what difference does that make?? Never mind. If you took the time to type such an irrelevant comment then you couldn't possibly have an intelligent answer for my question.

[@Hollis_has_questions]

@@ddsfarmacy692 That irrelevant statement is clearly a juvenile attempt at an ad hominem attack. Pay no attention to the child.

[@michaelmaps2004]

That's very true

[@michaelmaps2004]

@@showintell God created us differently. I know there are those who have chosen to live as women when they are created as man but what if you are judging her wrongly just because of her physical make up.

[@4623620]

This is one of the best interviews I have ever seen ❗ I was shocked that I never heard of Octavia Butler before and I am very sad her books are not translated in my native language. Marvin says: Don't panic and wear your Mask. 🖖😷👍 ❗

[@itsjustmeagain986]

I have all her books.

[@tpj376]

my goal is to have all her books one day!

[@mshelton1279]

I have every one of them! It took me years to track down the book Survivor :)

[@eddiemontgomery7088]

Thank you Democracy now for adding to the conversation....

[@gijoni100]

Rest in Peace my sister, your gift of prophecy and writing will always be remembered through your life changing novels.

[@kahlodiego5299]

❤Octavia Butler. I read "Kindred" last summer.

[@gabrielaaste6186]

I read Dawn for class and I loved it!

[@AliveBoldTV]

Octavia Butler’s work made me feel seen. She was such a bad ass.

[@prettydistractednails2282]

What a gift! Did this world even deserve her....❤️

[@Dustooned]

A prophet for our times.

[@theartofflying3580]

I dont care who you are... If you live in north america... when she was reading the first passage, we all thought of the same person.

[@sonnyroy497]

Yep.

[@jb78jamila]

Indeed and that fool is still around

[@jammin9061]

I thought of a few people tbh lol

[@theartofflying3580]

@@jammin9061 completely fair. He’s definitely not the only one.

[@brownyeman]

yooo. I'm in tears, Very grateful for Octavia's Wisdom. makes me proud to be human. proud to be earthseed

[@andreav318]

The human condition is predictable.

[@africarib]

perfectly stated!

[@Dra3000]

Nothing new under the sun

[@IllustratingGod]

She was a prophet❤

[@AtR-h4c]

From which god?

[@IllustratingGod]

@@AtR-h4c none

[@brandonharris8111]

Happy 25th Anniversary! Thank you for speaking the truth.

[@liammurphy2725]

Thank you so much for this piece. I never found Ms Butler an easy read but my love of the genre she worked within impelled me to persevere. I'm so glad I did. As a white male I was lead down a road I never dreamed existed. I began to frequent a different kind of bookstore and fell in love with The Woman's Press publications of the 80's and 90's. I suppose what I fell in love with was the idea of a discourse far outside of my own particular ambit. Led in part by the suffering of my three siblings who were for the most part treated terribly by the men in their lives. As far as I recall Ms Butler was not known for her love of the Deus ex Machina, for her it was always people who worked out the problems of their lives, or not. Octavia Butler RIP.

[@Micnify]

What a Visionary! Thank you! Mic'21 ADOS South

[@maristahuddleston6213]

She was more then a writer. She was a visionary among other gifts and talents she shared with world.

[@wadesmith666]

What an inciteful , brilliant mind - I'm definitely going to read her books - I feel like i've been blind and now I can see

[@byeshua2533]

Her books are very prophetic!

[@karenatha7890]

Thanks so much for this video. Octavia Butler speaks to my mind so clearly. I've been treated badly for being an outsider, a sensitive, an artist. It's so painful to have seen this coming. Ms. Butler puts the words of the reality together so beautifully. Should be required school reading. I had a 3rd grade teacher when I lived in Bolivia that had her kind of vision back in the 60s. Now this broken place breaks people like me and all ordinary humans wanting basic needs and decent leaders.

[@TripleRoux]

Thank you so much! This was moving and inspiring and that excerpt about the fascist leader gave me the chills. What a powerful soul! Keep the wonderful work up, I love the fact, that Democracy Now exists in my life.

[@maggiethebrewer03]

Oh wow I discovered her books recently must have entered another dimension. 😄

[@roxannamostatabi7791]

Me too! And I thought how did I go my whole life without reading her?!

[@barbaraboethling596]

Wonderful interview! Oddly, I had just started reading Kindred when I found this interview! Thanks Democracy Now!

[@kimme2852]

Reading. “Seed To Harvest” series now. Just finished “Wild Seed”.

[@agravery223]

Wild Seed... the best!!

[@AzmielSinclair]

When she said “my own conscious will get me” her crown is very much open

[@dmystfy]

Exactly

[@Tab-rh2bz]

Shame on Gerard Bush for stealing her work and then claiming to have “dreamed” the concept . What an insult the the GENIUS, CREATIVITY, HARD WORK, AND ORIGINALITY that she put into her writing.

[@michaelmaps2004]

Really? That's unfair. I hope they will give her due credit

[@Liya_Marie]

@@michaelmaps2004 same thing happened with the writer of Matrix/Terminator and the Wachowski brothers 😒.

[@MartinezGardenia]

She is so wise and inspiring! I wish I had the chance to meet her. I’ve read her book Kindred and just a couple days ago I checked out a book that goes into detail about her creative process. I will be reading more of her works!! :-)

[@vrencan9735]

My god. It's like she could see the future.

[@JenJaneway]

Everything that she's penned should be read and taught in schools

[@thefloweroflove2709]

I didn’t know her, I’m inspired. I’m committed to writing ✍️. Thank you Beloved Octavia Butler 🙏🏾

[@PalWebTV]

some people really come to us from the future

[@frances7994]

I stumbled upon her work about a week ago, this was perfect timing. "Parable of the Sower" and "Lilith's Brood" should be in my mailbox any day now. "Parable" in particular, caught my attention because it was essentially prophetic. It's a true shame I've only just encountered Ms. Butler's work. Can't say I'm surprised though smh oh the subtext of it all.

[@jcortese3300]

I've never read a single thing by her that wasn't prophetic, lyrical, hard-hitting, and brilliant.

[@isabelreissoares5410]

Uau, I so thankfully to you for making me to know this wonderful writer and person. I will read as much as her books as I can. I will introduce her to my daughter as a role model. My daughter wants to be a writer. 😊

[@husseinm.4723]

She was that often abused word -- genius.

[@chocolateoreo6489]

Octavia Butler is such a mastermind❤❤❤

[@stuchatterton6550]

Holy heck. She was awesome. I'd add an argument that some want freedom. A freedom that comes as a result of the combination of the desire to blindly follow, and the delight in freedom from the consequences of choice.... irrespective of the fact that that personal freedom may well result in the subjugation of others.

[@lewa3910]

Surprised i wasn't subbed yet despite knowing this channel from Majorityreport & tyt. Octavia Butler needs to be taught about more

[@anonymous203020]

I am a science fiction reader, and I only recently discovered Octavia Butler. I wish I knew about her when she was alive so I could have gone to one of her events. I am sad that she never got the fame she deserved during her life, but I am happy that so many are discovering her now after her death, myself included. She is one of the best sci-fi writers of all time.

[@iiicuuubreathingfullyoohoohooh]

i have never heard anyone address writers block as she did here. thank you for uploading this.

[@MK-hh1vo]

This was a treat! Her Parable series could not be more relevant today! I had no clue there was a 3rd installment 😔 Odd that Wild Seed wasn't mentioned 🤔 But that's not for everyone.

[@Xblossms]

I just checked out Wild Seed from the library... Why isnt it for everyone