Octavia Butler and Farming as Resistance

• In Event: Re-Envisioning Baldwin and Octavia in the Age of Digital Praxis

Abstract

Metaphorical uses of sowing seeds and harvesting abound in the work of Octavia E. Butler beginning with her earliest works published in 1977. Titles such as Wild Seed and Patternmaster reflect internal themes of cross-pollination of purposes and ideas as well as domination and enslavement within the Patternist series. The religion created in the Parable series, Earthseed, equally employs the metaphor of seeds and plant migration to explore issues of human colonization “among the stars.” Lauren Olamina teaches herself and her followers how to collect seeds, grow plants, and identify edible wild plants as a material practice of survival during political, environmental, and economic chaos. This reflects real-life activist projects such as Fannie Lou Hamer’s Freedom Farm Cooperative which sought to address hunger and poverty in Black rural communities, while also providing tangible skills and support for Black farmers and sharecroppers.
As the world Butler predicted in Parable of the Sower and Parable of Talents approaches our reality, including numerous wildfires, diminishing clean fresh water supplies, unpredictable weather patterns, mass human migration escaping war and political upheavals, etc., activists look to Butler’s work for inspiration about how to address social issues. Beyond the Parable series, what ideas does Butler have about the role of farming in liberatory movements? Exploring Butler’s archival records to consider references she made to seed saving, soil and water management, and farming practices, this project places Butler in conversation with her contemporaries in the Black Freedom Movement, specifically those using agriculture as a form of resistance.

Author

• Cassandra L. Jones, University of Cincinnati