A Note from Habeebah on Audacity
“There is nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.”
Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower
Greetings Friends,
I discovered Octavia E. Butler’s writing as an adolescent during a time of disruption and despair. I anchored my 13-year-old self into the worlds she created through her writing like many are doing now as we try to stabilize ourselves in the times she so presciently described in her books, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents.
This two-book series begins powerfully with the journal entries of the main character, Lauren Oya Olamina, as she struggles to survive the unfolding of an apocalyptic nightmare come true. She dreams of and builds a community of disciples so that she and others can have hope for a future. And yes, I said, disciples.
Fans of Ms. Butler’s writing, old and new, marvel at how a book written over thirty years ago could foreshadow our realities today. In this moment, I find myself marveling at Lauren, who like the young Black female protagonists in Ms. Butler’s earlier writings, carries herself with an audacity and determination that keeps us, the readers, rooting for her. The character moves through a world of uncertainty and violence with a confidence and clarity of purpose that I admire more and more as our real-world conditions mirror those her character faced.
Given what I know about her deep research on climate change, human behavior, and space travel, I imagine that Ms. Butler embodied a great deal of audacity herself. Frankly, I don’t need to imagine her audacity because she was a Black woman excelling in science fiction—a genre dominated by white men—so I am certain of it. Her robust catalog of works demonstrates her boldness quite plainly. Even her journal writings depict an audacious vision for her own life.
However, as everyone from journalists to social media influencers invoke Ms. Butler’s prophetic genius in writing this story that depicts the future we are now living, we don’t talk enough about what it meant for the books’ main character, a minister’s daughter, to redefine God for herself, attract disciples, and call them to a new religion while imagining a future for herself and her followers among stars beyond our solar system.
I find it ironic that in an era when Americans rejected a Black woman as President, we are so often seeing quotes from the Parables—quotes that are in fact scriptures Lauren’s character wrote for those who would become her followers.
If you haven’t read either or both of the Parables, I won’t spoil the plot here. (But I implore you to grab them from a public library, snuggle up on your couch, and read them!) Just know that Ms. Butler clearly understood and writes into the story the cost that Lauren pays for her audacity; Black girls must always pay a price for stepping outside the boundary lines that have been imposed upon us. Nonetheless, Lauren is never deterred from the destiny she knows to be hers, a destiny where life is sustained, diversity is essential, and God is Change.
A self-reflection on audacity
I’ve been thinking about this piece, and sitting with it in draft form for far longer than I intended. The truth is, I am not feeling very audacious in this moment. Values that I hold dear are under attack, children I serve and care about are in limbo, and violence in our nation and abroad tears at my heart. Most days, my soul is simply weary.
As I share this piece, know that I am calling in the courage and audacity of Lauren Oya Olamina as I navigate the uncertainty and violence taking place in our world. And I am reminding myself of the boldness that is very much a part of who I am. I hope that you are doing the same.
May we find our way forward and through with the audacity of Lauren Olamina and the woman who created her, Octavia E. Butler.
Blessings,
Habeebah
March 25, 2025
