They don’t get more Boss Bitch than Lucy Parsons, the radical anarcho-communist labor organizer who the Chicago PD said was “more dangerous than a thousand rioters.”
Lucy Parsons
Writer
Octavia Butler
On this last day of Black History Month, let’s carry forward the legacy of black Americans who, despite their struggles in this violently oppressive country, have shown innovation, talent, depth, and courage. And, let’s look to what is possible in the future.
I was a fan of science fiction and fantasy fiction as a child. It was my favorite escape – imagining impossible adventures, fantastical creatures, emotion-driven characters, good and evil, mystery and magic, creativity and curiosity, exploration and adventure, legacy and the future. The majority of these stories, though, are obviously rooted in western, white patriarchal concepts. I distinctly remember my excitement when I first read Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time – how refreshing to read about a young, female protagonist! Then, as an adult, I found Octavia Butler, a black woman science fiction writer – an afrofuturist who’s short bibliography shifted the white male-dominated field of science fiction with amazingly crafted worlds and powerfully disturbing stories of struggle, colonization and oppression, perseverance, hope, and change.
United Against Racism - New Mexico 