The late Octavia Estelle Butler became the first African-American woman to be recognized as an internationally renowned award winning science fiction writer. Such illustrious awards include the PEN lifetime achievement award and the Macarthur foundation “Genius” grant, to name a few. With her work, Butler injects the experiences and perspectives of African-American women in the canon of speculative fiction – an important task that she spearheaded in the late 20th century. Butler’s stories place Black female protagonists in dystopian societies, where they are faced with seemingly impossible adversities. Yet, well equipped with creative vision and leadership skills, the protagonists succeed, at least, at leaving readers with valuable lessons and ideas. In all, Butler’s work illustrates a positive and intriguing portrayal of Black American women. Some of the author’s best-known works include, Kindred and Parable Of The Sower. Singer, songwriter and self proclaimed super hero Janelle Monae is the 21st Century embodiment of Butler’s creative essence.

With Monae’s latest musical work entitled Metropolis, Monae has successfully transcribed the feeling and ideas consistent with a science fiction novel into her EP. The backdrop of the EP is set in a realistically fictional city Metropolis in the year 2719. The female protagonist, Cindi Mayweather, a freedom fighting, soul singing, rock star, robot “android” of African descent, breaks the strictly enforced law of falling in love with a human. As a result Mayweather is sentenced to complete and immediate disassembly. With a free spirit and determination to fulfill a unique destiny, Mayweather becomes a powerful revolutionary fugitive.

To readers of Butlers’ work, this storyline may be very familiar. It is as if Butler and Monae are having creative conversations that appear in the connections between their works. Why is any of this important? For starters, it is an example of art as a historical record of the literary, musical and overall creative legacy of African-Americans in general and African-American women specifically. It is evidence that Black elders have heirlooms to give forth to younger generations. Valuable assets other than destructive behavior, negligent parental patterns and symptoms of Post Traumatic Slave syndrome. There is strong creative vision and socially resistant action through art to be inherited.

If you aren’t quite convinced of the importance that is within the wacky sci-fi visions of two African-American artists, I leave you with Butler’s response to the question: “What good is science fiction to Black people”?

“…It gets the reader and writer off the beaten track, off the narrow, narrow footpath of what ‘everyone’ is saying, doing, thinking – whoever ‘everyone’ happens to be this year.” -Octavia Butler

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Janelle Monae – “Many Moons” (Trackademicks Remix)