PEOPLE’S JOURNEY: EARTH

tongva land
PASADENA & LOS ANGELES

Thank you to the Tongva people, who steward the land that held us along this journey.

This first section of our journey grounded us in the element of EARTH, which we also see as HOME. The foundation of any journey is home - the earth that nourishes the seed. As we move through Pasadena, Altadena, and Los Angeles, the lands that nourished Octavia E. Butler and the Parable of the Sower journey, we learn and honor how Octavia became a vessel for translating the essential themes of survival, community, and care.

octavia e. butler’s grave site

At Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena

la can

The Los Angeles Community Action Network organizes people to fight back against oppression.

Black Thumb Farm & chef alberto

Black Thumb Farm is a space to teach children and young adults to fight for food sovereignty through hands-on training and experience, all while providing our communities with access to healthy, quality produce.

legacy of the LA bPP

The Black Panther Party organized critical survival programs from the Los Angeles HQ. Under brutal surveillance from the LAPD, this BPP office was the target of the first major raid by a newly formed paramilitary force, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT).

SKID ROW PEOPLE’S MARKET

Skid Row People’s Market is a neighborhood grocery shop responding to structural racism and criminalization of poverty by creating access to healthy food and equitable jobs, while uplifting the creative spirit.

virgina carmelo

Virginia Carmelo, part Tongva and Kumeyaa, studies Tongva language alongside her four grandchildren.

Miss Rodgers’ Hood

“Fill your mind with truth, your heart with love, and your life with service.”

Miss Rodgers sees community as family and hosts free pop-up shops, food drive-throughs, neighborhood fridges, more.

polo’s pantry

A mobile food pantry and mutual aid organization dedicated to groups helping unhoused and marginalized communities in L.A. and Orange County.

octavia e. butler magnet and library

Octavia E. Butler Magnet is a diverse community of learners who lead with principles and compassion. They are equipped with the communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity skills that are necessary to make a positive impact in our world.

Octavia lab at the downtown la library

The Octavia Lab, named after the award-winning science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, is a do-it-yourself makerspace located inside the Los Angeles Public Library's historic Central Library. Octavia Lab provides library cardholders free and unlimited access to state-of-the-art design, fabrication, preservation, and story-telling technologies.

gathering of San Fernando Valley organizations

We lifted up the spirit of the San Fernando Valley as paralleled in the Parables’ characters’ walking journeys on freeways by meeting with friends, family, and community, including groups like environmental justice organization Pacoima Beautiful, Santa Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, HEART, and Vigilant Love, a grassroots organization working to resist Islamophobia and white supremacy. The Valley was traditionally a farming community with a long history of families working the land. The community we met are emblems of interdependence, survival, and well-being.