Los Angeles – Almost 40,000 acres Burned in southern California in the past two weeks, with at least 25 lost lives, more than 12,000 destroyed structures and tens of thousands of displaced people.
On January 9, Nikki High, owner of the Octavia library at 1353 North avenue in Pasadena, shared on social networks That its doors were open, and in a few hours, people came to connect to their wifi and load electronics. With the help of local volunteers, she directed traffic and orchestrated the deposit and the collection of donations. Inside the store, supplies were organized on shelves, with panels for stamps and soap against Bell Hooks and Audre Lorde books and packages of formula and stacked diapers against Wonderful woman Bands and reviews.
The Octavia library, which has survived the Fire Eaton, is now used by the community too than a bookstore, becoming a paradise and a center for resources and the support of mutual aid.
High, which opened the store in February 2023, describes itself as a “lifetime book” and “Pasadena product”. Having grown up in the region, she attended one of the independent bookstores belonging to blacks from Los Angeles, ESO won books in the Park Leimert. A period of personal reflection during the 2020 pandemic inspired her to open his own bookstore in his hometown of Octavia E. Butler.
“I wanted to create something that did not exist here – a community space for black and brown communities that play a decisive role in the construction of the heritage of Altadena and Pasadena,” said High Hyperalgic.
Butler known As a “mother of Afrofuturism”, is the legend of the hometown of Pasadena. In recent weeks, the author has been discussed as prophesy In 1993 Parable series, with intrigues reflecting the reality of global warming and capitalism at an advanced and political stage slogans As “making America again large”. In Sower parable, The protagonist, Lauren, wrote an entry into her newspaper dated Saturday, February 1, 2025: “We had a fire today.”
High said this reference was at the forefront of his mind right now, especially like hashtags like “#Octaviaknew“Continue to circulate.
However, High added: “It is important to emphasize how Octavia also provided plans on how to rebuild.” Butler searched and studied political models and history, opening up large possibilities and solutions in his science fiction works.
In an interview Essence reviewButler recounts a conversation at a book signature, when a young man asked her if she thought that the future would bring the kind of disasters she talked about in her books. “There is no unique answer that will solve all our future problems,” replied Butler. “There is no magic solution. Instead, there are thousands of answers – at least. You can be one if you choose.”
High shared how butler's literature, as well as others, catapulted it into action, not only inspiring it to open the bookstore, but also the urbouter to reinvent how it can serve its community.
There are many ways in which the Octavia library is like other organizations and companies that provide mutual aid without hesitation and intensifies where certain institutional and official bodies are not, or do it on a slower and bureaucratic chronology. “I am here above all because I need to obtain resources for people without bureaucracy and administrative formalities,” said High. “I'm here – we are an open door.”
The approach without questioning was obvious during a recent afternoon visit on January 10. Bottles of water were available for all those who came, air purifiers were delivered to the elders and the gift cards were given to the members of the affected community. Donations can be made and volunteers can register on the shelves of Octavia Instagram.
While conservative politicians and social media experts point their fingers and spreads disinformation, the Los Angeles region has also experienced a wave of unity. As butler's writing pointed out, there are essential conversations to return to the Aboriginal knowledge and the stewardship of the country. “We have to be creative with the solutions and ask us in a critical way how we rebuild,” said High.
