On September 2, 2020, almost 50 years after she sold her first story, and more than 14 years after her death, Octavia E. Butler finally fulfilled her own prophecy and became a New York Times bestseller: Butler’s post-apocalyptic novel Parable of the Sower, which was originally published in 1993 (but is set in the early 2020s), appeared at #14 on the list. 

Not that Butler had anything to prove before this, mind you. After all, in 1995 Butler became the first SF writer to be awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Grant; her work has been honored with Hugos and Nebulas; she is in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. She was a prescient thinker, a beloved teacher and mentor, and has become an enduring cultural icon, complete with Google doodle. There’s even a Mars landing site named after her.

Octavia was also very good at writing author bios. (Don’t laugh; they’re hard.) More importantly, perhaps, she has inspired countless writers and artists who came after her—from Nnedi Okorafor to Janelle Monáe and even Brit Marling, who cites Parable of the Sower in particular as informing her work on The OA. Butler is becoming one of those writers who gets continually rediscovered and re-evaluated, but for fans old and new, it’s a very verdant period for Butler’s work—both Parable of the Sower and Kindred will soon be adapted for the screen, and gorgeous new editions and new nonfiction about the writer abound. It would be the Octaviassance, except for the fact that for many of us, she never went away. 

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lithub.com

POSTED BY JAE JONES – SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 – BLACK HISTORY, BLACK WOMEN

Vernie Merze Tate was a prominent African American history teacher who wanted her students to see the world she taught about.

Tate was born to Charles & Myrtle K. (Lett) Tate on February 6, 1905, in Blanchard, Michigan. She grew up in the west part of Michigan. She was the only black student in her class and when she graduated she did so with honors from Western Michigan University. Tate went on to graduate from Oxford University in 1932.

After college, Tate traveled the world as a writer. She later became a teacher at the all-black Crispus Attucks High School in Indiana, which was founded by the Ku Klux Klan, in an effort to segregate races. While teaching at the school, Tate formed a travel club for her students.

Tate was able to take her students to Pennsylvania, Niagara Falls, and Washington D.C. Some people criticized her efforts for taking the students out into the world because many people felt that they were destined only to become domestics. However, most of Tate’s students proved them wrong and went to go to college and do well after graduating.

source:

Dr. Merze Tate

Aaron Burr’s trial and the Constitution’s treason clause.

It was on this day in 1807 that former Vice President Aaron Burr was acquitted of treason charges. The trial was truly a “Trial of the Century” in its time and one of the first tests of the Constitution’s Treason Clause.

The clause reads as follows in Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution:

“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.”

The Treason Clause was carefully worded to limit the charge to the most serious of crimes. Part of this was because of the application of treason charges, in a broader sense, in Great Britain.

The clause, as it was developed by James Wilson at the 1787 convention is Philadelphia, borrowed part of its wording from the English Statute of Treason, and it limited the ability of Congress to define treason. It also put a high burden of proof in place by requiring “the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act.”

Since the Constitution went into effect in 1789, treason charges have been brought fewer than 30 times. And Burr’s landmark treason trial was one of the earliest, featuring some of the same people who were at the Constitutional Convention.

Working on Burr’s treason defense team in 1807 were Edmund Randolph and Luther Martin (as the lead attorney), both former constitutional delegates. President Thomas Jefferson directed the prosecution from the White House, with George Hay, and future attorney general William Wirt assisting Jefferson.

How Burr came to be arrested in Alabama in 1807 was a long story in itself, but the brief version is that Burr was rejected by his own party, the Democratic-Republicans, for opposing Jefferson in the 1800 presidential election runoff in the House, and then shunned by the Federalists and others for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

for the complete article ..  constitutioncenter.org

Maya Angelou famously said, “when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” In a new undercover video, Glenn Youngkin showed us exactly who he is. In the video, Youngkin told a young woman he won’t talk publicly about his extreme anti-abortion stance because he doesn’t want to scare independent voters. Youngkin’s admission should terrify women who care about making their own health care decisions and doing what’s best for their families. If Glenn Youngkin becomes Virginia’s governor, he will ban abortion and defund Planned Parenthood. Virginia families are counting on us to stop that from happening. Will you join me in standing up for Virginia women and their families by donating to Terry McAuliffe today? DONATE $15  DONATE $25     DONATE $50 DONATE $100     DONATE $250 Donate ANY   With a conservative super-majority on the Supreme Court, it’s more important than ever for governors to be staunch defenders of the right to reproductive health care. that’s exactly who Terry McAuliffe will be. As Governor, Terry stood as a brick wall as extreme Republicans repeatedly tried to pass bills to restrict abortion rights and defund Planned Parenthood. With a conservative Supreme Court poised to strike down Roe v. Wade, the Governor is the last line of defense against attacks on abortion rights. We absolutely can’t let Glenn Youngkin be that person. Please, chip in anything you can afford right now and do your part to stop Glenn Youngkin. Thanks in advance, Cecile Richards >”>DONATE >> Terry McAuliffe for Virginia PO Box 31408 Alexandria, VA 22310 from… terrymcauliffe.com