- More disabled activists out in this world:
Imani Barbarin – A black woman activist with cerebral palsy. Having done a degree in creative writing from the Eastern University, Imani is a disability rights activist and is keen on using her words and the experiences of disability with how it shapes the world she is in and how the world shapes people with disabilities. She’s a voice that’s compelling the able-bodied people/institutions to look in her direction and really look at the experience of disability with a broad perspective. Whether that is a solution or not, Imani has come up with the hashtags #PatientsAreNotFaking #ThingsDisabledPeopleKnow and #AbledsAreWeird. She runs the CrutchesAndSpice.com blog and it contains her powerful voice that bespeaks of disability and is a voice that makes me glad to know it exists.
Team of two disabled friends from Alt Text Poetry – Bojana Coklyat is a disabled, visual artist and activist, and one of the co-founders of Alt Text Poetry website that strives to make platforms and spaces more user-friendly and accessible with respect to images, captions and color contrast. They have worked in research based on access in cultural institutions with the help of an education grant in the Czech Republic. Shannon Finnegan, the other co-founder, is an artist working with disability, creativity, access and accessibility themes. They have worked with non-profit and art organizations such as The Tallinn Art Hall, The Banff Centre and Friends of the High Lane on projects before and have spoken in public on multiple occasions. The Alt Text Poetry is engaging to my eyes with respect to the choice of color used and the size of boxes used on the page. As a disabled person myself, I am aware that there are many colors and elements on an online page that can come off as disruptive to my focus and hence, a website like this which contains ideas that we as people and as organizations can take from, is helpful and spreads hope and ease. Shannon’s personal website is highlighted in the references at the end.
Alice Wong – She is a disabled activist interested in sharing culture, politics, disability, discussions, media narrative, with the prime focus being on representation. She is based in San Francisco in California and has a heritage originating from China. She is one of the intersectional activists who exists in our world. Alice runs the Disability Visibility Project website through which she seeks to have a platform that establishes that disabled narratives matter and like every human narrative, is an essential part of a community, family and institution. It is based on mutual respect and validation, a space to share stories, championing for rights and narratives to show up and a network of support for other causes and community people.
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna Samarasinha – Leah is a non-binary (she/they), autistic and disabled writer, creator and an activist who uses their imagination, scope, power and authority over their personal experiences to try to make people aware that ‘disability’ as a conversation cannot be side-lined, shushed or belittled. Leah has co-edited and authored around ten books and their ‘The Future Is Disabled’ stands out. It can be purchased through Arsenal Pulp Press.
Disability activism in media: Crip Camp: A disability revolution (Netflix, 2020), Unrest (Netflix, 2017)
Sins Invalid: a disability justice performance project (the link is provided in my references at the end of this work)
References:
https://actbuildchange.com/blog/10-resources-to-get-started-with-disability-activism/?cn-reloaded=1 (a possible source to start disability activism from)
https://alt-text-as-poetry.net/
https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2023/01/10/black-women-leaders-and-disability-justice/ (a guest blog)
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