Disability Visibility

Today’s subject is this podcast because it’s episode 100!! Whether this is the first time you’re listening or if you’re a longtime listener, this podcast is co-audio produced by three people and myself: Sarika Mehta, Geraldine Ah-Sue, and Cheryl Green. I’m proud to work with all three of them since the podcast started in 2017. You’ll hear us talk about the lack of disabled voices in radio or podcasts, our collaborative process, and the future of the podcast. And this is a supersized episode! After the conversation, you’ll hear some feedback from podcast listeners. In this post you can also find more such as a downloadable list of all 100 podcast episodes you can share as a resource (coming soon) and another document with responses by students from Mid-Peninsula High School in San Mateo, California (see below).  

And now for a very important update. Friends, this is the last episode of the Disability Visibility podcast. I’ll talk about how I came to this decision in the conversation with Geraldine, Sarika, and Cheryl. I hope you will continue to subscribe because I may still produce other audio stories in the future, just not regular podcast episodes. It has been an absolute joy to create and collaborate with so many awesome people.

In addition to Sarika, Cheryl, and Geraldine, I want to thank Mike Mort for creating the logo, Wheelchair Sports Camp for allowing me to use 2 of their songs as the theme music, and Lateef McLeod for the introduction. I also want to thank the 100+ guests for sharing their wisdom and time and for trusting their story with me. And most importantly, I want to thank YOU. This is not the end, but the beginning of new adventures. Thank you for being in community with me. 

[Google doc]     [PDF]

Disability Visibility Podcast Resource Guide  [Google doc]    [PDF]

Reflections on Disability Visibility podcast by students from Mid-Peninsula High School students

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A treasure trove of learning, stories, and wisdom. Thank you for this podcast! https://t.co/cFd0mnsT21

— Jen Bokoff (@jenbo1) April 6, 2021

Just listened to latest episode of @DisVisibility podcast & teared up to learn it's the last (regular) one. Will miss it! The podcast was so important to me in embracing my disabled identity & useful for teaching DS. Thank you @SFdirewolf & team for all your amazing work!

— Dr. Elizabeth Patitsas #BlackLivesMatter (@patitsel) April 6, 2021

I waited to listen to this episode b/c I thought it might make me sad — no more @DisVisibility pod regularly in my feed! — but it filled me w/ hope & excitement for the future. I remain so thankful to Alice Wong & her collaborators for bringing these conversations into my life. https://t.co/57NO02ykei

— Karen Tani (@kmtani) April 7, 2021

This is a loss to disability culture. However, it won’t be a loss really, because @SFdirewolf will definitely offer more things in other ways. And ending the podcast intentionally is good modeling for others in the disability community who hesitate to exit or switch gears. https://t.co/Ui7DQFoAV2

— Andrew Pulrang (@AndrewPulrang) April 6, 2021

Geraldine Ah-Sue is a cultural activist and independent radio producer primarily interested in stories shared by BIPOC communities about culture, community, and love. She has produced stories for outlets such as KALW’s newsmagazine show Crosscurrents and APEX Express on KPFA. She was the producer and host of the second season of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s podcast Raw Material, which focused on the intersections between art, community and social justice. Currently, she is enjoying working on her independent creative project Playing with Food: The Place where Food Comes to Life, and loving on her inquisitive, song-filled toddling daughter.

Twitter: @geraldineah_sue

Cheryl Green, MFA, MS is a multi-media digital artist, captioner, audio describer, a 2017 AIR New Voices Scholar, 2020 DOC NYC Documentary New Leader, and Digital Operations Lead and a Member-Owner at New Day Films (through July, 2021). She brings her lived experience with multiple invisible disabilities to creating media that explores politically- and culturally-engaged stories from cross-disability communities. She reported and produced one episode for the Peabody-nominated Season 2 of 70 Million and has audio described and captioned many films for Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival and Superfest International Disability Film Festival. Her audio and written blog, transcribed podcast, and documentary films are at www.WhoAmIToStopIt.com

Twitter: @WhoAmIToStopIt

Sarika Mehta, originally from Chicago’s suburbia, loves things music, dance, and all that jazz. She’s been a producer with APA Compass radio collective, founded and hosted the podcast Intersections Radio, anchored the KBOO Evening News, and of course served as a producer for Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility Project Podcast. Currently she is the host and founder of Diaspora Blues Radio where she nerds out with her favorite artists. Her fascination with languages led her to the worlds of Sign Language Interpreting and journalism for the ears. She’s a busy mama with two little beautiful boys and she’s been known to make stuffed animals out of excellently patterned socks. Keep up at sarikadmehta.com. 

Twitter: @sarikadmehta

Support Disability Media and Culture

DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Cheryl Green, Text Transcript

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Song: “Dance Off”

Song: “Hard Out Here for A Gimp”

Album: NO BIG DEAL

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

electro-pop 01 loop by frankum, November 24, 2013. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

Synth Pop Loop 01 by RokZRooM, March 21, 2021. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 3.0 License.

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

Today I’m in conversation with my friends Andrew Pulrang and Gregg Beratan. The three of us are co-partners in #CripTheVote, an online movement encouraging the political participation of disabled people that we started in 2016. You’ll hear us talk about the origins of #CripTheVote, the differences between the 2016 and 2020 election on disability policies and engagement, and looking ahead with the Biden/Harris administration. Please note our conversation took place in December 2020, a few weeks after the Presidential election. 

[Google doc]     [PDF]

#CripTheVote blog

Recap from #CripTheVote candidate chat with Sen. Warren, January 7, 2020

Recap from #CripTheVote Twitter town hall with Pete Buttigieg, January 17, 2020.

“What’s Next For Disability Policy? Here Are Four First Steps,” Andrew Pulrang, November 27, 2020, Forbes.

Andrew Pulrang is a disability-focused freelance writer, online activist, and former Center for Independent Living director. He is a contributing writer for Forbes.com. Andrew is also a co-partner of #CripTheVote, a nonpartisan online movement encouraging the political participation of disabled people with fellow disabled activists Gregg Beratan and Alice Wong.

Twitter: @AndrewPulrang

Gregg Beratan is one of the Co-founders and organizers of #CripTheVote. He is the Director of Advocacy at the Center for Disability Rights. He has been involved in Disability Rights and Disability Justice efforts in the United States, the UK, Poland & India.

Twitter: @GreggBeratan

Support Disability Media and Culture

DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Cheryl Green, Text Transcript

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Song: “Dance Off”

Song: “Hard Out Here for A Gimp”

Album: NO BIG DEAL

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

EDM Drop by DaveJf, March 5, 2021 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

Today I’m in conversation with Alena Morales, who will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences with a minor in Disability Studies at UC Berkeley in Spring 2021. Alena is a queer disabled advocate of color and the former Chair and Co-Founder of the Disabled Students Commission, and through loving interdependence and collective labor with her fellow crips, she co-created one of the few Disability Cultural Centers in the country at UC Berkeley. You’ll hear Alena talk about developing her disability identity, finding community, and getting involved in community organizing at school. She’ll also talk about the importance of creating space for the broader disability community with the formation of the Disability Cultural Center and the years-long process that made it happen.

[Google doc]     [PDF]

“I’m a Berkeleyan: Student Alena Morales on the fight for campus’s new disability cultural center,” Anne Brice, October 6, 2020, Berkeley News.

“An Introduction to Disability Cultural Centers in U.S. Higher Education, Part I,” Kim Elmore, Toni Saia, Elizabeth Anh Thomson, November 2018, AHEAD.

“Disability cultural centers: How colleges can move beyond access to inclusion,” Evelyn S. Chiang, Disability & Society, Volume 35, 2020, Issue 7, pages 1183-1188.

“‘Ableism is real at Stanford’: Prospective frosh calls out insufficient OAE accommodations,” Kaushikee Nayudu, March 2, 2021, The Stanford Daily.

Earlier this week, I talked to the Editorial Board at @TheHoya about why @Georgetown needs a Disability Cultural Center. Check out their article about it: #CripTheVote https://t.co/5aheQ679If

— Anna Landre (@annalandre) February 5, 2021

Alena Morales (she/her) is a queer disabled advocate of color. She will graduate with her DPD BS in Nutritional Sciences with a minor in Disability Studies at UC Berkeley in Spring 2021. Alena is the former Chair and Co-Founder of the ASUC Disabled Students Commission, and through loving interdependence and collective labor with her fellow crips, she Co-Created one of the few Disability Cultural Centers in the country. After graduation, Alena hopes to combine disability justice activism and nutrition to ensure that people with disabilities are represented in key nutrition policy dialogues ultimately opening up her own disability justice organization that tackles socioeconomic and clinical nutritional inequities for the community she calls home.

Support Disability Media and Culture

DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®

Geraldine Ah-Sue, Audio Producer

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Cheryl Green, Text Transcript

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Song: “Dance Off”

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

“Gathering” by Podington Bear (Gathering by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License)

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

Today I’m in conversation with Mustafa Rfat. Mustafa is a graduate student in the Public Administration Program at West Virginia University. He’s also a trainee at Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) at the university. Mustafa came to the U.S. as a refugee from Iraq in 2011. You’ll hear Mustafa talk about his experience as a refugee and his adjustment to life in the United States. Mustafa will also describe the unique challenges and needs of refugees with disabilities.

[Google doc]     [PDF]

“Current Disability Laws Are Leaving People Behind,” January 3, 2020, ACUDTalk.

Ep 32: Disabled Refugees with Mansha Mirza, August 27, 2018, Disability Visibility podcast.

Refugees and migrants with disabilities,  Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN.

Persons with disabilities, UN Refugee Agency.

“7 refugees paving the way on disability rights,” December 2, 2019, UN Refugee Agency.

Mustafa Rfat is a graduate student in the Public Administration Program and a trainee at Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) at West Virginia University. Mustafa came to the U.S. as a refugee from Iraq in 2011. He is a passionate advocate for equal rights for people with disabilities and refugees/immigrants. He is in the process of applying for Ph.D. programs in Social Work to further his education in research and community work.

Support Disability Media and Culture

DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®

Cheryl Green, Audio Producer and Text Transcript

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Song: “Dance Off”

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

Music for Manatees by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4102-music-for-manatees.

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Garden Music by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3796-garden-music.

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

Today’s episode is about art and technology featuring a conversation with Lindsey D. Felt and Vanessa Chang. Lindsey and Vanessa curated Recoding CripTech, a multidisciplinary art exhibition at SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco in early 2020. You’ll learn about how their collaboration and friendship started, what it was like curating this exhibit, some of the disabled artists that were part of the exhibit, and why CripTech, disability culture, and accessibility is more important than ever in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

[Google doc]     [PDF]

M Eifler, artist

UC Berkeley Disability Lab, Dr. Karen Nakamura

“Press Release: Leonardo/ISAST receives $500K for CripTech Incubator from California Arts Council Innovations + Intersections Grants,” Danielle Siembieda, October 29, 2020, Leonardo.

Recoding CripTech,  SOMArts Cultural Center

“Recoding CripTech Proudly Asserts Disability as an Identity and Culture,” Roula Seikaly, February 12, 2020, KQED.

In “Recoding CripTech,” Artists Highlight the Vital Role of Hacking in Disability Culture, Monica Westin, February 19, 2020, ARTnews.

Lindsey D. Felt and Vanessa Chang curated Recoding CripTech, a multidisciplinary art exhibition at SOMArts Cultural Center in 2020. Their curatorial work has been profiled in venues such as Art in America, KQED Arts and DisTopia. 

Dr. Lindsey D. Felt, a Bay Area native, writer and deaf scholar, is a lecturer at Stanford University, where she teaches courses on disability, writing, and technology. She received her Ph.D. in English from Stanford University. Her research focuses on disability innovation and technology in the postwar era, specifically how disability shaped conceptions of electronic communication; science fiction and disability futurity; access and assistive technologies; and disability rhetorics. Most recently, her writing has appeared in Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience, and she serves as the Disability and Impact Lead at Leonardo/ISAST.

Twitter: @ldfelt

Dr. Vanessa Chang is a writer, curator and educator who builds communities and conversations about art, technology and human bodies. She is Senior Program Manager at Leonardo/ISAST and teaches in Visual and Critical Studies at California College of the Arts. She holds a Ph.D. in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University, where she was a Geballe Fellow at the Stanford Humanities Center. Recent exhibitions include Intersections at Fort Mason Center for the Arts and Artobots, a CODAME festival of art, automation and artificial intelligence. She has appeared on NPR’s On the Media and State of the Art, and written for Wired, Slate, Los Angeles Review of Books and Noema Magazine, among other venues.

Twitter: @vxchang

Support Disability Media and Culture

DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®

Cheryl Green, Audio Producer and Text Transcript

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Song: “Dance Off”

Song: “Hard Out Here for A Gimp”

Album: NO BIG DEAL

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

“Bleeping Demo” by Kevin MacLeod.

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo.

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

“Blippy Trance” by Kevin MacLeod.

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5759-blippy-trance.

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

In today’s episode I’m in conversation with Dr. Justin Bullock. Justin is currently an Internal Medicine Resident in San Francisco, California. You’ll hear Justin talk about his experiences disclosing his disability at work, the process he had to go through to prove his fitness to serve as a physician because of his disability, the systemic ableism and racism in medicine and medical education, and the benefits and risks of telling your story and being visible. You’ll also hear Justin talk about article he wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine titled “Suicide—Rewriting my story” which describes his battle with bipolar disorder and suicidality during undergraduate and graduate medical education.

Please note our conversation took place in September 2020 and there will be discussions of hospitalization, death and dying, suicidality, suicidal ideation, and trauma.

I am proud to say that after 441 long days, today is my last as an intern. I survived some of my roughest days & discovered my voice in a new, beautiful way. Excited to close this chapter & turn to opportunities as a PGY2. #DocsWithDisabilities #BlackMenInMedicine #GayMedTwitter

— Justin Bullock (@jbullockruns) September 5, 2020

This Sunday, I am honored to get to do a live interview for ~200 basic scientists from @UCSFneuro at their annual retreat to talk abt mental illness, stigma & creating structures to improve mental health. Excited to continue this convo with my PhD colleagues#DocsWithDisabilities

— Justin Bullock (@jbullockruns) September 12, 2020

Because I can't not say this: A bunch of people protesting right now that black lives matter just watched me get destroyed my institution's fitness for duty process in silence (without a single black person in sight on the "well being committee").#showupwhenitsuncomfortable

— Justin Bullock (@jbullockruns) June 4, 2020

Update re: Physician Well Being Committee/Fitness for Duty Process(FFD)! Some powers that be thought they were sending me to get support; institution now seems to acknowledge that that was NOT the case and is trying to improve that for others…A THREAD/1https://t.co/uhj5lLdan4

— Justin Bullock (@jbullockruns) October 3, 2020

Despite this, I must have regular check ins with a faculty 'mentor', a case manager (whom I call my parole officer), I continue to meet with my own psychiatrist & therapist (as I was before all this). My institution was fixated on me doing a very specific type of therapy: DBT. /3

— Justin Bullock (@jbullockruns) October 3, 2020

I won't belabor the myriad of ways that the Fitness for Duty Process has undermined my current and future mental health, but what I would like to focus on are the changes that are currently underway. /5

— Justin Bullock (@jbullockruns) October 3, 2020

From my reports on the ground and from institutional leadership, the committee has already begun to diversify its membership. There is a task force currently reviewing the committee, and I have been asked to speak to share my story with the task force. /7

— Justin Bullock (@jbullockruns) October 3, 2020

Someone who deeply understands the nuances of the committee & has tangible power to change it was both apologetic and actionable oriented. We discussed how our institution exists w/in a challenging state legal structure w/ respect to providers w/ mental health & substance use. /9

— Justin Bullock (@jbullockruns) October 3, 2020

I end this thread for the first time in a long time, immensely and genuinely proud of my institution. I am still wounded, but I am healing and we are moving forward together. @UCSFMedicine #DocsWithDisability #BlackMenInMedicine #GayMedTwitter #MedTwitter

— Justin Bullock (@jbullockruns) October 3, 2020

[Google doc]     [PDF]

DocsWithDisabilities Podcast Ep 17: Justin Bullock,  Dr. Lisa Meeks and Dr. Joe Murray, University of Michigan.

#DocsWithDisabilities campaign, Meeks Research Group, Department of Family Medicine and MDisability Initiative, University of Michigan.

“On National Physician Suicide Awareness Day, A Story Of Survival,” Jessica Gold, September 17, 2020, Forbes.

“In My Experience: How Educators Can Support a Medical Student With Mental Illness,” Anonymous, November 2019, Vol 94, Issue 11, p. 1638-1639, Academic Medicine.

Dr. Justin Bullock is a current Internal Medicine Resident in San Francisco, California. Justin is passionate about medical education, and diversity in medicine. His article in the New England Journal of Medicine titled “Suicide—Rewriting my story” tells the story of his battle with Bipolar Disorder and suicidality during undergraduate and graduate medical education.

Twitter: @jbullockruns

Support Disability Media and Culture

DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Cheryl Green, Text Transcript

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Song: “Dance Off”

Song: “Hard Out Here for A Gimp”

Album: NO BIG DEAL

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

“Pives And Flairnet” by Podington Bear (Pives and Flairnet by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.)

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

It’s been over eleven months since the pandemic emerged in the United States and things are worse than ever. Hospitals across the country have reached full capacity and utilizing crisis standards of care, guidelines used when there is a shortage of resources and care.

Today’s episode is about healthcare allocation in the time of COVID with Britney Wilson, a civil rights attorney with the National Center for Law and Economic Justice. This center, along with three other disability rights organizations, filed a class action complaint in October 2020 against the State of New York.  The lawsuit challenges the New York State Ventilator Allocation Guidelines as discriminatory. The Guidelines allow hospitals to reallocate ventilators from people who use them in the community. Britney will talk about her role in the case and how the case came about, how these existing guidelines are ableist and harm disabled people, and the goals are from the lawsuit. Please note we talked in November 2020 and I included a short update at the end of the episode.

[Google doc]     [PDF]

“NCLEJ Files Lawsuit to Protect Personal Ventilator Users,” October 8, 2020.

Class action complaint, Civil Case No: 1:20-cv-4819, October 7, 2020.

“Lawsuit Filed Challenges New York State Department of Health Guidelines Allowing the Reallocation of Personal Ventilators,” October 9, 2020, National Center for Law and Economic Justice.

“Disability Rights Activists Sue Cuomo over Ventilator Discrimination,” October 9, 2020, Wesley J. Smith, National Review.

“What the Chaos in Hospitals Is Doing to Doctors,”  January/February 2021, Jordan Kisner.

“One Man’s COVID-19 Death Raises The Worst Fears Of Many People With Disabilities,” July 31, 2020, Joseph Shapiro, NPR.

“As Hospitals Fear Being Overwhelmed By COVID-19, Do The Disabled Get The Same Access?” December 14, 2020, Joseph Shapiro, NPR.

Ep 81: Bioethics with Joe Stramondo, July 20, 2020, Disability Visibility podcast.

Ep 50: Disabled Lawyers with Hamza Jaka and Britney Wilson, May 6, 2019, Disability Visibility podcast.

“I’m disabled and need a ventilator to live. Am I expendable during this pandemic?” April 4, 2020, Alice Wong, Vox.

“I will not apologize for my needs,” March 27, 2020, Off-Kilter podcast.

National Center for Law and Economic Justice

Disability Rights New York 

NMD United

Not Dead Yet

Civil rights attorney Britney Wilson is a staff attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice in New York.

Twitter: @labelleverite

Support Disability Media and Culture

DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®

Cheryl Green, Audio Producer and Text Transcript

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Song: “Dance Off”

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

“Retro Metro” by Ketsa. (Source: FreeMusicArchive.org. licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.)

“Smooth Lovin” by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4379-smooth-lovin.  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

Today’s episode features an interview with Johnnie Jae who is from the Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw tribes of Oklahoma. Johnnie is a journalist, organizer, creator, and futurist and the founder of A Tribe Called Geek, an award-winning media platform for Indigenous Geek Culture and STEM, and #Indigenerds4Hope, a suicide prevention initiative designed to educate, encourage, and empower Native youth. Johnnie will talk about her experiences accessing healthcare and staying safe as an immunocompromised person, the pandemic’s impact on disabled Indigenous, the systemic inequalities facing Indigenous communities, and the movement to remove racist imagery and terms in popular culture.

Please note there will be discussions about hospitalization, genocide, settler colonialism, medical racism, racist mascots.

I am the great granddaughter of the late Johnnie & Minnie Moore and Nelson & Emaline Morris.

I was born and raised in Oklahoma, spent about 10 years living in Taos, New Mexico and now reside in Hollywood, California.

— Johnnie Jae aka The Brown Ball of Fury (@johnniejae) November 1, 2019

Great thread! Please support Disabled Indigenous people, there are links in thos thread. https://t.co/W2QKuQ4nUS

— Kimbrah Gonzalez (@RainbowYeticorn) December 26, 2020

[Google doc]     [PDF]

“Natives in comics: ‘Born an Indiginerd,'” Patty Talahongva, September 18, 2020, Indian Country Today.

“Cleveland Baseball Team Will Drop Controversial Name To ‘Unify Our Community,'” Jaclyn Diaz, December 14, 2020, NPR.

Tribal health officials say more than 60 communities on the reservation reported new cases Friday. https://t.co/AvOSVilL8w

— Indian Country Today (@IndianCountry) December 19, 2020

Pregnant Native American women were singled out for COVID-19 testing based on their race and ZIP code, clinicians say. While awaiting results, some mothers were separated from their newborns, depriving them of the immediate contact doctors recommend. https://t.co/rsQOqZ9GfX

— ProPublica (@propublica) December 27, 2020

“I knew if I could get Fresno High School to remove the mascot, that the logic of it would kick in, you don’t vote to remove a mascot that’s Native from one school in the district without saying, ‘We can’t just remove one.” – Jamie Nelson (Yokuts)https://t.co/84xoVAEfNI

— IllumiNative (@_IllumiNatives) December 26, 2020

I always seem like a wet blanket because I do not stan or put folks on a pedestal. I am critical and very idealistic when it comes to Native representation because I am not just thirsty for representation….i am thirsty and starving for GREAT representation and accountability.

— Johnnie Jae aka The Brown Ball of Fury (@johnniejae) December 18, 2020

My latest for the @AP: For many Native American tribes, losing elders to the coronavirus means losing irreplaceable pieces of culture. So tribes are fighting to protect their must vulnerable members. https://t.co/Lzunxsljr8

— Christine Fernando (@christinetfern) December 28, 2020

Johnnie Jae is an Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw rabble-rousing journalist, organizer, creator, and futurist who loves empowering others to chase their passions and create for healing and revolutionary change in the world. She is the founder of A Tribe Called Geek, an award-winning media platform for Indigenous Geek Culture and STEM, and #Indigenerds4Hope, a suicide prevention initiative designed to educate, encourage, and empower Native youth. Jae is a co-founder of Not Your Mascots and LiveIndigenousOK. She is a member of the Women Warriors Work Collective and served as a co-chair for the 2017 March for Racial Justice. She was the host of the Indigenous Flame and A Tribe Called Geek podcasts and worked as a producer for several other podcasts on the Success Native Style Radio Network.

While primarily recognized for her work with A Tribe Called Geek, Jae also facilitates several workshops that address Mental Health and Suicide in Indian Country, Native Mascots & Stereotypes, Indigenous Representation & Journalism, Indigenous STEM & Tech, and the Utilization of Social & Digital media for Business and Activism. Her ability to seamlessly shift from humor and pop culture to advocacy and business has made her a much-sought after speaker, panelist, and commentator.

Website: https://johnniejae.com/

Twitter: @JohnnieJae

Instagram: @JohnnieJae

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialjohnniejae

Support Disability Media and Culture

DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Cheryl Green, Text Transcript

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Song: “Dance Off”

Song: “Hard Out Here for A Gimp”

Album: NO BIG DEAL

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

“acoustic guitar with non_standard tuning phrase” by timcan, May 28, 2010.  This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“acoustic guitar” by alpersez, January 27, 2008.  This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

Today’s episode features an interview with Jen White-Johnson, an Afro-Latina disabled artist, photographer, educator, and designer. Jen is also an Assistant Professor of Visual Communication at Bowie State University. Jen will talk about how being the parent of a neurodivergent Black son politicized her and her work in the midst of racist violence and police brutality this year. You’ll hear her describe one of several graphics she created this year that features the raised solidarity fist in black with an infinity sign at the wrist with the words Black Disabled Lives Matter below. You can find more of Jen’s work on her website at https://jenwhitejohnson.com/.

Please note this interview contains mentions of antiblackness, violence, and police brutality.

Wow. Thank you @AyannaPressley for sharing my #ToyinSalau visual tribute in solidarity. Her life had value and purpose and it continues to be our responsibility to uplift and understand that black women deserve protection, care, respect, and amplification. https://t.co/A6wCriWaHp

— Jen White-Johnson (@jtknoxroxs) June 17, 2020

[Google doc]     [PDF]

“How the Black Disabled Lives Matter Symbol Took on A Life of Its Own.” Jennifer White-Johnson, November 11, 2020, AIGA Eye on Design.”

“#BlackDisabledLivesMatter: Q&A with artist Jen White-Johnson.” Alice Wong, September 9, 2020, Break The Story Volume IV: Disability Visibility, Pop Culture Collaborative.

“A young black autistic man was sentenced to 50 years for a car crash. Tens of thousands of people are now calling for his freedom.” Theresa Vargas, June 24, 2020, Washington Post.

Jen White-Johnson is a Designer, Photographer, Art Activist, and Art Educator. Currently, she teaches as an Assistant Professor of Visual Communication at Bowie State University where her work focuses on the intersection of content and caregiving with an emphasis on redesigning ableist visual culture. When her son was diagnosed as Autistic at age 2 she began to examine the absence of black disabled children in digital and literary media, this motivated the release of an advocacy photo zine entitled “KnoxRoxs.” Dedicated to her Autistic son, the zine is a way to give visibility to children of color in the black Autistic community. As an artist-educator with Graves disease and ADHD, her heart-centered and electric approach to disability advocacy bolsters these movements with invaluable currencies: powerful, dynamic art and media that all at once educates, bridges divergent worlds, and builds a future that mirrors her Autistic son’s experience. Since its release, the zine has received national and international recognition, including features in AfroPunk, Today at Apple, and is permanently archived in Libraries at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. This year her activist work has been featured in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Crip Camp: The Official Virtual Experience, and she was recently selected as an honoree on the 2020 Diversability’s D-30 Disability Impact List.

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Geraldine Ah-Sue, Audio Producer

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Cheryl Green, Text Transcript

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Song: “Dance Off”

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

“Maruken” by Polyrhythmics (licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-NC 3.0 License).

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

Today’s episode features an interview with Emily Ackerman, a doctoral candidate in chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and a disabled activist. Emily will talk about how she got into chemical engineering, her advice for disabled students who want to be scientists, her experiences last year on campus with a delivery robot, and the importance of accessibility in the design and development of technology.

Hi! I'm a 6th year chemE PhD candidate applying systems biology approaches to viral infections like the flu and COVID-19. I'm a wheelchair user and am passionate about, among many things, the intersection of disability, tech, and education. #DEHEM #DisInHigherEd #DEHEMRollCall pic.twitter.com/EgFtrtQFp3

— Emily Slackerman Ackerman (@EmilyEAckerman) October 1, 2020

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“My Fight With a Sidewalk Robot,” Emily Ackerman, November 19, 2019, CityLab.

“Starship issues new statement after reviewing footage of viral incident on Forbes crosswalk,” Emily Wolfe, October 22, 2019, The Pitt News.

“As businesses adjust to Covid-19, a new take on an old question: Who owns the sidewalks?” Dayna Evans, November 5, 2020, The Counter.

“Disabled scientists excluded from the lab,” Krystal Vasquez, December 8, 2020, Chemistry World.

Emily Ackerman is a doctoral candidate in chemical engineering and a disabled activist. She is particularly invested in achieving equity in STEM education and technology for the disabled community. She lives in Pittsburgh with her cat, Poppy. 

Website: https://www.emilyeackerman.com/

Twitter: @EmilyEAckerman

Support Disability Media and Culture

DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Cheryl Green, Text Transcript

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Song: “Dance Off”

Song: “Hard Out Here for A Gimp”

Album: NO BIG DEAL

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

“Robot” by Razor5 (Robot by Razor5 is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License).

“VOCODER countdown” by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

“8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds” by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.