What Does Diversity and Inclusion Look Like To You?
Growing up, even as a multi-racial individual, I was raised by and brought up as a Black woman. It didn’t matter that my father was Mexican American, what mattered to those who raised me was that I was well aware and socially informed of my Blackness. In my family, I have family members of all shades of Blackness, even cousins who are red-heads, and same as me, they were brought up with pride in their Blackness. In my family bubble, there was no privilege nor no colorism nor favoritism, we were all equally valued and loved growing up and honestly, I couldn’t have asked for better familial circumstances. However, as I began to grow older and attend school and enter social circles, the forefront of my identity became less of the Blackness and culture I was raised to be so proud of and more about my privileges, given my ambiguity and social capital in the world and Black communities.
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Full Spectrum Self Care Checklist
Last article, we introduced the idea of self-care and how positively influential it can be in someone’s life, when properly implemented. While we gave a few tips and ideas, here and there, this article will exclusively talk about ideas and ways to incorporate self care into your life. From big life adjustments to small steps, below is a list of all the ways you can continue to practice prioritizing yourself, including your health- mentally and physically and find a balance between being there for yourself just as much you are for others/ those you love! Check out the list below and share some of your own creative ideas and suggestions within the discussion forum. A major part of getting started on your self-care or self-discovery journey is having a strong support system to guide and motivate you along the way!
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The Importance of Self-Care
To all those in need of or even new to the “self-care game”- welcome. 2020 has been quite a year for all of us, and as we welcome the closing of 2020 (in less than thirty days) it’s important that we not only reflect on what we’ve endured individually and as a nation, but also acknowledge the importance of self-care moving forward into 2021. While this may not be the case for all, I personally, cannot wait for the new year. New opportunities, new possibilities, and a new outlook on life. Even though 2020 has been a rough year, I think we can all agree that we’ve learned the true meaning of gratitude and appreciation for the things we do have- regardless of how mundane and small they seemed before.
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The New Taboo: Inter-abled Relationships and Methods for Destigmitization
In today’s world, talking about relationships, whether it’s your own or someone else’s, is a part of everyday (American) culture. We do so with our friends, loved ones, and some even give a glimpse into what their relationship is like online! While we all have varying ideas and beliefs about what a healthy and successful relationship looks like or entails, most times, the idea of inter-abled relationships is far from our radar. But what is an inter-abled relationship? An inter-abled relationship is a relationship with one person who is able-bodied and another who is disabled. Even though this concept may not be a large pill for some to swallow, for some, the idea of an able-bodied person wanting to be in a relationship or somehow loving a disabled person romantically is quite taboo and even unbelievable.
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#Adulting: Disability, Romance and Friendships
Forming relationships, both romantic and platonic, can become a huge stressor and obstacles for individuals with disabilities. Natural supports throughout a person’s life and periods of transition are crucial to aiding in their overall development as an adult and self-confidence. Natural supports are people who are not obligated to be around you, and they’re an aspect of life that many people with disabilities lack because they’re either around other disabled people or those paid to be around them. Although interdependency isn’t often overshadowed by independence itself, forming relationships in which there is a healthy sense o f trust and reliability is important. We all need or want someone, whether it’s a romantic partner or simply a friend. People with disabilities need meaningful inclusion to form the type of relationships they desire; relationships that they can form on their own and don’t prioritize their disability over their humanity.
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ESA and Service Animals: Pets to the Rescue
For people with disabilities who require specific training or “skill set” in order to have a companion, these pets or animals are called “service animals”. The difference between an emotional support animal and a service animal is that a service animal is trained to assist their owner with their specific needs. For example, in the article “Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals, Where are they allowed and under what conditions?” provided by the ADA National Network, “A service animal means any [animal] that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
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#Adulting: Disabled Students’ Journey Navigating College
Students with disabilities often require specific resources and supports to help them succeed throughout and beyond college, and while their journey encompasses a unique set of trials and tribulations, college can still be a rewarding and worthwhile experience for them. A major part of a student’s experience while in college are ultimately the opportunities it provides for its student body. For students with disabilities seeking to attend college or even choosing between a few choices, services and accessible opportunities are most commonly at the top of their list.
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Margaret Sanger: Friend or Foe?
Nowadays, women’s rights and the importance of choice for all women is a huge topic of discussion and fair and plentiful access to contraceptives and birth control is still being fought for. While Planned Parenthood may be a saving grace for many individuals and this article isn’t meant to diminish the overall effort of the organization or the numerous lives it has positively influenced, it is important to acknowledge its history. Oftentimes, the same figures we place on a pedestal within our society or praise for their scientific advancements and forward thinking, are also deeply problematic and unjust in their viewpoints of marginalized communities. Genocide is such a taboo and harsh topic to discuss, but its important to highlight and reframe genocide to showcase how in a lot of ways society and its way of thinking has not changed; now, discrimination and genocide move about and flourish systemically.
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America’s Troublesome Past and Present: Eugenics and Racial Capitalism
In 1990, the American with Disabilities Act, or ADA, passed with the ultimate goal to ensure the equal opportunity and federal civil rights of those with disabilities. Anyone with a disability, under the ADA, would have equal opportunity to employment, state and local government activities, public transportation and accommodations, and lastly, telecommunication relay services, which include telephone and television access to those with speech and hearing related disabilities. However, while the ADA has opened many doors and improved the lives of all people with disabilities- in some capacities- the passage of the act has not completely dismantled discrimination towards people with disabilities all together.
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The Power of Language: ASL as a Communication Tool for Non-deaf Incarcerated Individuals
Language is so powerful and proves to open doors for many possibilities and pave the way for hopeful opportunities. While sign language may not always be properly recognized as a language within mainstream media, it is ultimately universal and proves to be serving communities and populations in its own way. I look forward to signing with my cousin when he returns home and seeing the new possibilities for accessibility form through language.
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Disability: The New Felony
How an officer perceives its “subject” is extremely important in the dialogue or actions that follow suit. Common misinformation about people with disabilities can ultimately lead to a life or death situation if an officer feels “threatened” or like their life is in “danger”. How society views people with disabilities goes hand in hand with how we treat them and oftentimes, these negative or ignorant perspectives can lead to much greater consequences than we ever imagined. In the year 2015, police shot 124 people who were experiencing a mental health crisis and in which, the officers were called to help elevate that person by helping them get medical treatment (Oberholtzer, Police escalate to deadly force). While police may assume the role as first responders, it is evident they are not well-equipped to respond and react responsibly within a crisis. Not only is their behavior irrational and explosive towards adults with disabilities, but also children with disabilities.
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Poetry by Leroy Moore: “Man to Man Talk”
In Moore’s poem, “Man to Man Talk”, he explores the stages of his self-love journey as a “POC with CP”, a person of color with cerebral palsy. Moore reflects on his entry into the world and the reactions of his parents, more notably his father, when doctors noted his “ailment”. He tells the story of his childhood and being raised by a single Black mother: “My childhood haunts me...seeing single Black mothers with their disabled sons. Husbands gone…Their mothers had to be real, raising sons from broken homes”. In addition to accepting his father’s absence, growing up as a disabled Black boy, Moore had to wrestle with the cruelty and insensitivity of his peers.
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To be a Radical Crip and the Power in Identifying as One
In addition to Crip Theory is the Radical Movement, which has arguably become the next frontier of the Disability Movement. The Radical Model of disability refers to disability “not [as] a point of individual or social tragedy but a natural and necessary part of human diversity”. The Radical Model is about fighting for social justice within the disability community, i.e. Disability Justice.
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What’s Your Stance? : The Ongoing Debate of Functioning Labels
Throughout other opinion based or medical articles about disability or even within everyday jargon, you may hear words used to describe the level of severity of someone’s disability, such as “high-functioning” or “low-functioning”. These labels are called “functioning labels” and they are especially present within the context of describing someone with autism.
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The Forgotten Girls: Racial and Ethnic Disparities within the Disability Community through the Lenses of Black Women and Girls with Autism
Since the rising advocacy for autism awareness, the figures at the forefront of the Autism Movement have been white boys. In looking at racial and ethnic disparities amongst women and girls with autism, it’s imperative to note the intersectionality between race, disability and gender and how these converging identities provide the framework for this specific demographic group to be perceived and represented within society.
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When Identities Collide: The Significance of Intersectionality within the Disability Community
When you hear the term “intersectionality” what comes to mind? Is it a term you’re generally familiar with or is it a complete nuance? More so, why is it important to understand “intersectionality”and what is its purpose?
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Why Language Matters: Identity first versus Person first language
Language can have an immense impact on a community, good and bad, especially in regards to the disability community, who has a complex history of misrepresentation, stigma, erasure, and overall misunderstanding. How we choose to identify and discuss people with disabilities, especially for those who are able-bodied, carries immense weight.
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The Neurodiversity Movement and Its Controversy within the Autism Community
What is “Neurodiversity”? Is it a biological fact, a perspective, or even a social justice movement? More importantly, who does neurodiversity address?
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Disability Justice: How to become an Agent of Change
In a world where disability is historically and societally viewed as a tragedy or personal shortcoming, the foundation of Disability Justice is rooted in reprogramming what we, as a people, have been taught or “spoon fed” about disability, independence and allyship.
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