THREAD

I was asked to join the #weshallnotberemoved collective after it was created. I declined, because anything that is 'woops we realised we're really white can you come and add some Black, is a no from me'

Here's why it hurts more in disabled circles:

Being a Black womxn in arts and culture, is pretty exhausting. It takes a lot of energy in many spaces to be heard for who you are. Heard outside of the diversity schemes, heard outside of making work about my trauma. Valued enough to be REALLY invested in.

I'm always worried that any sign of liability will take my name out of the running. As a disabled person it takes a lot of care and time to make spaces where I can thrive. When institutions are questioning whether they will invest in Black work, not many take the further leap

I have an invisible physical disability, which makes it even harder. I'm not what people think of when they think of 'disabled' - just how many Black disabled people do we see in the public eye? Black womxn aren't associated with vulnerability - our pain is often erased.

All of this effects how I carry my disability in my body. The constant external erasure makes me question myself. I'm in pain 24/7 but often forget why? I'm invited to tables to make it diverse, not because people care deeply about what I'm living with

Yday I reflected on my project #horizontal.I worked with
@vickiamedume
to explore the limitations of my disabled body through ariel/circus. As two Black women in the room, I was finally able to feel my body, w/out the armour of performance to whiteness https://bit.ly/3dgVVRS 

Please don't (now or ever) keep placing the onus on Black and brown people 'bring their voices to the table' after you've set up something without us in mind. It's tiring at the best of times, when you're disabled you're probably even more tired. #WeShallNotBeRemoved