Hey. It's #DisabilityPrideMonth!

This year's extra special because #Ableism has been off the charts, black disabled people are disproportionately killed by police (not just this year, but many are hearing about it for the 1st time), *and* it's the 30th anniversary of the ADA.

Here's a far-from-comprehensive starter toolkit to join the celebrations:

1. Learn about disability history.

Try these:
• @judithheumann's 'Being Heumann', Chris Bell’s 'Blackness & Disability,' Dr. Subini Annamma's 'The Pedagogy of Pathologization'
• Watch @CripCampFilm

1. continued...

• Read about the act of hobbling slaves & about Harriet Tubman's & MLK's disabilities
• Learn about the #BlackPanthers & queer community showing up to support Section 504 sit ins

2. Read current literature or watch/listen to content/shows by/featuring disabled people like:

• @SFdirewolf's #DisabilityVisibility anthology just released!)
• @Keah_Maria's 'The Pretty One'
• @HabenGirma 'Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law"

2. continued:

• Stella Young's TED talk, "I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much"
• Documentaries/TV shows like: @unrestfilm, @IncurableFilm, @RaisingDion, Special, The Healing Powers Of Dude, The Politician

3. Check out the work disabled activists are doing/fighting:

• Explore convos on the #CripTheVote hashtag on Twitter. Read disability platforms by politicians. If they don't have them, ask why not.

3. continued:

• Realize triage policies (aka death panels) in each state decide who gets life-saving care during #COVID19 (hint: it's not disabled people)
• Follow disabled activists & orgs on social media. Learn from them.

4. Help dismantle #Ableism:

• If a disabled person says it's ableist, accept humbly & change behavior
• Don't engage in behavior that makes disability seem negative
• Call others on ableist behavior
• Stop assuming people's only value is in their ability to do paid work

4. continued:

• Give $ or gifts to disabled people who ask for them
• Learn about/stop ableist slurs
• Fight for policies that support disabled folks: raise SSDI/SSI wages (combined with fixing benefits cliffs, asset limits), advocate for disability marriage equality, etc

5. Miscellaneous:

• Realize #AmbulatoryWheelchairUsersExist
• Learn what CART is
• Read current activist work on identity-first vs person-first language
• Learn about the Social Model vs Medical Model of disability
• Explore disability stats

5. continued:

• Realize disability is an identity many are proud of
• Learn about mental illness, physical impairments, blindness, d/Deafness/HoH, intellectual & neurodivergent perspectives on identifying as disabled or not

End
...

Disabled folks: please add to this toolkit!