An Editorial Note about Disability Justice

A few years ago, I was asked to step in as a book editor for CARE WORK: DREAMING OF DISABILITY JUSTICE by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. This editorial experience transformed me and my politic.

(1/x)

For decades, I'd been in community w disabled BIPOC writers in activist circles and writing projects, but working closely on a manuscript with Leah was completely different. I came into deep and painful realizations about my own assumptions about writing & The Work.

(2/x)

Editorially, I had to examine my own westernized interpretations of linearity, sentence structure, repetition, and how neurodivergency and history can be woven into creative nonfiction storytelling that works for both author & reader. It was challenging, to say the least.

(3/x)

Editorial work on disability justice as someone who is an activist but not a leader in the disability justice movements left an indelible mark on my conscious about how much I have to learn and unlearn about the intersection of ableism and the publishing.

(4/x)

Anything that I struggled to understand, I researched & read. Anything that I had to unlearn, I did on my own clock BEFORE I asked Leah for clarity, who was always as freely gracious and profane-laced friendly as any writer I'd collaborated with. It was joyful work.

(5/x)

I learned about accessibility in real time: flexible deadlines that made space for chronic pain & fatigue; routines that prioritized honest, frequent check-ins. I found the boundary line separating excellent work & capitalistic perfection/appeal.

(6/x)

Mariame Kaba says of abolition work and creating a world that serves us ALL: "we'll figure it out"—and I mean that as a simply, sage guide for literary projects. Trust the duality of disability justice leaders as movement experts AND literary figures.

(7/x)

Deconstructing ableism & access is ongoing work. For literature to reflect our evolving ethos, it is necessary disruption. Disability justice movements & thought leaders are incredible sources of pedagogical & creative inspiration.

They know the work AND the remedies.
(8/8)

Also: please excuse typos in this thread.

Normalize humanity.