Narratives in Part 2, "Becoming," examine disabled identity and the ways that "taking up space as a disabled person is always revolutionary" (in the words of Sandy Ho). Contributions in Part 1, "Being," are narratives by disabled people about their embodied experiences and relationship to a world that tells them they should not exist. The pieces in Disability Visibility are grouped into four parts: "Being," "Belonging," "Doing," and "Connecting." (A full list of contributors for each section of Disability Visibility are included in an infographic and accompanying image description on Wong's Substack newsletter for the book). The book also features Ellen Samuels's essay "Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time," which previously appeared in Disability Studies Quarterly and makes connections to key disability studies texts such as Margaret Price's Mad at School and Alison Kafer's Feminist, Queer, Crip. A number of other contributors to the anthology, including Patty Berne and the late Stacey Milbern, are prominent figures in the disability justice movement. For example, the writer Ariel Henley's contribution ("There's a Mathematical Equation That Proves I'm Ugly-Or So I Learned in My Seventh-Grade Art Class") is a personal and moving testimony to the need for redefined beauty standards. Most contributors are activists who have used their work to advocate for social and cultural change. Davidson, the text of a TED talk by the blind astronomer Wanda Díaz-Merced, and the Harriet Tubman Collective's manifesto "Disability Solidarity: Completing the 'Vision for Black Lives.'" The richly varied tones and formats of each piece contribute to the accessibility of the anthology, inviting the reader to put the authors' stories into dialogue with each other. Lewis for the beloved Black Disabled trans activist Ki'tay D. A range of genres are represented, including a eulogy by Talila A. A few narratives in the book, such as Deafblind lawyer Haben Girma's narrative about wandering "as one" with her guide dog, have been published previously on major media platforms. Pieces in Disability Visibility explore the insights and lived experiences associated with a wide range of physical and mental disabilities. The world is ours, and this is for all of us." Her dedication on the front page is a moving statement of Disability Visibility's mission and impact: "To my younger self and all the disabled kids who can't imagine their futures. Rather, the collection is a statement of community, love, and solidarity for disabled people. In the book's introduction, Wong shares that her goal in making disability visible is not to inspire those without disabilities or offer up the lives of multiple marginalized disabled writers for analysis. By foregrounding the stories of disabled people of color, it rejects the whiteness of rights-based disability discourses and builds the intersectional strength of the disability justice movement. Wong's highly anticipated collection celebrates the lives of disabled people while making a powerful political statement about the need for disability justice, representation, and an end to violence in all forms. Disability Visibility, edited for a public audience by the disabled activist and writer Alice Wong, quickly became a phenomenon-a centerpiece of vibrant conversations in disabled communities and ongoing online events featuring disabled writers. Not only did the law's anniversary prompt more mainstream media coverage of disability experiences, the disability justice movement was also gaining broader exposure amid the dual crises of the coronavirus pandemic and anti-Black violence. Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, "Still Dreaming Wild Disability Justice Dreams at the End of the World," Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the 21 st Centuryĭisability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the 21 st Century, a collection of 37 essays by disabled writers, first reached readers on June 30, 2020, just shy of the thirtieth anniversary of the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Even and especially when we are frozen with fear, we are still collectively dreaming disability justice's future into being.
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