by Adrian Ballou

As we put the finishing touches on conference materials and workshops, one piece of conference attendance is at the forefront of our minds — ensuring everyone is able to access the conference.

Mia Mingus, past CLPP conference speaker, coined the term access intimacy: the ease in relationships that happens when disabled people don’t have to continually push for basic needs. We strive to make that a reality in our movement spaces.

[Image description: The photograph shows black disabled activist and artist Leroy Moore. He has short cropped hair, a mustache and a beard. He is standing bare-chested, with his hands together out in front of him. The text above him reads: “All bodies are unique and essential. All bodies are whole. All bodies have strengths and needs that must be met. We are powerful not despite the complexities of our bodies, but because of them. We move together, with no body left behind. This is disability justice.” Photograph ©Richard Downing; text ©Patty Berne; courtesy of Sins Invalid]

A Primer on Disability Justice:

“Disability justice challenges the idea that our worth as individuals has to do with our ability to perform as productive members of society. It insists that our worth is inherent and tied to the liberation of all beings.” – Nomy Lamm

• Nomy Lamm’s overview of disability justice: “This is Disability Justice.”
• Adapting our language to be more inclusive: Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg’s “10 Questions Why Ableist Language Matters, Answered.”
• Understanding what it’s like to live with chronic illness – Christine Miserandino’s “The Spoon Theory.”
• Cara Liebowitz on walking privilege: “10 Examples of Walking Privilege That All Walking People Should Acknowledge.”

Allyship and Solidarity:

“Recognize that disabled people are inherently worthwhile.”

• “Doing Disability Ally Work”
• “How to Be an Ally to Disabled and Neurodiverse Folks in Activist and Academic Communities”
• “4 Ways to Be an Ally to People With Invisible Disabilities”
• Basic guidelines for being fragrance free are here, and check out “Fragrance Free Femme of Color Realness Draft 1.5.”

Disability Justice and Reproductive Justice:

“Among disabled people… there is a very real risk that the right to have and keep children without interference will be restricted.” - S.E. Smith

• Jessica, CLPP alum, describes a #CLPP2011 conference workshop in “Disability Justice and Reproductive Justice: a Recap.”
• Mia Mingus talks about the connections between disability justice and reproductive justice in “On Claiming My Movement: Disability Justice and Reproductive Justice.”
• More reading on sterilization, restrictions on having children, and other reproductive issues disabled people face: “Disability and Reproductive Justice.”

[Image description - Red letters printed in all caps on a tan background read: "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare." Underneath, it says, "Audre Lorde." A black and white portrait of Audre Lorde is in the bottom right corner of the image. Image source: http://thebodynarratives.tumblr.com/post/64381212305/self-care-tips-ari-burtons-recommended-reading]

Healing Justice and Ableism in Wider Social Movements:

“If it isn’t healing, it isn’t justice.” - Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

• Social movements and mental health, intellectual disabilities, autism, and/or other neurological divergences: “How to Make Your Social Movement More Inclusive of Neurodiversity.”
• Subhash Kateel on community care in movements: “Care is the Core of Change.”
• Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha: “for badass disability justice, working-class, and poor-led models of sustainable hustling for liberation.”

We hope that these resources are helpful in gaining a perspective on disability justice, and we look forward to continuing the conversation at the conference. Register now!