disability justice is (our) liberation, not a trend
white people are so quick to stake their claim into something. put out a statement. write a book. name their programs and committees after something. bring it up in a meeting as the rad person who picked up this cooooool thing from their activisty friends of color.
you know. the next revolution.
sometimes i get confused because these white folks i see speaking for/about disability justice are the same ones that talk forever about their white privilege. i’m like… “well, disability justice IS exciting —i want to move on it too!!!!…well, they are an important movement link and it’d be cool for people doing disability rights work to know what we are talking about…well, they might be the face of this, but they are working with people of color.”
but no. the disability justice movement deserves to take its time to create, unfold, and be what it wants. white people need to challenge themselves to build a relationship with disability justice before/instead of acting like they got it on lock. i am just learning what disability justice means (personally and politically) and am not sure how one workshop could ever an expert make.
part of the beauty/realness of disability justice is that it acknowledges all of the (violent) ways capitalism has trampled our lives. the nonprofit industrial complex, as a system, will always work against disability justice because it values product, output, “the now.” it is never about long-term movement building that leads to true, sustainable community building. as a person who falls in love with project ideas and wants to have them planned out, funded, and staffed by morning, unlearning the pace of capitalism is the most challenging part of disability justice for me. i want to stand on a hill, say i have this brand new thing that’s going to save us all and wave disability justice like a flag. but that’s not how it works, i don’t think. i am in the process of completely rearranging my life because i know disability justice is is rooted in intentionality and to really have something that creates space for all of our selves, we must take our time to really sit in the complexities of all our realities and all of our dreams.
liberation takes time. so pls, yall. just chill.
—
words i use:
nonprofit industrial complex – a system of organizations, government, and people with power. when people power movements (like the black panthers and young lords) got too powerful, the government poured a lot of money into nonprofits. this became a way to control movements. for more info, visit INCITE!.
disability justice – an understanding that a.) centers disability and b.) understands that ableism, racism, heterosexism, capitalism, classism, all work together to oppress people. it is says the system will never save us so we have to build our communities for ourselves. it values people being interdependent instead of independence.
Thank you for writing this. I definitely needed to hear this today to be reminded of my own privilege and to examine the way I co-opt other people’s message.
Rachel
7 Jul 10 at 8:52 PM
Exactly this.
And another thing that cuts is when people who aren’t disabled, whose only idea of disability is so entrenched in our institutionalized fucked up ways of looking at things, take on disability activism as some sort of cross. And then it becomes all about them and how much they’re giving up to help us poor disabled folks whom they love (read: pity) so much.
A'ishah
13 Jul 10 at 9:23 PM
[...] Cripchick: disability justice is (our) liberation, not a trend [...]
Tuesday Open Post at Questioning Transphobia
3 Aug 10 at 9:07 PM
Why is it that you say disability justice “values people being interdependent instead of independence”? I am wary of interdependence, although I am aware that it is integral to our lives and very survival. Could you explain a bit more what you mean?
Sarah
27 Oct 10 at 8:14 PM
The fact that everything really important and lasting takes a long time (lifetimes, often) is one of my latest reoccurring themes. I hadn’t explicitly connected it to capitalism and the non-profit industrial complex as well as you do before I read this. Thanks.
(for fun connecting of dots: I’m about to go work on an op ed piece asking people to reconsider Teach for America’s status as this beautiful golden entity)
Raisa
27 Oct 10 at 8:17 PM
I whole heartedly agree with the whole “disability liberation” being sold as available at only one conference etc, as completely rediculous – In 07 I really wanted to go to Z media institute – where Amy Goodman and Noam would grace you with their presence and the sad part is that people on the left have no idea how Goodman was practically raised to have DN! (she went to Harvard, her father went to camp as a kid with Noam Chomsky.) It’s a class issue in my mind than a race issue – although there is no doubt minorities with disabilities as well as queers with disabilities are so completely disenfranchised that the progressive left (CommonDreams.org, mother jones, etc) will never see disability issues as equitable with the fight for racial equality, and actually, relatively small groups and protests like Code Pink (for peace and classism!) get far more coverage than say Not Dead Yet or Adapt and dont even get me started on the need for a national queer/trans/disablity group that WILL be radical.
As for SDS – I went to the conference (well, snuck in) in 08, when it was in NYC, I’m not on any of their listservs, but do have a degree in dis studies. I find it disheartening how few teachers on the university level were crips – I actually almost was graded down as a TA in a class in my undergrad because I used the word in class and she thought it was offensive because she would never call herself that and she had lupus and she had a higher degree, ect. And Colleges who offer good programs are going to make it nearly impossible for crips to get tenured in Academia, so why bother when the only option after you get a Ph D. in Dis Studies is an instructor job that will have every super crip applying for it just like the all the national grants.
But SDS does not need to be the only voice of disability study. infoshop.org, trying to make inroads with folks at indymedias, starting presses and record labels and putting RADICAL voices out there unfiltered.
but basically – after doing a ton of work in the anti-racism world and other activist groups – i think there needs to be a radical shift in tactics – I think NDY is radical – but there was tons of homophobia during Schiavo spewed and to their credit – they are very clearly pro queer, but it sucks to have to fight privilege due to race, class, sexual orientation, within our own community.
But your blog is so right, and thanks for writing it.
Mike R./uppitycrip
uppitycrip
27 Oct 10 at 10:53 PM
i’m just learning what disability justice is too… in large part from people like you. there are conferences that purport to cover this? i am *so* out of the loop… any loop for that matter. thanks for defining things, i appreciate it because sometimes i want to use those words but can’t think how i’d define them if someone asked, and then don’t use them :) because i don’t want to be all uber-jargony. it’s nice when someone like you breaks it down so simply.
imli-
28 Oct 10 at 11:09 PM
just to clarify!!!
i just had a really good conversation w a fellow DJ activist, and these are all what *i* think DJ is. it is still very much an emerging body of work and there hasn’t been any consensus-based framework put out that wld hold ppl accountable.
cripchick
29 Oct 10 at 12:15 AM
Thanks for writing this, especially the bits about capitalism and the constant expectation of our bodies to be productive, to produce output and to create profit. Similar to you, this is one of the things that have been hardest for me to deal with in relation to activism. In fact, the reason I became ill was over-pushing myself for two years non-stop.
I think it’s a significant thing that we have (the opportunity) to learn through our bodies. As someone who’s been speaking about capitalism and the demand for productiveness but doing nothing to change my lifestyle, I now have to learn how to tone it down, be patient, and avoid pushing myself.
bidyke
10 Jul 11 at 3:53 AM
I’ll be sharing this using a couple of pals who may be thinking about this. You’d be surprised how a lot of people are trying to find one thing like this. Thanks for posting this for us. http://ameblo.jp/t1m1ni/entry-11095220875.html
Georgianna Legoullon
23 Dec 11 at 4:50 PM