#5SmartReads - April 20, 2022

Qudsiya on disabled people's thoughts on COVID guidelines, claiming disabled ancestors with pride, and new advocacy for music professionals

Qudsiya is the creator and host of the podcast, Down to the Struts, about disability, design, and intersectionality. The podcast will soon be in its fifth season—you are welcome to subscribe and stay tuned for the trailer, launching on May31.

I am a great admirer of journalist Eric Garcia, and his book, We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation, is on my list. This article clearly and powerfully summarizes the many reasons why disabled people are feeling abandoned as the result of government policies and messaging around COVID. Even though this piece was written during the height of Omicron, it unfortunately rings true today.

Mia Mingus gets at the heart of what it feels like to be a disabled person in America right now, and why transformative justice needs disability justice. Reading this made me sad, angry, and compelled to act all at once.

In the new season of Down to the Struts, I had the privilege of interviewing Jennifer Natalya Fink, author of the powerful new book, All Our Families: Disability Lineage and the Future of Kinship. I personally couldn’t put this book down, and it has pushed me to reflect on the ways in which disability has been erased in my own family, and the truths we can uncover if we trace our disability lineage.

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“RAMPD is also committed to elevating what it calls “disability culture,” defined as ‘a celebration of people who identify as disabled, while acknowledging the vast diversity of the disability experience and each person’s inherent and equal worth. It is unapologetic, creative, innovative, adaptable, imaginative, and rooted in problem-solving. It is based on the premise that disability needs to be seen, respected, included and celebrated. It includes our worldviews, our perspectives, our contributions, our art, our words, and our music.”

RAMPD is sorely needed in the music industry, and I can’t wait to see and hear what they do next.

Have you been in a meeting recently where the participants provided brief descriptions of themselves during introductions? This is a super smart take on this practice (is it access, or just performance?) from my wonderful friend and fellow podcaster, Thomas Reid.  

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