DVP 2017: Year in Review
What. A. Year. Not really sure which expletive I want to use to describe 2017…perhaps all of them? As a disabled person living in this hostile political climate in the United States, I am determined more than ever to continue the work of the Disability Visibility Project®. Our stories, our culture, and our community are vital in resisting a society that erases and marginalizes us everyday in media, politics, language, and beyond.
This has been a big year for me personally. I took a risk and left my day job in February to focus full-time on the DVP. It’s been an incredibly fulfilling and adventurous experience so far. Much of this is all thanks to you. I am grateful for the support and love from the people around me, online and offline.
I want to give a special shout-out to the freelance audio producers who work on the podcast and oral histories: Geraldine Ah-Sue, Yosmay del Mazo, Cheryl Green and Sarika D. Mehta. Thank you to Heather Watkins and Denise DiNoto for their volunteer moderating support with my Facebook group.
Below is a brief rundown of my activities this year in partnership with some amazing individuals and organizations. While there is anxiety about the future, I will remain open to what lies ahead and committed to sharing, amplifying and creating disability media and culture. Together, let’s do this!
Happy New Year,
Alice Wong
DVP in 2017
Started crowdfunding on Patreon to sustain the work of the DVP.
Launched the Disability Visibility podcast in September 2017.
Created a new online store featuring apparel with all proceeds supporting the DVP.
Since 2014, over 140 oral histories recorded for the DVP, many of them archived at the Library of Congress. Gradually, all of these oral histories will be featured on our website. Here are the 17 oral histories published this year:
Christina Mills and Eli Gelardin
Jennifer Justice and John Burke
Gregg Beratan, Andrew Pulrang & Alice Wong
Lateef McLeod and Aqueila Lewis
Leroy Moore Jr. and Keith Jones
Suzanne Levine and Yvette Fang
Bonnie Lewkowicz and Judith Smith
Joshua Miele and Lainey Feingold
Lavaun Heaster and Cheryl Green
Kate Sherry and Stephanie Anderson
GJ Stillson MacDonnell and Helen Walsh
Social Media
Stats: 11.8 k followers on Twitter @DisVisibility, 13.3 k members DVP Facebook group, 14 podcast episodes, 83 blog posts, and 17 oral histories.
A few notable blog posts:
Disability Visibility and Erasure at #SXSW: Interview with Liz Jackson
“Dying While Black and Brown”: Interview with Joanna Haigood and Antoine Hunter
Virtual Reality & Accessibility: Interview with Hannah Gillis
Disabled Latinx Familia: Interview with Lisette Torres-Gerald
Accessible Conferences and Conventions: Interview with Elea Chang
Wisdom from Disability Communities: Interview with Corbett Joan OToole of Reclamation Press
The Power of ADAPT: Interviews with Marilee Adamski-Smith, Laura Halvorson, and Dominick Evans
Hosted a Twitter Chat on the future of disability studies with guest hosts Lisa Diedrich, Anjali J. Forber-Pratt, Angel Miles, Adam P. Newman, and Hailee Yoshizaki-Gibbons.
Co-hosted a #FilmDis Twitter chat with Dominick Evans marking the 20th anniversary of the film “GATTACA” including a discussion on gene editing today.
Co-hosted a Twitter chat on sexual violence and disabled people with SF Women Against Rape and Sins Invalid.
Co-hosted a Twitter chat with choreographer/dancer Alice Sheppard on accessibility and intersectionality.
Partnerships and Collaborations
With #CripTheVote co-partners Gregg Beratan and Andrew Pulrang, we hosted 14 Twitter chats this year on disability politics and issues. Check out a recap of our year’s activities here.
Co-Sponsored a webinar organized by Center for Genetics and Society, “Disability Justice and Gene Editing” featuring panelists Anita Cameron, Mia Mingus, Tom Shakespeare, and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson.
With novelist Nicola Griffith, organized and co-hosted 6 #CripLit chats on the following topics:
Roundtable with Editors and Disabled Writers
Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Crip Futurism
Accessibility and Online Publishing
Disabled Writers on Writing Disability
Writing Workshop Accessibility
With Vilissa K. Thompson, became co-partner in s.e. smith’s DisabledWriters.com, an online resource to help editors connect with disabled writers and journalists.
Supported various projects by disabled people as a Trustee with Awesome Disability, an independent chapter of the Awesome Foundation.
Presentations, Videos, and Publications
Reading While Disabled: Part One and Part Two. Books by Intisar.
My Medicaid, My Life. The New York Times.
Valuing Activism of All Kinds. Rooted in Rights.
From Rabbit Holes to Wormholes: KidLit Memories. Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction, Uncanny Magazine.
“Ableism, Accessibility and Oral Histories.” Allied Media Conference.
Engaging in Politics as a Disabled Person: an Interview with Carrie Ann Lucas. Rooted in Rights.
Resisting ableism: Disabled people and human gene editing. Video with text transcript. Stanford X.
Net Neutrality, Accessibility, and the Disability Community. The Center for Media Justice.
Net Neutrality and the Disability Community (captioned video)
Save Net Neutrality: Message to FCC Commissioners (captioned video)
VR Accessibility Survey for People with Disabilities
