In Remembrance of Patty Berne, January 21, 1967 – May 29, 2025
A friend sent me this photo of my comrade Patty Berne. I looked so different then without the tracheostomy and ventilator. In my memory Patty looks the same, just like in the photo. I had the honor of interviewing Patty for the Disability Visibility oral history project in partnership with StoryCorps about ten years ago. Patty is now on the ancestral plane with my other disabled ancestors.
To learn more about Patty’s work in disability justice, read Skin, Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement Is Our People. Check out the In Memory and Power statement from Sins Invalid for more. Here is a remembrance of Patty by Elliot Kukla, “The Late Patty Berne Was a Visionary Leader in the Disability Justice Movement. “The Late Patty Berne Was a Visionary Leader in the Disability Justice Movement.”
On August 9, 2025, I had the privilege of giving some remarks at their celebration of life. Below is an expanded version of what I delivered.
Today is such a beautiful day because all of us are here to honor, cherish, and remember Patty Berne. Many of you here are going to talk about their work in racial and gender justice movements, their work in developing the disability justice framework, their work as an artist, producer, and director at Sins Invalid, and Patty as a friend, lover, and comrade. All of the words that will be said today are inadequate in trying to describe Patty as a life force. I’ve known Patty for a long time and while we were not close friends we were in community with each other. Before the pandemic I remember Patty asking me to be a part of a media campaign for the organization Women Against Rape. We met at the iconic Cliff House restaurant by Ocean Beach and had our photos taken with the ocean as our backdrop. It was a beautiful sunny day and Patty was in their element. Patty was always involved in projects like that and roping in other disabled people. I’m sure many of you have similar stories.
In 2017, Patty was a guest on the eleventh episode of my podcast about crip bodies and aging. Patty turned 50 that year and said at their birthday party she had a banner that read, “still revolutionary, still here.” I went back and read the transcript of our conversation and felt the warmth of our mutual respect and affection. It’s the kind of magic that happens when disabled people get together after a lifetime of being isolated and without community. Here are some of Patty’s thoughts about their crip body and aging that contained so much wisdom for us as we grow, age, and move towards the ancestral plan. When I asked how they eventually loved their body after hating it when they were younger Patty said, quote, “It was really one day just recognizing what a sweet, hard-working body I have. I mean, it has done everything I have asked to the best of its capacity. I couldn’t have asked for more. And for so many years, I didn’t listen to it, and I just would make demands on it. I notice all these cute little quirks about my body and myself now, and yeah, it’s just super cute and sweet, and I love it. I love myself. I believe that when we’re born, we are fully aware of our beauty and power and that our relationships with ourself. Our bodies get severed. Lots of things can do that: Violence–be it family violence or medical violence–messages from the world, from media, and the magazines. Demonstrating to my body, well, I’ll take good care of it. I’m not gonna let it get hurt. I’m not gonna deride it. Just like I would any friend, I would demonstrate that I love them, and I would tell them that I love them. So, I tell my body all the time how beautiful it is. Our bodies, yes, they’re distinct from each other, but we’re also energetic fields. And when I’m around somebody, their energetic field is gonna influence me and vice versa. We’re always in conversation, our bodies. We read each other’s body language all the time, our tones of voice, the ways that we’re moving or not moving. And so, whether or not we wanna acknowledge it, we’re already interdependent.“ End quote. While our words about Patty may be inadequate today, their words are not. I encourage you to do a deep dive on the many interviews they gave and their writings which were prolific.
Patty was a revolutionary, an elder, and an oracle. Their wisdom spanned across space and time and will forever leave a mark on our spirits. They are now on the ancestral plane where they joins other disabled ancestors who left us too early. I think about what Patty would be doing this summer and I can imagine them keeping their neighborhood safe from ICE raids and working with organizers to stop the displacement of unhoused people. No one is perfect at living their values, but Patty was someone who always modeled an anticapitalist politic grounded in movement making focused on liberation for all, not just for disabled people. Their love and belief in the power of disabled people of color guides me to this day. Patty and their comrades truly uplifted the lived experiences of disabled people of color before intersectionality became a buzzword. Without Patty’s thinking and their political analysis my work wouldn’t be what it is and that is probably the same for countless disabled people of color around the world. I wonder what they would think about the future of the disability justice movement as it evolves and I hope they would welcome the changes that are necessary for growth and embrace the young ones who are doing it their own way grounded in the issues that matter to them, not the ones initially raised by the ones who created the disability justice framework.
What are some ways we can honor Patty’s life? Here are three examples. One: have an inclusive, accessible ethos and build in accessibility into your life to welcome as many people as possible with the belief that no one should be left behind. Two: love yourself and your body mind. It doesn’t happen overnight, but try to understand your body mind and make friends with it, praise and thank it for the hard work it does in keeping you alive. Love yourself with the belief that all bodies are whole and perfect as is. Three: speak out when you see injustice and always resist ableism and the oppressive forces that try to extinguish our light. We are currently witnessing so much violence and the decline of democracy under such fascistic leadership at the federal level. Patty never stopped working toward justice and we can too in big and small ways. Everything counts and Patty knew that our issues are intertwined with other movements and that collectively, we are powerful together. Even though everything feels so overwhelming and horrible right now, I have to believe that love will win and that caring for one another is the way forward. While we may feel such a void left by Patty’s absence, they are still with us in our memories and deeds. Today is a hard day as many of us still can’t believe they are gone, but we can tell our stories and immerse ourselves in the deep love and care that comes from knowing Patty. In remembering Patty and naming them and the ancestors that meant something to you, we will keep them alive forever. We were so lucky to know Patty and let’s remember the joy they created in every aspect of their life. Thank you.
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