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Disability In(ter)dependence Day

Disability Independence Day celebrates the anniversary of the 1990 signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). HOWEVER – through the lens of disability justice, let’s unpack the ableist/unsustainable focus on ‘independence‘ to make room for interdependence. If this is a new concept for you – no worries, we’ve got resources below.

To celebrate this month – let’s read some badass biographies featuring people with disabilities using their life experience to make the world more compassionate and inclusive for everybody.

When is it?

• July 26th

Read

• The William Hoy Story (Ages 4-8)
• All the Way to the Top (Ages 4-8): If you only read one book in honor of the ADA passing, make it this one.
• We Move Together (Ages 6-9)

Watch

• Judith Heumann’s Fight for Disability Rights
  The 6 & 8-year olds loved this goofy reenactment of the 504 sit-in, but you may want to pre-screen it to make sure it’s right for your family.
  Content warning for alcohol abuse, cussing, and joyful giving-of-no-fucks.

Discuss as a family:

See Week 6: Interdependence (notes on 10/22) in our Autumn 2020 Luminary Lesson Archives for example diagrams for visual learners.

• What’s the difference between independence, dependence, and interdependence?
• Who supported the ADA? Who opposed it? Why? (See ‘support and opposition’ on wikipedia if you skipped the Drunk History video).
• Who are Patrisha Wright, Yoshiko Saji Dart, and Justin Dart, Jr.?
  (Sorry, no kid-friendly books or resources yet, but add these folks to your radar.)

Watch Together: Family Movie Night Discussions:
(Accessible for Luminary Brain Trust Members)

• Disability Coding in Wreck It Ralph
• Evil Crips in Spies in Disguise
• Normalizing Disability in How To Train Your Dragon & How to Train Your Dragon (pt 2 & 3)
• Disability Tropes in Flora & Ulysses
• Exploring The Social Model of Disability in Upside Down Magic

Small action praxis: Make local trouble

• Visit the website or physical location of your kids’ favorite local store, restaurant, museum, or play space.
• What barriers exist in these places for people with physical, cognitive, or sensory disabilities?
• What solutions exist for to solve this obstacle? Are there people with disabilities who are already working on this issue?
• Who in this space could you speak or write a letter to to draw attention to this lack of access?
• Together with your kids, map out your pods – who can you connect with to advocate to make this space more accessible?

Adults: exploring interdependence

• Read: Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice

More resources to dig deeper:

• 5 Things Every Kid Should Know About Disability – Raising Anti-Ableist Kids
• Tenacious Instigators – Kids Books Celebrating Disabled Heroes
• De-Stigmatizing Disability: Stereotype-Smashing Kids Books
• Influential Kids Books Featuring Capable Disabled Characters
• Caregivers with Disabilities
• #OwnVoices Kidlit Authors with Disabilities
• Disability History for Kids
• Normalizing Disabled Characters in Kidlit: You’re not to only define disabled identities by oppression and overcoming ableism, right? Make sure to read more books normalizing folks with disabilities than stories about us as brave heroes solely defined by disability. We’re multidimensional humans!
• Kids books about Radical Interdependence
• Releases August 9, 2022: Fighting for YES! The Story of Disability Rights Activist Judith Heumann. Haven’t gotten my hands on this. On one hand I’m excited about the subject. On the other hand, I’ve actively gotten into arguments with this (non-disabled) author on condescending way she talks about people with disabilities.
• 4 Ways to Fight Ableism With Kids Books: #LiberatingWebinars
• Wild Disability Justice Dreams
•  Disability Representation in Finding Nemo (Family Movie Night Analysis for Luminary+ members)
• Where are all the disabled caregivers in kids stories?
• Dismantling Autism Bewareness