Crip News v.124
New works, an employment dispatch, calls, events, and more. Thanks for being here.
NEWS
New Works
The new 2024 World Down Syndrome Day campaign from nonprofit CoorDown is an instant classic that demonstrates a logical fallacy at the heart of ableism. Ahead of March 21, the ad stars Canadian disabled artist-badass Madison Tevlin and, was inspired by a 2019 speech from Italian disabled self-advocate Marta Sodano, and addresses the power of assumptions to either limit or liberate. The video takes its place in the pantheon of Down Syndrome media excellence, along with “Not Special Needs” and “Anything But Sorry.”
Greenness by Alex Dolores Salerno explores the natural aspects of autistic access intimacy and pays tribute to the late disabled artist Mel Baggs. The show is up at Real Art Ways in Hartford, CT from March 21 through May 19.
The Council on Quality and Leadership published results from a survey of 347 professionals who work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The study asked the workers to define “ableism,” provocatively rated each definition, and concluded that only 48% of the workers had an accurate sense.
Disabled author Sandra Gail Lambert was recently interviewed on WUFT about her new collection of essays.
Dance company Full Radius Dance recently premiered its newest work, Saint, at 7 Stages Theatre in Atlanta.
Yucky, curated by Sam Peterson at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental, is up through May 4. Featuring works by Josh Campton, Sophie Cassar, Makeda Duong, Lorcan Hopper, Elizabeth Reed, and Finnegan Shannon.
Criptionary, a new project from the UC Berkeley Disability Lab, “aims to be a dedicated digital platform for disability studies and advocacy.”
The Hastings Center has published a new issue brief on “Anti-Ableist Medical Education: Meeting the Challenges.”
The Television Academy Foundation released video from a panel about “Ensuring Authentic Disability Inclusion” featuring Lauren Appelbaum, Eileen Grubba, Tari Hartman Squire, David Renaud, Sue Ann Pien, and Karen Horne.
Poetry Foundation recently published “Starship Somatics: An Invitation” by Petra Kuppers.
Employment Dispatch
There’s been a lot of news about disability and employment lately:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 22.5% of disabled people had jobs in 2023, the highest rate since the agency started collecting disability data in 2008 but still roughly one third the rate for nondisabled people.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland published research, however, that shows the increase in disabled workers “largely reflects a change in self-reported disability status among those already in the labor force rather than an actual increase in labor supply.”
The Center for American Progress also identified gaps in the new disability employment rate data, noting that “Asian workers with disabilities have the lowest employment rate compared with other racial and ethnic groups, and are the one group whose employment rate has not increased or recovered following the pandemic.”
CAP also published recommendations on “Eliminating Barriers to Employment for Disabled Women,” part of the Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis released a blog post about “The Labor Effects of Work from Home on Workers with a Disability,” showing that the availability from work from home “has the potential to greatly narrow existing labor market gaps between workers with a disability and those without a disability.”
In an essay called “Divine Economics” in MIT Technology Review, Whitney Bauck profiles Allison V. Thompkins, whose research helped show how that ADA has had long-term negative impacts on the disability employment rate, and who has turned her work toward spiritual education.
Last month, Kansas passed legislation to phase out subminimum wages for disabled workers. In Georgia, similar legislation has passed a committee vote. But efforts at equal pay failed in Utah. The New America Foundation has updated its state-by-state map of the issue.
New York City recently issued a Request for Information to co-design “a new pilot workforce development program for New Yorkers with disabilities.”
CALLS
![graphic with a blurred digitized and zoomed in photograph background of a forest floor scattered with fallen leaves, small rocks, and wood chips. There’s scattered, small glowing light orbs across the ground. Toward the top left corner are 3 rows of text that each begin with a bright yellow number 4, followed by all caps white stamp-style font. The text reads : 4 IZABELLE [new line] 4 EVER [new line] 4 / 2024 [end text]. In the bottom center is text in the same white font style that reads : IN MEMORY OF IZZY [end text]. In the bottom right corner of the square graphic overlaid on the background is the SiQ logo, with the capital gothic letters S and Q in white, and the blood drop shaped lowercase letter i in bright red.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff925edde-b45f-4a24-ac4f-1a3dda4785a6_720x405.png "graphic with a blurred digitized and zoomed in photograph background of a forest floor scattered with fallen leaves, small rocks, and wood chips. There’s scattered, small glowing light orbs across the ground. Toward the top left corner are 3 rows of text that each begin with a bright yellow number 4, followed by all caps white stamp-style font. The text reads : 4 IZABELLE [new line] 4 EVER [new line] 4 / 2024 [end text]. In the bottom center is text in the same white font style that reads : IN MEMORY OF IZZY [end text]. In the bottom right corner of the square graphic overlaid on the background is the SiQ logo, with the capital gothic letters S and Q in white, and the blood drop shaped lowercase letter i in bright red.")
Sick in Quarters (SiQ) is raising money for safe and accessible vigils to mourn the passing of Izabelle New. Donate here.
The RestFest Film Festival is accepting submissions, with deadlines on March 21 and April 25. More here.
EVENTS
Kinetic Light LAB: Writing Into/Shifting Our Waves of Grief
Friday, March 22, 2 - 4pm ET, on Zoom
Are you feeling isolated and in despair due to the ongoing genocides happening globally? Do you want to spend time with others bearing witness and committing to action? In this two-hour workshop, we will read the words of activist poets to help inspire us – and we will do some generative writing exercises to help name, release, and transform our collective grief into transformation and change. All levels of writers are encouraged to attend. Learn more about Amir Rabiyah at their website.
Rest in Power, Ryan Gainer
On March 9, police in California murdered 15-year-old autistic child Ryan Gainer while responding to his family’s request for help. Tributes have spread online and once again there is renewed attention on the long-standing pattern of police terror against Black autistic people.
