Crip News v.188
Juneteenth, new works, calls, and events.
NEWS
Juneteenth 2025
Juneteenth, on Thursday, is a US federal holiday. It marks the day when the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) finally reached the furthest parts of the former confederacy in Galveston, Texas (1865).
This two and a half year delay teaches us about the slippages between declaring a change and enforcing it.
As Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) helps us understand, the focus on formal changes (rights and legislation) too often fails to address the reality of informal isolations enforced by interlocking forms of marginalization.
Our present moment is a living object lesson.
In a powerful new essay called “The Spectacle & The System: What the LA Protests Reveal About Power, Surveillance & Resistance,” the Center for Racial and Disability Justice at Northwestern University looks at the enforcement of masking laws during the current swell of grassroots protests as truth-telling.
While “mask-wearing has historically served not only a public health function but also a safety mechanism” for organizers in the streets who are now being arrested for distributing masks, ICE agents in LA are masking, hiding their badges, and refusing to identify themselves. This contradiction “serves to shield the state from accountability, creating an environment of impunity while robbing civilians of the right to protest without fear of state retribution.”
“When the state uses disability as a reason to surveil but not support, to institutionalize but not empower, to punish but not protect — it reveals its priorities. The fusion of carceral and administrative violence exposes a broader ideological project: to consolidate power by narrowing the circle of whose lives are deemed valuable.”
New Works
Justin Clarel published a new issue of his so very virtual newsletter with a rundown of virtual events, opportunities, resources, and action alerts.
Pro Bono ASL recently published a list of “Protest Interpreting Essentials.”
John Adoyi recently published “I’m a blind journalist. Tech has changed my life, but there’s room for more inclusivity” on TechCabal.
Kristen Lopez recently published “Why Are Disabled Journalists Still Not Covering Disabled Content?” on her newsletter, The Film Maven, in a series ahead of the launch of her book on disabled representation in film this fall.
Trés Well: The Braid Wall by Karyne Tinord. Photo by C.Zawadi Morris. The Memory Club, curated by Stephanie Alvarado, opens tomorrow at BRIC (Brooklyn, NYC), with an opening reception tonight. The show, organized with the Intergenerational Community Arts Council, is the culmination of 3 years of BRIC’s Disability Artistry Initiative. Up until June 28.
Chronically ill and disabled artist Leigh Sugar’s debut poetry book, Freeland, is out from Alice James Books.
CALLS
The US Department of Energy is trying to change the rules that new buildings must be accessible to people with disabilities by attacking Section 504. TODAY IS THE FINAL DAY to submit a public comment to the agency to demand they respect access.
Healing Justice London is calling for creatives to help make a fiction, horror-genre short film on “Healing & Horror.” Apply by June 23.
New Disabled South is hiring a Chief Operating Officer. Apply by July 10.
AXIS Dance Company is hiring a Rehearsal Director. Apply by June 27.
EVENTS
Mapping Our Care Webs: Strategies for Imperfect Survival Presented by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Tuesday, June 17, 6 - 7:15pm ET, on Zoom
Care is a need and a right, for everyone but especially those of us who are disabled. However, care is also complicated- it's not always been safe or accessible for many of us to give, ask for and receive the care we need, and we often face conditions of scarcity. However, we know as disabled people we are creative and resourceful in figuring out how to get our needs met, even if it's in deeply imperfect conditions. This webinar will be a chance to map some of your current care needs and boundaries and create a care map to work towards getting care needs met. Participants will leave with a thick resource pack.Pláticas
Friday, June 20, 5pm PT, online
Need space to breathe, vent, and feel safe? This is a non-recorded, peer-led space to decompress, feel heard, and build strength in solidarity for Deaf and disabled signers who are undocumented, DACA recipients, immigrants, or have immigrant family roots — all navigating hard times shaped by systems, borders, and silence.Disability Pop Pride
Friday, June 20, 7pm ET, in-person at Performance Space New York (Manhattan, NYC)
Pride Month is here and Disability Pop is ready to celebrate with a brand new event! This time we’re highlighting queer x disability narratives with a screening of Rent (2005) and LIVE performances by Dyke Drag. This musical, set at the dawn of the 1990s, has a little of everything: chronic illness, catchy bops, and Taye Diggs. Come in your favorite Doc Martens, 90’s grunge, and kn95 mask!DisOrdinary Architecture 18th Birthday Party
Tuesday, June 17, 18:00 BST, in-person at the Zaha Hadid Foundation (London)
Over the last 18 years, The DisOrdinary Architecture Project has brought disabled artists, designers and architects into mainstream architectural education and practice through a wide range of collaborations and commissions. Join us for our 18th Birthday Party during the London Festival of Architecture 2025, as we celebrate the achievements and lessons learnt over the last 18 years; explore what needs to happen next, in order to enable truly accessible and just spaces – not only in our built surroundings, but also in architecture itself as a discipline and as a practice. Following a short welcome, you have the chance to learn more about Disability and Spatial Justice through short readings or workshops, or just relax with others who are in the DisOrdinary Architecture community.Overview of Accessible Formats
Monday, June 23, 4pm ET, on Zoom
Join the Self Advocacy Research and Training Center (SARTAC) for a webinar for government and non-profits. Why write in accessible formats? What's the difference between plain language and Easy Read? What principles should everyone follow when writing in an accessible way? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this brief introductory webinar, with time for questions and answers.Launch: Pain Planet artist's book
Saturday, June 21, 5pm CT, on Zoom
Petra Kuppers launches Pain Planet as a Red Mare limited edition artist chapbook created by SuZi. The short collection takes you into earth/star imaginations of tectonics, planetary assemblies, and the flow of chronic pain shifts. Three poets/somanauts will speak to their connections to Petra’s Starship Somatics work: Eva Yaa Asantewaa, Carol Dorf, and Raven Malouf-Renning.Join the Zoom meeting (passcode: 609504).