When: November 14th at 6:30pm EST.
Where: Zoom, a free online platform similar to Skype. Link to join will be provided to you via Twitter/Facebook message or email.
RSVP: On Facebook or Tweet us. You can also email us.
Accessibility: Live captions via CART are available. If you cannot or do not want to use voice chat, you can use the message section to type. You also don’t have to be on camera. Please contact us with any questions!
Continue reading “Virtual Community Dinner and Game Night”On Amazon streaming services, I discovered Able: A Series. Co-hosted by Kallen Blair and Alie B. Gorrie, Able interviews disabled people in the entertainment industry and focuses on individual experiences in blossoming careers and stories about dealing with ableism along the way.
There are currently 8 short episodes featuring interviews with:
Have you watched Able: A Series? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, as well as who you’d like to see on the show!
I only learned a few weeks ago that Nnedi Okorafor is disabled. A few years ago, I read her book Who Fears Death and thought it was captivating; I added Akata Witch and Binti to my to-be-read shelf immediately. Okorafor is a leading sci-fi writer, but Broken Places & Outer Spaces takes a more personal look at her experience with scoliosis, paralysis, and racism.
Broken Places is a quick read (the audio book is under two hours), and it shows how creativity comes through in the midst of change, disability, and hardships. She also shows how other disabled and otherwise marginalized artists use these identities to fuel and produce their work.
This is available on Amazon, Scribd, and anywhere else you can find books!
The online publication for active wheelchair users, New Mobility, interviewed Broadway actor Ali Stroker. Ali won a Tony Award this year, proudly claiming her win was for disabled people in her acceptance speech. She is the first wheelchair user to receive a Tony.
In the interview, she touched on the importance of seeing yourself reflected in media, stating:
“For so long our culture and our society has been telling us there is something wrong with a person with a disability. So it’s great to be able to normalize it and show that people with disabilities can reach this level.”
Check out the rest of this fantastic interview by clicking on the link below!
Overwatch, the hugely popular online video game, is no stranger to controversy in how it portrays its playable characters, also known as heroes. Blizzard, the company who makes and updates Overwatch, has included queer characters and disabled characters in its lore, but fails to bring their stories into the game itself. This led some players to question whether Blizzard is actually interested in inclusion or if they are looking to score points without putting the work in.
Then comes Sigma, the latest hero. He is portrayed as mentally ill due to experiments that “split” his mind. Included in his kit are sprays (basically in-game stickers) that show his medical charts, as well as a skin called “Asylum” that includes the stereotypical restraints of Hollywood-portrayed institutions. It seems Blizzard is bringing out-of-game lore into the game in big ways.
What do you think about this representation? Let us know in the comments, and take a look at some of the links down below for more discussion on the topic. I’ve also included Sigma’s origin story from the official Overwatch YouTube channel.
KOTAKU: Sigma’s New ‘Asylum’ Skin
There’s some exciting news for Marvel fans! Lauren Ridloff is playing Makkari in The Eternals, scheduled to release on November 6th, 2020. Check out the link below for more info!
Vilissa shares her thoughts on When They See Us on the Disability Visibility website.
Content Notice: mention of rape, racism, violence
On the Disability Visibility website, Vilissa Thompson, a black, disabled advocate, writes about disability in Netflix’s When They See Us. This program is a limited series that chronicles the Central Park Five – teenagers of color who were wrongly convicted of rape in 1985.
Vilissa captures how she felt after watching the Netflix show, and her realization that Korey Wise, one of the teenagers, is disabled. It is an important read that we highly suggest you check out.
“Korey’s story matters because he represents members in our community who are forgotten and dismissed when disability is present.”
– Vilissa
You can also watch the trailer for the show below. Let us know if you’ve watched, and what you think in the comments below.
Have you heard about The Reading Rush? It’s a book challenge from July 22nd to July 28th. The goal is to read as many books as possible while earning some badges along the way.
Have you heard about The Reading Rush? It’s a book challenge from July 22nd to July 28th. The goal is to read as many books as possible while earning some badges along the way. I’ll be participating, and my personal goal includes 7 books that will hopefully fulfill all the challenges. Here’s my list – post yours in the comments!
Read a book with purple on the cover: A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatramen
Read a book in one sitting: The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez
Read a book you meant to read last year: The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Read an author’s first book: Good Kings Bad Kings by Susan Nussbaum
Read a book with a non-human main character: A Stitch in Time (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #27) by Andrew J. Robinson
Read a book with over five words in the title: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Read and watch a book-to-movie adaptation: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Easterseals Thrive Media Hub 