Imani Barbarin is a black woman with Cerebral Palsy who runs a TikTok account called Crutches and Spice. She is a disability rights and inclusion activist who uses her platforms to allow disabled people the opportunity to have their voices heard. She graduated from Eastern University with a degree in Creative Writing and a minor in French from the Sorbonne. As well she has a Masters in Global Communications from the American University of Paris.
Imani visited MSU thanks to the work of Colleen Floyd and the Council for Students with Disabilities (CSD). She participated in an event called Ableds are Weird at Brody Hall on March 29th. We are very thankful for the amazing discussion and opportunity we had to speak with Imani about disability rights and inclusion.
To learn more about Imani Barbarin, check out:
Her Blog: Crutches and Spice, https://crutchesandspice.com/about/
Her TikTok: crutches_and_spice
Her Twitter: @Imani_Barbarin
Mia Mingus is a “writer, educator and trainer for transformative justice and disability justice.” Mia identifies as a queer physically disabled Korean transracial and transnational adoptee. Her work is focused on creating a world where disabled children “can live free of violence, with dignity and love.” She founded and runs SOIL: A Transformative Justice Project that helps survivors of violence. As well, she helped to make the disability justice framework that is used in many college and university curricula.
To learn more about Mia Mingus, check out:
Her Blog: Leaving Evidence, https://leavingevidence.wordpress.com/about-2/
Her Instagram: @miamingus
Alice Wong is a “disabled activist, writer, editor, and community organizer.” Alice has degrees in both English and Sociology from Indiana University. As well, she has a Masters in Medical Sociology from the University of California, San Francisco. She founded the Disability Visibility Project and is currently the Director. The project is a dedicated online community to create, share, and amplify disability media and culture. In 2020 she was named by Time magazine as “one of 16 people fighting for equality in America.”
To learn more about Alice Wong, check out:
The Disability Visibility Project: https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/about/
Patty Berne is a Japanese-Haitian queer disabled woman who advocates for marginalized communities. They are the Cofounder, Executive and Artistic Director of Sins Invalid. Patty is trained in clinical psychology and they have a professional background in helping immigrants seeking asylum, Haitian diaspora, international support work for the Guatemalan democratic movement, and as an advocate for LGBTQI and disability perspectives within the field of reproductive genetic technologies. She was awarded the Disability Futures Fellowship in 2020.
To learn more about Patty Berne, check out:
Her Bio on Sins Invalid: https://www.sinsinvalid.org/staff