Justice Shorter, a national expert on disability inclusive disaster protections and disability justice, presents “Black Histories, Disabled Futures,” from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29, at the University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu’s James & Abigail Campbell Library, second-floor event space.
The free event is a cross-movement organizing workshop facilitated by Shorter, who is from Washington, D.C., and founder of SeededGround, an agency devoted to content creation that centers people of color with disabilities.
Shorter’s lived experience as a Black blind woman and member of the LGBTQIA+ community informs her expertise as a disability and disaster justice amplifier, facilitator, and cross-movement community organizer.
According to a description of the event, “Attendees of the workshop will be encouraged to weave together various strands of solidarity, access, equity, and collective care. Justice Shorter’s workshop theme and facilitation approach is guided by the words of Indigenous activist Lilla Watson, ‘If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.’ ”
Workshop attendees will:
- Learn about America’s history of anti-blackness and its impact on present day disabled bodies and minds.
- Identify the relevance of collective access, collective care, and collective liberation across movements serving multi-marginalized communities.
- Discuss actionable pathways of solidarity that strengthen the cultural work and illuminate the freedom dreams of disabled BIPOC folks.
Shorter’s “powerfully poetic speaking style and her creatively designed workshops center equity, access, inclusion, safety, dignity and belonging for all who participate,” according to the event description.
The workshop is open to UH West O‘ahu students, faculty, and staff, and to the general public. American Sign Language interpreters will be provided. Seating is limited to up to 30 registered participants. Click here to register.
To learn more about the event, click here. For questions, email eventcds@hawaii.edu.