Disabled Reflections, Rage and Resistance
A table display of Disability Culture Lab merch featured at the Disability Culture Cabaret, including colorful buttons and stickers with slogans like “Protect Trans Disabled Youth,” “Cure Ableism,” and “Disabled People Deserve to Thrive Now.”
With Labor Day happening this Monday, we encourage you to reflect on what it means to resist systems of oppression that extract labor. How do we build spaces and systems that truly reflect our values, that honor disabled time, energy, labor, and bodyminds?
In this moment, we're focusing on patterns, systems of change, and tools for resistance. Below, you'll find DCL updates, important information on actions by the federal government, Indigenous resistance, job and media opportunities, disabled rage, and urgent calls to action.
Our communities continue to be under attack, but history shows us that when we are united in struggle, we will prevail together. We hold our rage, our grief, our joy, and our fierce love for each other in our hearts, and we find ways to resist. We shape our future!
DCL Updates
Last month, we had an incredible night of drag, burlesque, music & poetry celebrating Queer Disabled joy, presented by Disability Culture Lab and co-hosted by New Disabled South + Crushing Colonialism. Thank you to all the attendees in-person and online, performers, crew, organizers, and sponsors! Check out the great photos by Jeevan Portraits on our Instagram account.
Applications for the Disability Rising Fellowship are now closed! Thank you so much to our nearly 400 applicants. If you missed the deadline -- worry not, we are just getting started. Please stay tuned to this newsletter and our social media next summer for next year's applications. All applicants will be notified of their application status by the first week of October.
What We’re Reading/Watching/Listening To This Week
Ugly Laws: The Blueprint For Trump’s Anti-Homeless Crusade
by Julia Métraux
From the legacy of the Ugly Laws to Trump's latest "nationwide push to involuntarily commit unhoused people to institutions," this deep dive traces how ugly laws have never truly gone away — they've just taken a different shape. (H/T Mother Jones)
In the heart of the Miccosukee, the Native American tribe that shut down Alligator Alcatraz
by Abel Fernández
Time and time again, Indigenous communities such as the Miccosukee are on the frontlines fighting off fascism. "The community found refuge from white persecution deep in the Everglades swamps centuries ago. Together with environmental groups, they succeeded in forcing the closure of the immigration detention center built on their ancestral lands." (H/T El País)
Trump’s Promise to End Vote-by-Mail Is Yet Another Attack on Disabled Voters
by Julia Métraux
Trump's recent assertion that he will "get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS" through an executive order is a repetition of his previous attempt to strip voting rights from disabled voters. Community advocates, policy analysts, and movement leaders are pushing back. “Eliminating this option through an executive order would not only be unconstitutional, it would add to the barriers many disabled voters already face, from inaccessible polling places to health risks.” (H/T Mother Jones)
‘A Place for Us, By Us’ : San Francisco’s Disability Cultural Center Breaks New Ground
by Sydney Johnson
The new Disability Cultural Center in San Francisco, California "honors the roots of the disability rights movement, including the support from groups like the Brick Hut Cafe, a queer-run cooperative in Berkeley, as well as Glide Memorial Church and the Black Panthers, who helped feed protesters at the 504 Sit-in in San Francisco." "'The Disability Cultural Center offers a place for us, by us, that isn’t a service or medical provider,' said Wong, who leads the Disability Visibility Project. 'It shouldn’t be radical, but it is — to have a space centered on disability culture where it celebrates who we are that’s not centered on any one diagnosis or on fixing us.'" (H/T KQED)
People's CDC, COVID-19, Weather Report, August 25, 2025
by People's CDC
Updated Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax COVID-19 vaccines have been approved, but with harsher restrictions that introduce additional barriers to vaccine access. (H/T People's CDC)
Learn more about COVID-19 Vaccine Updates:
Covid-19 vaccine license change: 12 key questions answered – Your Local Epidemiologist
Breaking News on updated Covid shots – Examined
Trump and RFK Jr. to Ban Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Within Months’ – Daily Beast
States consider regional approach to vaccine guidance after CDC changes – NBC Boston
Plug In, Take Action, Be In Community
Take Action for Labor Day! #WorkersOverBillionaires
Disability justice and labor justice are forever intertwined— we must disrupt the billionaire takeover! This Labor Day, we fight for the real wins workers deserve! Learn how you can get involved, find events near you, and join the movement. #LaborDay #WorkersOverBillionaires
#DisabledRage!
From Disability Visibility Project: "In 2025, disabled people feel fear, anxiety, and rage about what is happening in the United States under a fascist President and Administration. Artists play a strong role against authoritarianism and speaking truth to power.
What enrages you? Use the hashtag #DisabledRage and share your thoughts. Email what enrages you and we will try to create a graphic based on it: DisabilityVisibilityProject@gmail.com
Check out the page linked below for graphics to use, share, print, and post anywhere and everywhere.
>> Find Graphics and More Here
Save Telehealth! Contact Representatives Regarding S.1261/H.R. 4206
Essential telehealth services are set to expire on September 30, 2025. The “CONNECT for Health Act of 2025” (S.1261/H.R. 4206), introduced as bills in the both the House and the Senate, would help keep and expand telehealth services. #MEAction is calling on the community to contact representatives and tell Congress that telehealth saves lives.
>> Contact Your Representatives | >> Share With Your Community
National Action for Wheelchair Repair Reform
#RightToRepair! From the United Spinal Association: "Our wheelchair is our legs. It allows us to lead our lives. If we cannot use our wheelchair because it needs a repair, our daily activity stops. Please ask your members of Congress to support legislation due to be introduced by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Representative John Larson (D-CT) to address systemic issues in the wheelchair repair process."
>> Contact Your Representatives
HIV Complexities: A Community Conversation
Hosted by Long COVID Justice & Strategies for High Impact and supported by ViiV Healthcare and Broadway Cares/Equity Fight AIDS. Tune in for a webinar about disability justice for People Living with HIV and, often underdiagnosed, co-occurring complex chronic conditions like #LongCOVID, #MECFS, & frailty.You’ll hear from community leaders, advocates, and specialists working at the intersection of HIV, chronic illness, and disability justice. They will explore critical issues of access, care, and quality of life for those navigating multiple health conditions — and highlight strategies for systemic change.
Thursday, October 16, 6:30-8:00 p.m. ET | Virtual | ASL | Auto-Captions | Free
Become a Grantwriter for New Disabled South
From New Disabled South: "This role will be responsible for crafting compelling proposals, letters of inquiry, and grant reports that clearly articulate the mission, impact, and funding needs of New Disabled South and its programs. The ideal candidate is a strong storyteller and strategist with deep familiarity with nonprofit fundraising and a commitment to social justice, disability rights, and racial equity."
What Do You Want to Read About Disability?
Sonia A. Rao, a disability reporter for The New York Times, has put out a call: what are topics you want to see highlighted in the NYT's coverage on disabilities? What’s a story you think The Times should tell about your community?
>> Submit Your Ideas Here (Paywalled)
Find Joy And Community
I, Spastic by Neil Marcus Book Talk at the Disability Cultural Center
From the Disability Cultural Center: "Neil Marcus famously described disability as 'an art, an ingenious way to live.' This event celebrates the contributions Neil made to disability culture in his lifetime, as captured in his posthumously published autobiography, I, Spastic. Join Neil’s sister Kendra, Neil’s writing assistant S.H Chambers, and moderator Rosemary McDonnell-Horita as we look back on clips, hear a passage from the book, and dip inside the process that brought about this important and deeply personal work."
Thursday, September 4, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. PT | Hybrid | Masks Required | ASL | Captions | Free | Recorded
Virtual Covid-19 Grief Circle hosted by Beloved Coaching
Wednesday, September 3, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. ET | Virtual | Auto-Captions | RSVP for Access Requests | Sliding Scale, No One Turned Away
Virtual Crip Book Club by Locked Down and Out
"Crip Book Club is a collaborative COVID-aware bookclub with left politics rooted in Disability Justice. Run by disabled, chronically ill people based in Lenapehoking (so-called Philadelphia). We invite anyone who wants to expand their understanding of disability to join. Instagram Page: @lockeddownandout."
Wednesday, September 4, 7:00 p.m. ET | Virtual | RSVP for Access Requests | Free
Mapping Our Care Webs: Strategies for Imperfect Survival (recording) - New Disabled South workshop with Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
From New Disabled South: "Our first session kicked off Tuesday, June 17th with the incredible Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha where we dived into Care Webs — what they are, why we need them, and how we can build them together."
Have news, tips, joy, or actions to share? Drop us a line at Hello@DisabilityCultureLab.org. We’d love to hear from you!
Want to support DCL’s work to shift the narrative on disability from fear and pity to solidarity and liberation? Donate here.
