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What a time to be alive right now! I say this with exasperation and hope. Just when you think things can’t get worse in 2020, the bar is lowered yet again. It is easy to feel defeated and overwhelmed with the state of the world. One thing that keeps me going is the belief that change is possible and I see it all around me in the communities I am a part of, especially the disability community.
My latest book, Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century, an anthology of essays by 37 disabled people, features stories of people who create, build, and transform change. It is a celebration of the evolution of disability culture, politics, and representation. It may be a strange moment to launch a book in the midst of a pandemic but we need as much joy and comfort as possible and this book is one such thing.
In 2016, my two friends, Gregg Beratan and Andrew Pulrang, and I started #CripTheVote, a nonpartisan online movement encouraging the political participation of disabled people. In the last four years we hosted over forty Twitter chats including two Twitter town halls with Presidential candidates Senator Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg and created a space for disabled people to connect, share their expertise, and tell their stories in their own words.
Political change belongs to everyone, not just politicians and activists. Here are six memoirs of people who are agents of political change. Each of these individuals make the world better with an unwavering commitment to justice and truth with a view toward the future. I have not read these books yet but I look to them for wisdom, inspiration, and comfort in these bleak times.
Featured Image: natalie4160/Twenty20
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The Truths We Hold
Kamala Harris
With the election only weeks away, I want to learn more about Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee. As a Californian, I look forward to seeing how her time in the San Francisco Bay Area shaped her into the candidate she is today.
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Know My Name
Chanel Miller
We live in a world that hates women. Misogyny and rape culture exists everywhere and is enshrined in our institutions and systems. I was blown away by Chanel Miller’s anonymous victim impact statement in the trial of the person convicted of sexually assaulting her in 2016. Each person’s story has power and Chanel’s is one example. I can’t wait to witness her power and evolution in this memoir.
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A Promised Land
Barack Obama
First of all—there are two volumes in President Obama’s Presidential memoirs! The first one comes out November 17th, and I am super interested in reading a detailed personal account of his wins, losses, mistakes, lessons learned, regrets, and everything in between. Talk about brilliant timing.
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River of Fire
Helen Prejean
What drives a person to become an activist and what is the relationship between faith, hope, and activism? Sister Helen Prejean’s Dead Man Walking changed the conversation about the death penalty. This time, her memoir delves into her own spiritual journey.
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Finding Latinx
Paola Ramos
Identity is one key to political change. Disabled people aren’t a monolith and neither are Latinx people. I can’t wait to dig into the interviews conducted by journalist Paola Ramos and learn how the term “Latinx” can be used to mobilize and build political power among an incredibly diverse community.
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No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference Deluxe Edition
Greta Thunberg
Young people aren’t waiting for politicians to save them. They are organizing, speaking out, and doing everything they can to alert the world about the climate crisis. I greatly admire Greta as a fearless neurodivergent activist and cannot wait to dive into her speeches along with images from her protests in this book.
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Featured Book
Disability Visibility
Alice Wong
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