One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century provides a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience and highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now, and looks to the future and the past with hope and love.

Part 1 of this event will be a panel discussion with:

Alice Wong - disabled activist, media maker, research consultant, and the editor of Disability Visibility. She is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture. Wong was appointed to the National Council on Disability by President Barack Obama.

Elsa Sjunneson - award winning Deafblind author and editor, media studies professor, and three-time Hugo award winner. When she isn't writing, Sjunneson works to dismantle structural ableism and rebuild community support for disabled people everywhere. Her "How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage" appears in the book.

Britney Wilson - Associate Professor of Law and the Founding Director of the Civil Rights and Disability Justice Clinic at New York Law School, Wilson has litigated federal civil rights cases on a range of issues including discriminatory policing and disability rights. Born with Cerebral Palsy, she has written and spoken extensively about disability, and the intersection of race and disability. Wilson contributed "On NYC'S Paratransit, Fighting for Safety, Respect, and Human Dignity" to the collection.

Part 2 of the program will bring these issues home to MIT, featuring staff and student perspectives on navigating the Institute with a disability.

Both the in-person and online versions are free and open to all, but you must pre-register in either case. The URL will be emailed to remote attendees approximately one week before the event.

Accessibility: We are committed to making our events accessible. American Sign Language interpreters and live captioning will be present during both in-person and online events. Please email ce-lib@mit.edu by November 5 to request other accommodations.

Image details: Photos of the three speakers. Left to right: Elsa Sjunneson, a white woman with short hair and an occluded cataract on her right eye wearing purple hearing aids and a pearl necklace, looking with raised eyebrows at camera between trees. Photo credit: Lis Mitchell, 2021. Alice Wong, an Asian American disabled woman in a power chair. She is wearing a blue cardigan and is staring intently at the camera, wearing a bold red lip color, and a trach at her neck. Photo credit: Eddie Hernandez Photography. Britney Wilson, a Black woman with braids, wearing a green suit jacket and smiling toward the camera.

Discussion event: MIT community members are invited to join us for a small group discussion of Disability Visibility on Wednesday, November 15, 12-1pm, in The Nexus at Hayden Library. Registration is required and lunch will be provided; you will have an opportunity to request accommodations and indicate dietary requirements when you register. (MIT community only)

Disability Visibility was chosen by MIT Reads in collaboration with Women and Gender Services. Our partners in planning this program include the Disabilities Employee Resource Group,  Disability and Access Services, and student members of disabled@mit. Special thanks to our co-sponsors: The Institute Community and Equity Office, Human Resources, the School of Engineering, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Sloan School's Student Life Office and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Disability and Access Services.