Minnesota State Disability Justice Workshop Series

The Disability Justice Workshop Series introduces the concept of disability justice – a framework that examines disability and ableism as it relates to other forms of oppression and identity – and contextualizes it in U.S. history and current social justice work, with the goal of fostering a more just and inclusive Minnesota State community. These five interactive sessions are centered on the leadership and advice of people with disabilities, including Minnesota State students. Too often disability justice is erased in social justice talk and work. This workshop series addresses that silencing and attempts to destigmatize and reframe disability, celebrating the richness and variety found in human minds and bodies. The world would be a dull place if we all looked, acted, thought, spoke, and moved in the same way. As a community, we gain a lot by learning from people with disabilities of varied cultural backgrounds and lived experience. This series gives everybody time to learn, reflect, and plan for a future that is inclusive of all people.

There are five sessions running from late January through early May 2022:

• Session 1: Disability Justice: Why It’s Everybody’s Business, covers critical events in disability history and explores “ableism,” the discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities.
• Session 2: Racial Justice and Disability Justice: Working Together to Free Our Minds and Bodies, addresses the intersection of racism and ableism and how this shapes experiences of people of color with disabilities.
• Session 3: New Ways to Talk About Disability, examines outdated but pervasive models of disability and proposes inclusive alternatives when talking about disability.
• Session 4: Experience Is Our Teacher: People with Disabilities on Allyship, Advocacy, and Pride, people with disabilities, including Minnesota State students, share their advice on allyship, advocacy, and pride to challenge barriers in educational settings.
• Session 5: From Vision to Action: Let’s Create Inclusive Classrooms, Campuses and Communities, takes all the knowledge gained from previous sessions, such as person-centered thinking and human-centered design, to improve access and meaningful inclusion of people with disabilities.

Register for individual sessions at https://asanewsletter.org/tag/disability-justice-workshop-series/.

This Disability Justice workshop series is aligned with the Minnesota State Equity 2030 vision and is meant to support the goal of eliminating educational equity gaps at every Minnesota State college and university. This series will be co-taught by people with disabilities and allies from the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration (ICI). ICI is one of the 67 national University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDD). UCEDDs work toward a shared vision of a nation in which all people, including people with disabilities, participate fully in their communities.

For more information, contact Kristin Burgess, director for Accessibility Resources, at 651-793-1540. The series is sponsored by Minneapolis College, Metropolitan State University, Inver Hills Community College and Minnesota State System Office.