Trusting Disabled People to Narrate their Own Stories W/ Imani Barbarin

Only The Bold

EP 039 w/ Imani Barbarin (she/her), who is a writer and communications director, activist, actor, influencer, and creator of @crutches_and_spice. She shares her own trajectory from advocate to artist, and offers a master class in building accessibility from the ground up – trusting people to be narrators of their own stories, the imperative for on-screen representation, empowering collaboration over competition, and understanding our own limitations.

Through it all, Imani is a deeply creative, warm, and empathetic person who knows how to get sh*t done. Looking to hone your anti-ableist lexicon? Eager to become a better community builder? Want to subvert toxic individualism? Want a list of amazing TV shows to watch asap? This episode has your name on it.

Taboo topics:

Disability stigma

Diversity within the disability community

Allyship and egos

Inadvertent stereotyping

Sanism

For full show notes, go to:

Capitole

1. Trusting Disabled People to Narrate their Own Stories W/ Imani Barbarin (00:00:00)

2. Getting hugs and kisses from strangers (00:04:42)

3. Exploring diversity within disability communities (00:09:32)

4. Getting allies to let go of their egos (00:12:59)

5. Shifting disability representation on screen (00:17:57)

6. De-centering Jude Law (00:21:30)

7. Powering up on collaboration over competition (00:22:52)

8. Building representation (00:33:01)

9. Understanding our own limitations (00:39:29)

10. Inadvertently perpetuating stereotypes (00:42:30)

11. Transitioning from advocate to artist (00:46:17)

12. Stopping the straw-talk (00:48:27)

13. Defying stereotypes (00:51:41)

14. Eliminating problematic language from our lexicon (00:58:28)

15. Misappropriating religious texts (01:06:37)

16. Turning communication assets from entertainment to advocacy (01:12:19)