Race & Disability - 2 Part Workshop

Race & Disability - 2 Part Workshop
Thursday, August 27th 12:00-2:00pm CST
Friday, August 28th 12:00-2:00pm CST

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Both sessions will be held via Zoom and please be prepared to attend both sessions.

Black arts and activism have always been central to the struggle for disability justice. This two-part workshop and discussion first explores the historical roots of racism and ableism and traces how Black artists, authors, and activists challenged both white supremacy and ableist ideals of progress. We will discuss the Black roots of disability justice and how the Disability Justice movement diverges from white-led disability rights movements. While Part 1 introduces us to histories and ideas around racialized ableism, Part 2 will explore practical tips on how to identify and resist ableism in your community, workplace, or organizing space.

Your Professor:
Jesse Waggoner (they/them) is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Gender & Women’s Studies and English at UW-Madison. Waggoner’s research and teaching interests span U.S. literature and culture, feminist disability studies, queer and trans studies, health activisms, and Black studies. Their first book, Black Crip Modern: Race, Gender, and the Roots of Disability Consciousness (NYUP, 2026) establishes the relationship between Black American cultural production and early disability social movements. Spanning Harlem Renaissance protests of eugenics and medical segregation, Black women’s literary critiques of psychiatry, and Ebony magazine’s early coverage of access and medical technologies, this project disrupts the centering of white disabled male narratives during this time. They are currently at work on their second project, Queer Ableisms and the Persistence of Cripqueer Life, which explores both unique forms of ableism within queer and trans cultures and how disabled queer people have developed creative strategies of resistance. They are also passionate about accessible pedagogies and expanding definitions of access in order to understand the fluidity and intersectionality of disability identity.

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