︎︎︎︎DOWNLOAD︎︎︎ The The Anti Ableist Art Educators Manifesto PDF along with other social media visuals to place in your spaces of advocacy and joy. ︎
This Manifesto stands as a powerful declaration of creative resistance and protest, serving as an enlightening guide for individuals, both with and without disabilities. Its purpose is to ignite awareness and empower not only one's own disabled identity but also to uplift the disabled and neurodivergent members of our community, particularly students. Let this manifesto be a beacon of education, sparking a collective effort to foster inclusivity and support for every unique mind and body. Together, we rise in solidarity, embracing diversity as our greatest strength. This is a Manifesto of Creative Liberation! A Journey from Teaching to Advocacy!
As my Neurodivergent friend and educator, Lydia Z. Brown states in AUTISTIC HOYA’S BRIEF ABLED PRIVILEGE CHECKLIST
“Ableism is an entire way of thinking and doing that harms disabled people by treating some types of bodies and minds as valuable, worthy, and desirable, and others as undesirable and unworthy. Ableism is embedded in legal, social, and political institutions, as well as in commonly accepted and unquestioned attitudes and assumptions.”
In the transformative journey from full-time teaching to passionate advocacy and activism, I, as a disabled and neurodivergent mother, artist, and designer, found myself confronting internalized ableism that sought to control and diminish my creative spirit. This manifesto serves as a powerful act of creative resistance, a form of protest, and an educational tool aimed at raising awareness within both the disabled and non-disabled communities.
As a keynote speaker at the Adding Voices Conference held at Moore College of Art and Design in November 2022, I seized the opportunity to craft a solidarity tool for fellow art educators. Printed manifestos were distributed, and I had the privilege of reading each manifesto point aloud to an audience of over 300 conference attendees. The room pulsated with magic as the words resonated, fostering an environment of shared understanding and empowerment.
The impact of this manifesto extended beyond the conference. A few months later, I was honored to be invited to submit the manifesto for its inaugural publication in the Slow Factory Institute Applied Utopia publication. This marked a significant milestone in amplifying the voices of disabled and neurodivergent individuals within the realms of art and education.
This journey has been more than a career shift; it has been a commitment to dismantling barriers and fostering inclusivity. The manifesto stands as a beacon, guiding educators and communities toward a more empathetic and empowering future. Through creative expression, we continue to challenge and transcend the limits imposed by internalized ableism, ultimately paving the way for a more inclusive and vibrant artistic landscape.
The principles raised in The Anti-Ableist Art Educators Manifesto are meant to call out and dismantle the oppression and demonization brought upon Black and Brown disabled community, specifically students that are fueled by ableism. Anti-Ableism and Collective liberation stems from the understanding that we have struggles that are all deliberately and intimately connected and that working together, through community, allows us to use the labor of love-justice to transform justice. To create more anti-ableist spaces this manifesto asks the community to collectively Show Up, Eradicate Ableism, Uplift Acceptance, Create with and Not For, Allow our Differences to Embolden us, Declare that Disability is not a Bad Word, Value all Disabled Bodies and Minds, Know that Allyship is sacrifice, and Realize that Art is connected to the survival of Black and Brown Disabled communities.
ATTRIBUTION:
You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the work and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- No Derivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
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PLEASE DO NOT SELL THIS MANIFESTO WAS A WAY TO ERASE THE NEURODIVERGENT PEOPLE THAT PREPARED THIS DOCUMENT IN SOLIDARITY TO ALL ART EDUCATORS
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PLEASE DO NOT PASS THIS DOCUMENT AND ART OFF AS YOUR CREATION.
- PLEASE PROPERLY CITE THIS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE MATERIAL The Anti Ableist Art Educators Manifesto designed and created IN DISABILITY SOLIDARITY BY JEN WHITE-JOHNSON © 2022
If you plan to use or share this FREE resource in any way you are encouraged to donate to Jen’s Venmo to support her art, activism, design, and advocacy both in and outside the classroom!
Venmo: jtknoxroxs
CashApp: $jtknoxroxs
PayPal: jwhitetorres@gmail.com
Image descriptions, black bold Text on yellow, white, and orange 8.5 x 11 paper text reads: (in English and Spanish)
In English:
1. SHOW UP
2. ERADICATE ABLEISM
3. UPLIFT ACCEPTANCE
4. CREATE WITH AND NOT FOR
5. OUR DIFFERENCES SHOULD EMBOLDEN US
6. DISABILITY IS NOT A BAD WORD
7. VALUE ALL BODIES AND MINDS
8. ALLYSHIP IS SACRIFICE
9. OUR ART IS OUR SURVIVAL
In Spanish:
EL ANTI CAPAZ
EDUCADORES DE ARTE
MANIFESTO
@jtknoxroxs
1. APARECER
2. ERRADICAR LA CAPACIDAD
3. ACEPTACION DE ELEVACION
4. CREAR CON Y NO PARA
5. NUESTRAS DIFERENCIAS SON FORTALEZAS
6. DISCAPACIDAD NO ES UNA MALA PALABRA
7. VALORAR TODOS LOS CUERPOS Y MENTES
8. LA ALIANZA ES SACRIFICIO
9. NUESTRO ARTE ES NUESTRO SUPERVIVENCIA
