daughtersofdilla:

Female Hip Hop Crew Makes Beats in Senegal | Beat Making Lab | PBS Digital Studios (by beatmakinglab)

“The people need a female rapper,” says Toussa, the president of GOTAL; an all-women’s collective of Senegalese rappers, producers, singers and beat makers who paired with a woman-led NGO called Speak Up Africa to write songs about global health issues in their communities.

Developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Beat Making Lab is a program that brings the tools and techniques of digital music making to young musicians in developing nations. Episodes documenting the experience in Senegal will air Wednesdays on PBS Digital Studios’ Beat Making Lab channel. Professor Pierce Freelon and producer Apple Juice Kid host.

The Architects: Stephen Levitin (aka Apple Juice Kid) and Pierce Freelon

Mastermind of Videography and Editing: Saleem Reshamwala aka Kid Ethnic (additional camera work by Felix Sarr)

Musical Poetry: Apple Juice Kid and GOTAL

GOTAL: Toussa, Sister LB, Anta, Venus, Donia Sonia Lady Zee and Ina

Show Wrapper Magicians: Josh Souter (stop motion/logo), Emily Forsberg (photography), Kelly Mertestdorf (producer)

Senegal kin folk: Speak Up Africa: Fara Ndiaye, Awa Ndoye, Yacine Djibo, Felix and Abdul; Toussa’s family, Intrahealth, Blaise Senghor Cultural Center, Darra J Family, Julie Pitts [Woodville NC], and our good friend Ali Neef.

Subscribe: www.youtube.com/beatmakinglab

Support: www.BeatMakingLab.com

(via femalerappers)

Suzanne Pharr

laughter is funny. flowers are pretty.

—mossonrust

whoa

(Source: meatheart, via mossonrust)

by George Ciccariello-Maher

There exists, for everyone, a sentence - a series of words - that has the power to destroy you. Another sentence exists, another series of words, that could heal you. If you’re lucky you will get the second, but you can be certain of getting the first.

—Philip K. Dick, VALIS (via raisethecurve)

(via mzmew)

(this is a work in progress, there are tons of other great resources out there. please point me to those you find more/most useful! also, our communities are so diverse and i still have a lot to learn, so feel free to point out places where i’ve missed something, misspoken, used the wrong language, misrepresented.)

1. What is Disability Justice?

•     A nice intro: http://www.resistinc.org/newsletters/articles/changing-framework-disability-justice
•     Like pictures instead of words*? http://www.sinnlos.st/help/eng/help1.htm
•     Like listening/watching instead of reading?http://www.amara.org/en/videos/gnjoEanxgnnm/info/disability-justice-activists-look-at-ways-to-maintain-ablism/

2. Ok, so what can I do to make my events more accessible to people with various disabilities?

•     Take a deep breath, check your privilege and proceed with humility. Being asked to make your space accessible may feel like an attack, but it’s not:http://radicalaccessiblecommunities.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/on-being-able-to-ask-each-other-without-assuming-that-asking-is-an-attack/

•     Start doing research!

      a. Some basics: 

          * http://www.adawipartnership.org/Attachments/Link_AccessibleMeetings.pdf  /or/                                                      

          * http://www.scn.org/activism/calendar/disabilities.html     

          * Advertise in what ways your event is accessible so people know if they can come. Here’s a tool to help generate an accessibility statement:http://www.disabled.cusu.cam.ac.uk/resources/access-info/ 

     b. Advanced/comprehensive checklists (don’t be overwhelmed, you can start small!):                

         * http://blackbrokenandbent.wordpress.com/2012/11/17/creating-accessible-events-a-checklist-for-programmers-organizers-advertizers-speakers-and-event-attendees/      /or/             

         * http://radicalaccessiblecommunities.wordpress.com/radical-access-mapping-project-vancouver/                

     c. Fragrance Free Spaces: people with chemical injuries, sensitivities, or asthma can become severely ill if people smoke or wear scented/perfumed products to your event (more likely, they will just stay home):          

         * http://billierain.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/3-STEPS-TO-ORGANIZING-A-FRAGRANCE-FREE-EVENT.pdf

        * http://vanessahuang.com/fragrance-free/

        * Why fragrance free spaces are a people of color & working class issue:http://www.brownstargirl.org/1/post/2012/03/fragrance-free-femme-of-colour-realness-draft-15.html

     d. Wheelchair accessible bathrooms:http://radicalaccessiblecommunities.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/so-if-the-bathroom-in-a-space-you-throw-events-in-isnt-wheelchair-accessible-what-are-you-going-to-do/        

     e. ASL interpreters - can be expensive, but fundraise in advance! Write it into grants! Be creative! Build relationships with those in the deaf and hard of hearing communities. If you offer ASL upon request, ask for RSVP’s in advance of the event as it’s often difficult to get interpreters at the last minute.

     f. Some people are made ill by electromagnetic fields, tips on accessibility here:http://billierain.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Making-Events-More-Accessible-for-People-with-EMS-Electro-Magnetic-Sensitivities.pdf

3. What if I do most of my organizing/work online?

•     Make your videos accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing:http://radicalaccessiblecommunities.wordpress.com/subtitled-videos/

•     Write descriptions of any images for blind and vision limited folks:http://sotdandzera.hubpages.com/hub/Image-Descriptions-And-How-To-Write-Them

•     Also, consider including trigger warnings for topics that could be deeply unsettling to people who have experienced various kinds of trauma (sexual assuault, domestic violence, child sexual abuse; trauma related to: war, racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, audism, etc.)

4. And a couple more things for the road:

•  At the beginning, working to make your events accessible may seem like a lot of work - but the reward on the other side is more powerful and liberated communities which is what we’re all about, right!  Read about what an experience of collective access can be like:http://leavingevidence.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/reflections-on-an-opening-disability-justice-and-creating-collective-access-in-detroit/

• “But why are they so upset/angry?” Be patient, be sensitive. People with disabilities have been systematically excluded from so many social spaces (not to mention being imprisoned, killed, selectively aborted, institutionalized, involuntarily sterilized, mocked, denied basic rights, abused and sexually assaulted at high rates, denied education,and fired from jobs, etc.) for a very long time. If people with disabilities you work or consult with sometimes seem frustrated when you don’t prioritize making your event accessible, try and remember there’s a long history of discrimination and oppression at play (which has also shaped your assumption that it’s ok/understandable not to spend the energy/resources needed to fully include and value people with disabilities.)

* Although, ironically, this page is not accessible as it doesn’t include descriptions of the images for people who can’t see them