Welcome to 2021 and the Year of the Ox

Beloved Community,

Welcome to 2021 and the Lunar New Year. There is a new Presidential administration and Congress, it’s now Black History Month, and we have a lot of work ahead of us for disability justice.

First, we encourage you this February to learn more about the history and experiences of Black disabled people, and Vilissa Thompson’s Black Disabled Woman Syllabus is a great to start.

We also send love to our friends of API descent who are celebrating the Lunar New Year. Happy Year of the Ox! For those who aren’t API, here is an article from a few years ago with info about ways to engage respectfully with the holiday.

Black Crip Wisdom for 2021:

At last month’s inauguration, Black disabled poet Amanda Gorman spoke to the nation and the world. She shared:

That even as we grieved, we grew

That even as we hurt, we hoped

That even as we tired, we tried

Her Black crip wisdom spoke to our hearts. She gave us all hope that despite all the wounds that the fascist administration of the past four years inflicted upon people of color, disabled people, and all marginalized people in this country, there is a way forward together. Sins Invalid exists because we know that artists like Amanda Gorman have the power to help us envision justice and collective liberation. 

Sins Invalid has a lot planned for 2021:

  • We’re working on a new behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of our 2020 production We Love Like Barnacles: Crip Lives in Climate Chaos, which will be released at the end of March.

  • If you didn’t get to catch We Love Like Barnacles last October, we’re now planning another showing this Spring. We’re still determining the date, so stay tuned!

  • We’ll be launching our Disability Justice from A to Z coloring book in 2021! Have you colored the pages for A, B, and C yet? If not, check it out on our website and download the coloring book preview here.

What else is going on? 

We’re continuing to build connections between climate justice and disability justice with our comrades and partners with Movement Generation. We’re collaborating with San Francisco Women Against Rape to provide support for survivors with disabilities. And we’re helping train a cohort of disabled Jewish community organizers in the “Access to Power” fellowship sponsored by JOIN for Justice.

As always, Sins Invalid continues to organize and envision a future that reflects disability justice. This political moment offers an opportunity for our communities to demand accountability and action. It's a moment to address the ableism in the response to the COVID pandemic. It's a moment to tackle climate chaos and build a regenerative economy that centers land, life, and justice. It's a moment to fight for immigrant justice and fight against settler-colonialism. This moment is an opportunity to address the issues facing all marginalized communities. We must continue to envision and build a transformed, just society; one without police, prisons, immigrant detention centers, and other institutions that incarcerate our comrades and siblings.  

We love you so much. Thank you for being a part of us. We’re sending wishes for a blessed 2021 and Year of the Ox to all of you.

With love,

Sins Invalid

Sins Invalid