What is Black Disabled Futures Month?
Observed every February by the LaVant Consulting, Inc team, Black Disabled Futures Month is a time to honor and celebrate the rich and radical history at the intersections of Blackness and disability. It’s also a time to honor Black joy, particularly Black disabled joy and dream of the future with us as part of it. In the words of our dear ancestor Fannie Lou Hamer, “None of us are free until all of us are free.”
Why celebrate Black Disabled Futures during Black History Month?
Historically, the Black community observes Black History Month by celebrating Black people as a whole. Make no mistake – learning about our rich history and culture is great. But a lot of times, we left out the fact that a lot of our leaders in the Black culture were disabled. Black disability history isn’t commonly taught in school. For example, only recently have more people realized that Harriet Tubman herself had a disability.
As we look at Black Disabled Futures Month, we start to center and celebrate those within our culture who have disabilities. That becomes the norm that’s part of our future going forward. We always make sure that we’re celebrating not only just Black people, but Black disabled leaders who have really fought as part of the movement.
Why is celebrating Black Disabled Futures Month important?
Black Disabled Futures Month is important because young disabled folks need to see themselves not only represented in our history, but in today’s media. When our young people do look towards the future, they’ll feel a sense of pride and representation of themselves on screen. Often when considering Black History Month, or even Black disabled history, it’s rooted in stories of pain and suffering. What we love about Black Disabled Futures Month is it’s an opportunity to center joy and liberation freedom.
Happy Black Disabled Futures Month! This month, we celebrate today’s Black disabled people creating tomorrow’s history.
