Tuesday, April 15
7:00 pm
Register for link here!
Join The People’s Forum for a book launch for Disability and Empire: Class, US Imperialism, and the Struggle for Disability Justice. Exploring the social construction of “disability” in the US, the authors look at the history of the disability rights movement, bringing in the stories and voices of those engaged in the daily fight for a better world: from solidarity with liberation struggles of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s; to building solidarity between care workers and clients; to the victories won by disability activists and the status of rights for people with disabilities today.
This book aims to bring visibility to the liberation struggle of people with disabilities, adding an internationalist and class perspective—and making them the subject, not the object, of history. It expands beyond the US, critically examining the role of U.S. imperialism in killing and disabling millions, as well as studying how other societies deal with disability. Looking ahead, it paints a picture of what disability justice may look like under socialism.
The event will be a presentation of the book followed by a brief Q&A. There are masks available at the front desk for those attending in person.
About the panelists
Joyce Chediac has participated in activism going back to the Civil Rights, womens’, and anti-Vietnam War movements of the 1960s. An Arab-American, she has written on the Middle East and women’s issues for over five decades. She is a registered nurse, and the former assistant editor of The American Journal of Public Health. Chediac is hard of hearing and dyslectic. Her writings on disability include: “People with disabilities are half of people killed by cops” and “Disability rights in the age of austerity.” She is currently a national editor of the Liberation News website and lives in New York City.
Jane Cutter is a founding member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. She is a life-long caregiver, starting as a teen providing care to family members and neighbors with disabilities. Since the early 1990s, she has taught students with disabilities and earned a doctorate in Special Education in 2003. Some of her earliest experiences as an activist include participating in protests at the Sacks theater chain in Boston with the Disabled People’s Liberation Front. She has contributed to other books including Revolutionary Education and Socialist Reconstruction, and edited Climate Solutions Beyond Capitalism by Tina Landis. She is a member of the national editorial team for Liberation News.
Sunil Freeman was the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s 2020 Vice Presidential candidate, running with Gloria La Riva. He has written for Liberation News, and his essays have been published in journals including Gargoyle, American Kahani, Delmarva Review, Washingtonian, The International, and Jaggery. His music reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, and fiction in The Account. Now retired, he worked for many years as Assistant Director of The Writer’s Center, a non-profit in Bethesda, Maryland.