Must Read Resource: Disability & Justice Newsletter
Written by Arash Bayatmakou
I’m always on the lookout for resources that are relevant and interesting to the SCI community. A recent discovery is the Disability & Justice Newsletter, a substack written by Daniel Carvajal.
Although Daniel lives in Florida with Cerebral Palsy, his challenges and struggles are very similar if not identical to the SCI community in Northern California and beyond, especially within the topics he explores.
His newsletter addresses so many topics that are central to anyone living with a disability in the US: the shortcomings of our healthcare system, societal attitudes towards people with disabilities, transportation and caregiver challenges, housing, how disability is portrayed in popular culture, and many more.
He publishes his newsletter multiple times a week and I’ve found his posts to be engaging, insightful, funny, relevant, and somehow both comprehensive yet concise and to the point. It’s a pleasant addition to my inbox and I usually try my best to stop whatever I’m doing and read his posts.
Not only are the topics he raises relevant for the everyday lives of people with SCI, but I’ve also found that many of the deeper sentiments that are often overlooked or underreported by our community are frequently discussed by Daniel. He’s not afraid to delve deep and share some of the hardest and most emotionally charged elements of life with a disability. This is especially important since the majority of mainstream media about people with SCIs tends to focus almost solely on the positives, successes and achievements and overlooks and underrepresents the reality and difficulty of life with a SCI, that we often have to bear and live with quietly. Daniel doesn’t shy away from any topic and I commend him for that.
I’m so grateful that I found his site and encourage all of you to subscribe and read his posts. To give you a taste of some of the topics he addresses, I’ve included a few examples below.
Stereotyping the Disabled: The Poor Thing Syndrome (a seven-part series examining some of the most common misconceptions that people with disabilities face every day) - https://dcarvajalfl.substack.com/p/stereotyping-the-disabled-the-poor
They’re Still Breaking Our Wheelchairs — And Calling It Progress - https://dcarvajalfl.substack.com/p/theyre-still-breaking-our-wheelchairs
Where Did All the Home Health Aides Go? - https://dcarvajalfl.substack.com/p/where-did-all-the-home-health-aides
Where Is Life Less Difficult for Disabled Americans? - https://dcarvajalfl.substack.com/p/where-is-life-less-difficult-for
My Take on Artificial Intelligence and Disability - https://dcarvajalfl.substack.com/p/my-take-on-artificial-intelligence