During the month of May, Anthesis celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage and recognize the important contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander individuals. As a continuation of the “Unite” series that focuses on leadership and engagement to advance the AAPI community, the theme for this year’s AAPI Heritage Month is Advancing Leaders Through Purpose-Driven Service. We specifically want to shine a light on leaders of the AAPI community that strive to make a difference within the disability community and support individuals with disabilities.
Anthesis is dedicated to empowering people with disabilities through community and employment integration, and we are excited to highlight AAPI advocates who go above and beyond to join the fight in creating equal opportunities for community integration and employment.
Alice Wong
Alice Wong is a disability rights activist who started the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to the creation and amplification of disability media and culture. Wong, who lives with a neurological disorder called spinal muscular atrophy, also partners with Disabled Writers, an online resource that connects editors with disabled writers, and journalists with disabled sources in order to increase visibility to the disability community.
Kay Ulanday Barrett
Kay Ulanday Barrett is a Filipinx-American poet, performer, and activist based in New York and New Jersey. Barrett’s poetry and performance centers on Filipinx culture, mixed-race identity, and disability. Within their novel More Than Organs, Barrett explains the struggles they experienced while growing up with a disability and as a minority.
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is a disabled, multiracial Sri Lankan writer, performance artist, educator, and organizer. She wrote one of the essential books on disability justice, Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice. In Leah’s novel, she explores the politics and realities of disability justice.
Mia Mingus
Mia Mingus is a writer, educator, and disability justice activist and organizer regarded as one of the movement’s originators and a founding member of the Disability Justice Culture Club, which serves as a gathering place for disabled BIPOC community in the Bay Area.
To learn more about Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, click here.
For more information on the programs that Anthesis offers to support the person-centered goals of all individuals with disabilities, click here.