Thank you for joining us for FFA's Accessibility Webinar Series, which begins this week on Thursday, July 23rd (
you can still register here!)
A framing motif through our work is that of hosting a dinner party. Take a film festival and boil it down to its essence: entertaining, informing, educating - or keeping people company for a specific period of time. Imagine - or maybe you don't have to - that your best friend has a disability. You would like to entertain them for a few hours, and because it's a few hours - feed them too.
But, wait! They have a disability. OK. Let's cancel. The house isn't wheelchair accessible, the noodles are in peanut sauce, there's an attractive person you're trying to set up, everyone is giving toasts so they ought to speak clearly, you don't have space for the interpreter (let alone a budget since the autographed copy of The Joy of Cooking was a lot (and it's not in large print or Braille).
So many excuses. Is it better that your best friend stays at home? If they have you as a best friend, then they ought to make new friends. Friends that actually try and set the table without making excuses.Sure, many houses are not wheelchair accessible. That doesn't justify exclusion. Many public spaces must be accessible - host dinner at one of those. All the excuses can be overcome with some self-reflection, compassion and a willingness to do the work of actually hosting someone.
If someone is truly important to us, we don't cancel plans because they have different needs—we make adjustments so they can participate.
In 2020, I attended Sundance in Utah to see the premiere of Crip Camp. The captioning machine failed. I was devastated. I sat out in the foyer feeling upset and I was encouraged to go back in for the Q & A to point out the accessibility failing. The encouragement came from inside the house (Sundance), so I knew they cared up on the snowy mountain.
Excuses only mean one feels unwelcome.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions - but good intentions also lead to a great, and accessible, dinner party. After the excuses die down (or are not allowed to even show up uninvited), practical actions to consolidate belonging can appear.
Besides, there's no dinner party without us.
P.S. Special thanks to Ms. Childs and her accessible book.