Media

Media that represents disability is something we’re passionate about at Rooted in Rights. In these pieces, you’ll learn why authentic representation is so important to making change.

Black background. Two gold, winged Emmy statues stand facing each other.

Shaping Awards Season, One Disabled Story at a Time

It’s awards season again. Oh wait, nevermind… Just as the climate crisis makes spring feel like winter and summer feel like “The End Times,” the writers’ strike, the actors’ strike, and years of a global pandemic have shifted the …

A light-skinned Black teenager in a green, striped, short-sleeved shirt is lying down on a bed, facing the camera and smiling. He has a TV remote in his hand and is pointing it at the camera.

I’m a Virgo: Black Autistic Youth Deserve Representation, Too

Being a Black autistic kid felt like there were thousands of eyes watching me. There were the eyes of my allegedly well-meaning mother, afraid to let me out of her sight. There were the eyes of other people’s parents, …

The famous Hollywood sign in big, white block letters set on a mountainous, grassy terrain during either a sunrise or sunset.

For Us, By Us: Chronicling Disability Representation in Media

“I’ve got a great story for you! It’s about my life as a disabled person. It’s never been made, and I think it would be something great that you could make to show the world what it’s like to be …

More Than a Product Update: Closed Captions Require Care and Responsibility for True Accessibility

“What are those things in your ears?” As a child, that question would resurface every year as new classmates arrived and a new school year began. I’d explain I was hard of hearing and “those things” were hearing aids.…

Ask to Vax!

COVID-19 Vaccines for Youth with Disabilities #AskToVax

DREDF, YO! Disabled & Proud, and Rooted in Rights have joined together to help disabled California Youth learn more about COVID-19 vaccines for children aged five and up. Children and youth with underlying

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A fair-skinned, dark-haired person holds a megaphone to their mouth. They're joined by out-of-focus protestors in the background.

It Doesn’t Get Better: Online Activism and TMAU Awareness

A parent with the odor-related medical condition trimethylaminuria (TMAU) recently drew attention to an episode of the NetFlix series Word Party titled “The Search for the Stink Monster.” It reportedly teaches children “You’re never stinky as long as you have …

Two older white women, characters Grace and Frankie, sitting outdoors in separate patio chairs while holding hands and gazing at each other.

This Isn’t A Cane, It’s A Weapon: Ageism, Ableism, and Grace and Frankie

One thing that always frustrated me was when elders would compare my disability to theirs. At first, I brushed off my frustration as reactions to their sometimes ableist and adultist comments. A common assumption I frequently confront is “You’re too …

Denarii Grace stands outdoors on a sunny day, smiling at the camera in jeans and a black lace top, surrounded by trees..

Turning the Page: Meet Rooted in Rights’ New Editor-in-Chief, Denarii Grace!

CONTENT NOTE: brief mention of domestic abuse (no details) I began with singing. Then I swam in songwriting. By the time I graduated from elementary school, I was riding the waves of poetry and playwriting. I would be in…

A grayscale photo of a Black woman in a flowy white top and skirt, holding a cane in one hand, her other hand outstretched. Her eyes are peacefully closed. She is standing in an overgrown field with trees behind her.

Queen Jasmeen: Creating Space for Disability Through Poetry

“Poetry was the first way I asked for help.” –Jasmine “Queen Jasmeen” Schlafke Slam poet and disability justice advocate Jasmine Schlafke began writing at age twelve and began competing in slam poetry in 2011, where starting in 2012 she won…