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Our Stories

Rooted in Rights tells authentic, accessible stories to challenge stigma and redefine narratives around disability, mental health and chronic illness.

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, …
A fair-skinned person with brown hair, face partially not visible because it's off-camera, holds their hand up to their ear, as though listening to something.

What My Joints Tell Me

CONTENT NOTE: unintentional and drastic weight loss (due to health issues), medical food restriction (not dieting), brief mention of self-harm (cutting) . . . . . . . . . . . .   Summer in North Carolina is hot …
The disability pride flag: left to right diagonal stripes - green, light blue, white, yellow, and a soft red - from top to bottom on a charcoal background.

A Community Reflection on Disability Pride Month

The way that individual people connect to their disability—whether it’s mental, physical, learning, or developmental; chronic and/or dynamic; congenital or acquired—is complex. We live in a society that was not created with disabled people in mind. It’s evident every time …
Outdoors, day. A prison watchtower separated by a wired fence. The camera is close up on the fence.

Mass Incarceration’s Dystopia Gets Even Worse: Harvesting Organs and Co-Opting Radical Language

Content warning: incarceration, enslavement, white supremacy, experimentation on adults and children, family separation, death from medical neglect, medical industrial complex, prison industrial complex, trauma, state violence   In 1949, an incarcerated white man in Sing-Sing Correctional Facility named Louis Boy…
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 …
Computer screen with the Zoom logo and a meeting log in page with "Join a Meeting" at the top. A magnifying glass centers on the Zoom logo.

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.…
An older Asian woman with short dark hair waits in an office setting. She holds her head in her left hand, looking despondent. She's wearing a short-sleeved light blue top and dark shorts.

Substandard of Care: Accommodations in Healthcare

You can listen to an audio version of this essay here.   As told to Editor-in-Chief Denarii Grace   Rooted in Rights would like to acknowledge that this essay is the product of a collaborative effort between the storyteller…
Indoors. A group of people of different ages and races in a waiting room. Some are patients, seated, while the rest are healthcare workers standing around and a receptionist behind a desk.

No, I Can’t Always Give You 24 Hours’ Notice

“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be able to make it to my appointment today. I’m in too much pain. I can’t sit long, let alone drive.”   “Since you’re calling with less than 24 hours’ notice, there will …