Ep. 206: Protecting Disability Rights in Tumultuous Times with Carrie Griffin Basas

in , ,

EQ:  How is the current political, legal, and social climate in Washington State and across the U.S. shaping the future of disability rights — and what must advocates do to protect and advance justice for disabled communities today?

In this episode, we reconnect with Carrie Griffin Basas, attorney, organizational consultant and  the founder of CoDesign Works. In episode 18 “Save your Hemorrhoids Story for Facebook”, we considered how disability justice and racial justice are intertwined. For both IWLs, this conversation shifted our perspective on disability justice. Carrie has had a full circle journey since our last conversation—moving away from Washington State and then returning. We get an update on life  including their work in the 2023 Rooted in Rights series Parenting Without Pity, and the founding of their new organization, CoDesign Works PLLC. As a woman- and disabled-owned firm, CoDesign is focused on centering community expertise in designing solutions for the social impact sector—offering both legal and strategic support to tax-exempt organizations. We talk about what it really means to “champion inclusive solutions across sectors” and how that shows up in practice. From there, the conversation moves into the current landscape of disability rights in Washington State—what’s working, where the gaps are, and how the state compares nationally. We also get into the bigger picture: emerging legal battles at the federal level, the impact of pharmaceutical shortages on disabled communities, and just how alarmed we should be by recent attacks on the Department of Education and disability-related protections like IEPs and 504 plans.

Relevant Resources:

Guilty Favesies:

  • Annie: eating the same foods basically every day (until 2 PM).

  • Hope: dark chocolate

  • Carrie: Love is Blind, Sweden; little people show

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Annie: there’s been a lot of discussion lately around autism spectrum disorder, especially in light of rather frightening and unhinged comments coming from people working within the federal government. Honestly, it’s poorly understood and the day-to-day discourse around it in society is ignorant at best and extremely harmful at worst. If you’re not autistic and/or don’t understand autism well, please educate yourself about it and be armed with information for these conversations. For a very basic rundown, find a reputable academic source, such as the Cleveland Clinic, to get information. Do not rely on federal government resources at this time. 

Ep. 148: The SCOTUS Goons Have Been Busy

in ,

EQ: What are some of the most significant Supreme Court cases this year and how could the ideological changes on the court impact the country?

Today we dig into the various cases in review by the Supreme Court, discussing the implications of a ruling in one direction or other. 

Related Sources:

Champagne & Real Pain:

🥂Mo Amer, Palestinian-American comedian came to Abu Dhabi for a show!

🥂 Jon Stewart!

👎🏻Desantis

Ep. 126: How and Why the Baddies Are Winning

in ,

Essential Question: How is the right leveraging social and economic conditions to pass such $h!* legislation (aka how and why are the baddies winning)?

Across the country bills are being passed that is limiting/censoring educators more and more. We have seen this with the CRT debate, Book Banning, and today’s topic, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. In today’s episode we discussed the high profile cases everyone should be paying attention to but also why initiatives in smaller states matter too. This whole episode deserves one giant shame bell rung from start to finish.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Megan: Educate yourself about what’s happening & check out the links above. Donate money to organizations who are fighting these bills. Contact your members of Congress!

  • Hope: HCR ad “Let Us Play” will bring tears to your eyes; Facing History

Ep. 113: Equipping Young People To Lead

in ,

EQ: How are young people around the world being equipped to address important social issues of our times?

Guest: Alisara (Ally) Christensen is from Bangkok, Thailand and the Jump! Foundation

Ally shares her experiences growing up in international schools and her passion for youth development. The Jump! Foundation offers a range of hands-on, experiential workshops to empower and equip students for exploring social issues, and specifically increasing their awareness on diversity, equity and inclusion. Although surprising for some, these conversations are somewhat new in international education. However, with access to technology and social media conversations about race and justice are now coming to the forefront of the conversation. We also explore the ever-evolving language around these issues of opportunity access. We finish the episode discussing the importance of having youth be the drivers of the conversation and bringing them along for the work rather than doing the work of change for them.

Resources:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 55: Understanding Gentrification, Displacement, & Mass Incarceration

in ,

In this episode, we’re lucky to have interview two guests. Tonya Wilson, Tacoma native--born & raised on the Hilltop, considers herself a voice of the community. She is pursuing her Bachelors in Education at the Evergreen State College. June Nho Ivers is the producer of the documentary “Since I’ve Been Down.” She shares her experiences as producer and her takeaways from this project.

Discussion Highlights:

  • How Tacoma and Hilltop has changed (from pariah to darling)

  • How the housing crisis is an ever-present concern 

  • The role of the prison-industrial complex in shaping and defining communities

  • A discussion of the documentary “Since I Been Down”

  • Why we need to create space for the voices that disrupt the common narrative

  • Democratization of film-making

Learn More:

Do Your Fudging Homework: