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AWN is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit. We are committed to disability justice, gender & racial equity, neurodiversity & trans liberation with a focus on transformative and restorative justice in disability spaces.

Incorporating Transformative & Restorative Justice into Our Work

AWN is committed to the following principles of transformative and restorative justice in our work as a neurodiversity and disability justice organization.

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The AWN website is being archived by the Library of Congress in recognition of our contribution to women & gender studies.

Highlights

Image is AWN's logo. A magenta lower case "a" with a teal winged spoonie shaped dragonfly arched on the upper left side of the letter "a". Centered underneath the "a" is AWN's URL "awnnetwork.org"

AWN February Newsletter

My name is Kyara, and I started as a Communications Intern at AWN this January.  I first found AWN through…

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Black History Month - Celebrating black artists and activists

AWN Honors Black History Month 2024

Learn more about the four artists and activists we are honoring for Black History Month 2024: Octavia Butler, Sonia Sanchez, Josephine Baker, and Alvin Ailey. 

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Image is AWN's logo. A magenta lower case "a" with a teal winged spoonie shaped dragonfly arched on the upper left side of the letter "a". Centered underneath the "a" is AWN's URL "awnnetwork.org"

Our Crucial Disability Policy Work

Our society, including public policy, should not pick and choose which types of disabled people to care for. True liberation can only exist for everyone when we divest from that type of competition and instead build an interdependent world where more is possible. This past year, AWN took steps toward creating that type of world.

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Webinars

Changing Media Perceptions of Disability

On March 16, 2022, AWN hosted a discussion with AJ Link, Kristen Lopez, and Dominick Evans on the topic of changing media perceptions of disability. Media plays a huge role in shaping public perceptions of disability. This is especially so when a lot of the time people’s only experience of a disabled person or disability…

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Prison Abolition at the Intersections of Food, Health, Disability Justice

On March 27, 2022, AWN hosted a conversation with Andrea James, Taylar Nuevelle, Kanav Kathuria, and Gabriel Arkles on the topic of prison abolition at the intersections of food, health, and disability justice. Join us in conversation with Andrea, Taylar, Kanav, and Gabriel as we discuss the intersections of racial justice, gender justice, food justice,…

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Radically Revealing Truth: Accountable Disability Journalism

On April 13, 2022, AWN hosted a conversation with Cara Reedy, Finn Gardiner, Alaina Leary, and s.e. smith on the topic of accountable disability journalism. Join us in conversation with Cara, Finn, Alaina, and s.e. as we explore the intersections of disability and journalism. Journalism is a way through which we view and learn about…

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Autism Acceptance Month Kick Off: A Celebration

On April 1, 2022, AWN celebrated the kick off of Autism Acceptance Month and the one year anniversary of the publication of Sincerly, Your Autistic Child, by hosting a conversation with Morénike Giwa-Onaiwu, Victoria M. Rodríguez-Roldán, and Kassiane Asasumasu, who were contributors to the anthology itself. Join us as we kick off Autism Acceptance Month…

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Cultural Work, Visual Art, and Disability Justice

On April 24, 2022, AWN hosted a conversation with Ashanti Fortson and Micah Bazant on the topic of cultural work, visual art, and disability justice. Join us in conversation with Ashanti and Micah as we explore the world of visual art and cultural work as it intersects with disability justice. Moderator: Lydia X. Z. Brown,…

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Crip Cultural Work: Disabled and Writing Literature

On May 18, 2022, AWN hosted a conversation with Cyree Jarelle Johnson, T. S. Banks, and The Cyborg Jillian Weise on the topic of being disabled and writing literature. In part of the conversation, each panelist also shared some of their work. Join us in conversation with Cyree, Cy, and T as we explore the…

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How do we survive to thrive?: Forced Sterilization, Eugenics, Disability

On July 24, 2022, AWN hosted a conversation with Cara Page and Ma’ayan Anafi on the topic of forced sterilization, eugenics, and disability. Laws in many states say that sometimes a doctor can sterilize a disabled person even when that person does not want it. These laws let judges, along with other people like family…

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Celebrating Pride & Organizing Communities in Disability, Gender, Queerness

On July 25, 2022, in honor of Disability Pride Month, AWN collaborated with The Curve Foundation and Beyond the Rainbow in a conversation with Jamila Hammami and Bridget Liang about the intersections of disability, gender, and queerness. The panel explored how disabled queer people imagine liberation, and what the LGBTQ movement can gain from actively…

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Health Justice is Disability Justice: Disabled Perspectives in Public Health Research, Policy, & Advocacy

In April 2021, AWN hosted a discussion with Nassira D. Nicola and Emily M. Lund on disability justice and public health, addressing disabled perspectives in public health research, policy, and advocacy. The COVID-19 pandemic helps reveal ableism in our laws, policies, and practices through health care rationing proposals, disastrous vaccine rollouts, and relief measures that…

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Disrupting Educational Ableism & Racism: Disability, Race & Trauma in Schools

“Schools and the legal system tend to label these children as disobedient, disorderly, and dis/abled while simultaneously ignoring the voices of the children themselves. This pathologization then is perpetuated through the labeling, surveillance, and punishment of unwanted students along with the silencing of their voices.” – Subini Ancy Annamma, in The Pedagogy of Pathologization: Dis/abled…

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