Embraced Body

We’re back with more #CFMWorkshopHighlights from our 2025 Alumni Cohort! Last week, India Harville shared some useful tools and resources for tending to our nervous systems — not to pacify ourselves to any reality, but to better resource ourselves for resisting. She taught us more about the 4Fs of Trauma or Stress Responses: Freeze, Fight / Flight, and Fawn, and she invited us into shared practices to explore how we can best support ourselves as we work to create more justice, more joy in our collective world. We’ve shared more about each of the 4Fs and a few supportive practices for tending to our BodyMindHeartSpirits. And, India has generously made her workshop slides available to the broader community as a #CFMPublicResource for those who want to dive deeper into these topics! Head to our linktree (in bio) to check out her workshop materials & other resources from Creating Freedom Movements. Visit embracedbody.com to learn more about India’s work & be sure to follow @EmbracedBody on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on all EB is up to! [IDs in alt text + comments.] #IndiaHarville #Glimmers #GlimmerJournal #TendingToOurNervousSystems #NervousSystemTending #EmbracedBody #DisabilityJustice #DisabilitySolidarity #TheArts #SurvivalStrategies #TraumaResponse #StressResponse #Freeze #Fawn #FightFlight #4FsOfTraumaResponse #IntergenerationalTrauma #cPTSD #Humming #TeethCounting #ShakingMedicine #HealingJustice #48HourRule #PatDuggan #FeelingsWheel #SelfLoveMattersBySteph #CreatingFreedomMovements #MoreJusticeMoreJoy . . . {Image Descriptions: 1- 2025 CFM Workshop Highlights: Tending to Our Nervous Systems, facilitated by India Harville, written around a photo of India, an African American female with long black locs, seated in her manual wheelchair wearing a long sleeveless green dress. Her service dog, Nico, a blond Labrador Retriever, has his front paws on her lap. He is wearing a blue and yellow service dog vest. This is next to the logo for Embraced Body: A Disability Justice and Inclusive Arts Organization founded by India. More IDs in comments.

As a Brooklyn Arts Exchange @baxarts Artist in Residence this year, Elisabeth Motley, @motleydance, has been in radical process with @embracedbody1 @omelagah @bodyintel @dancin_migz @exdeadguy @beacastrom and @thahoodalkemist creating a work called Attend. This work is a collaborative and community-centered creative labor that holds disabled wisdom and relief during a time of pain, grief, and un-belonging. More details on our performance in May are coming soon! [Image Description: Pictured from left to right, Cory Nakasue, an Asian-American Latina, is wearing a black shirt and gray sweatpants. She has black hair and wears a black mask. Cory raises her hands to the sides of her face and splays them like feathers or fish gills. Miggy Esteban, a Filipinx person, stands profile. They have short black hair and wear a black mask. He has on a tie-dye black and brown t-shirt, and gray sweatpants. Miggy snakes their right hand up like a telescope, and his right toes tuck under and behind him. Elisabeth Motley, a white woman with brown hair, wears a black mask, a gray tank top, and pink, purple, and gray tie-dye sweatpants. She bends her upper body left while fanning her face with her left fingers and crossing her left leg over her right leg. Elisabeth’s right arm reaches out and to the side. India Harville, a Black woman stands with a waist belt connected to her wheelchair. She has long black locks and wears a flower-printed dress with a red cape. India has on red-tinted glasses and a black mask. She reaches her left arm behind her and looks back while touching her stomach with her right hand. Photo by Whitney Browne.]

As a Brooklyn Arts Exchange @baxarts Artist in Residence this year, Elisabeth Motley, @motleydance, has been in radical process with @embracedbody1 @omelagah @bodyintel @dancin_migz @exdeadguy @beacastrom and @thahoodalkemist creating a work called Attend. This work is a collaborative and community-centered creative labor that holds disabled wisdom and relief during a time of pain, grief, and un-belonging. More details on our performance in May are coming soon! [Image Description: Pictured from left to right, Cory Nakasue, an Asian-American Latina, is wearing a black shirt and gray sweatpants. She has black hair and wears a black mask. Cory raises her hands to the sides of her face and splays them like feathers or fish gills. Miggy Esteban, a Filipinx person, stands profile. They have short black hair and wear a black mask. He has on a tie-dye black and brown t-shirt, and gray sweatpants. Miggy snakes their right hand up like a telescope, and his right toes tuck under and behind him. Elisabeth Motley, a white woman with brown hair, wears a black mask, a gray tank top, and pink, purple, and gray tie-dye sweatpants. She bends her upper body left while fanning her face with her left fingers and crossing her left leg over her right leg. Elisabeth’s right arm reaches out and to the side. India Harville, a Black woman stands with a waist belt connected to her wheelchair. She has long black locks and wears a flower-printed dress with a red cape. India has on red-tinted glasses and a black mask. She reaches her left arm behind her and looks back while touching her stomach with her right hand. Photo by Whitney Browne.]

There are so many conversations about Disability as a deficit. This quote is a reminder that Disability can also be a source of innovation, creativity, and additional skillsets that are incredibly powerful, meaningful, and useful. Keri Gray, @kerigray90 is a trailblazing Disability Advocate, speaker, and CEO of the Keri Gray Group. She is also founder of the National Alliance of Melanin Disabled Advocates (the NAMED Advocates), which creates spaces for disabled leaders of color and BIPOC allies to gather, learn, connect, and grow around racial and disability justice. #DisabilityJustice #BIPOC . . . [Image Description: Headshot of Keri Gray leaning on a white wall, smiling wearing a multicolored headwrap, black glasses, and red blouse. Her right hand is touching her chin. Background is dark purple with red and orange curvy 3 fingered waves. White text reads "Disability is not the absence of ability; it’s the presence of a different experience that can transform the way we see the world. KERI GRAY. Disability Advocate and CEO of the Keri Gray Group"]

Although we have made some progress in the dance world towards being more inclusive for Disabled dancers, the majority of the dance world remains inaccessible for Disabled dancers. Disabled people are innovating and creating exciting innovations with respect to performer and audience accessibility, but the mainstream dance world still does not consistently and widely support accessibility efforts. We will keep advocating until accessibility efforts are a consistent and widespread part of the dance ecology. #EmbracedBody #DisabilityJustice #Accessibility . . . [Image Descriptions: Slide 1: India Harville and dance partner resting their head on her shoulder and a hand touching India's cheek. White text reads "HOW CAN WE MAKE DANCE MORE INCLUSIVE?" Background is dark purple with a graphic of two orange arms. Slide 2-5 each have black text, lavender backgrounds, dark purple borders, and graphics of two orange arms surrounding the text. Slide 2: Text reads "RETHINK TRADITIONAL DANCE RULES. Traditional dance often focuses on strict techniques and perfecting movements. Instead, focus on adapting movements to work for different bodies, and build unique ways for each dancer to create rigor in their practice." Slide 3: Text reads "GO BEYOND BASIC ACCESSIBILITY. Ramps are important, but what else can you offer? ASL interpretation, audio description, low scent spaces, continue to build your accessibility offerings." Slide 4: Text reads "REPRESENTATION IS KEY. Include teachers from marginalized communities to bring their unique perspectives and experiences into your classes." Slide 5: Text reads "REFLECT ON YOUR OWN BIASES. Ask yourself tough questions: How do I feel about disability? Have I thought about my own fears about illness, disability, death and dying? ? Personal reflection helps you notice your ableist tendencies and make shifts." Slide 6: White text reads "WHAT'S ONE CHANGE YOU CAN MAKE TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE? SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS! Centered is Access Doula, JJ Omelagah, masked and singing with a mic. India Harville, masked, is in her manual wheelchair with her service dog, Nico. Next to them is an ASL interpreter communicating with Deaf folks in the audience. Background is dark purple with an Embraced Body logo.]

Non-disabled people benefit from the work of Disabled activists who fight to improve accessibility. There are so many examples of accessibility features that have positively impacted non-disabled people: curb cuts, text to speech, even texting. It's important to advocate for accessibility even if you don't benefit from it, but it is also important to understand the ways Disabled people have improved everyone's quality of life. #EmbracedBody #DisabilityJustice #Accessibility . . . Video Description: Video with five frames representing how accessibility supports everyone. A person using a key to open a door, image of a curb cut, a wheelchair user rolling up a hill, a person pulling a suitcase on wheels, a family pushing their baby in a stroller, and an accessible biker with their kid. Transcript: Accessibility often supports everyone. you know, when we think about things like curb cuts, curb cuts really help wheelchair users be able to navigate. But when you have a suitcase, they're super helpful. If you have a stroller, they're super helpful. So a lot of people benefit from accessibility features, even if they weren't explicitly designed for them.

On Saturday, March 1st at 11am PST, the disability community will gather virtually and across the nation to remember disabled victims of filicide – disabled people murdered by their family members or caregivers. Hosted by the United States Gender and Disability Alliance. Join here: https://lnkd.in/g_YhRZRD #DisabilityDayOfMourning #DisabilityJustice #DisabledCommunity . . . [Image Description: A digital flyer with black text "DAY OF MOURNINGB." Below, dark green text reads "SHINING LIGHT, HONORING LIVES: REMEMBERING THOSE LOST TO FILICIDE." Black text reads "We honor the lives of those lost to filicide, the children taken from this world by those meant to protect them. These devastating acts ripple through families, communities, and our collective spirit, leaving deep wounds of grief and heartbreak. The impact of such violence cannot be overstated; it tears at the very fabric of safety and love. Yet, in the face of this pain, we shine a light—honoring those lives with remembrance, love, and action. By saying their names and refusing to let their stories fade, we uphold their memory and recommit ourselves to creating a world where every child is safe, valued, and cherished." Black and dark green text reads "EVENT HIGHLIGHTS. Virtual Event. Registration: Date: March 1st, 2025 Time: 2:00 PM EST" Background is white with lit candles and vibrant red flowers with green leaves. In the upper right corner, there is a logo for the United States Gender and Disability Justice Alliance, consisting of three overlapping rings in red, teal, and orange.]

The Spelman Disability Leadership Coalition is hosting the Black Disability Activism Intergenerational Roundtable tomorrow on Tuesday, 2/25, from 7-8:30 pm ET! They are featuring four phenomenal activists who have been deeply involved in the Disability Justice space. Register here: https://loom.ly/Ld-74as #DisabilityJustice #BlackDisability [Image Description: Black text on a yellow background reads “THE SPELMAN DISABILITY LEADERSHIP COALITION PRESENTS... BLACK DISABILITY ACTIVISM Intergenerational Roundtable” with the DLC logo. Below are the four featured speaker names, headshots, and years in activism: Anita Cameron (she/they), a Black elder with caramel colored skin and long, greying locs, wearing a black blazer and green turtleneck blouse, looks seriously into the camera, 43 years in activism; Keith Jones (he/him), a Black man wearing glasses seated outside looking into the camera, 30 years in activism; Paige Blake (she/her), a young African-American woman with black and brown passion twists, wearing a black and white top with pearl-lined collar. She is smiling at the camera with a blue background, 15 years in activism; Tanell Vashawn Allen (she/her), an African-American woman with a medium-dark brown complexion and long, black hair with body curls. Her striking red lips complement her brown eyes, which are beautifully accentuated by sky blue and navy blue eyeshadow. She wears a navy blue dress adorned with white polka dots, a white tank top, accessorized with a pearl and diamond necklace, 30 years in activism. Below text reads “Tuesday, February 25th: 7-8:30 pm ET” and “Register via Zoom: https://loom.ly/kUqfP6Q.]

Creating an access provider list is helpful for so many reasons. It allows you to build relationships with multiple providers, it can be used to stop the objection "No one is available" or "We don't know anyone, and it's a resource you can share with community. Our list includes CART providers, ASL Interpreters, Deaf Interpreters, Audio Describers, Web Accessibility Experts, etc. Pro tips 1. Ask the people who are utilizing the services for their preferred providers. 2. Include the person's contact information, services offered, rates, availability and response times, and notes on past experiences working with them and feedback from the people utilizing the services. #EmbracedBody #AccessibilityMatters #DisabilityJustice . . . Video Description: India Harville, a Black, queer, Disabled cis woman smiling with long locs facing the camera, wearing an orange top with blue jeans. She is leaning against a white wall. Above is an orange border with white text "INDIA HARVILLE" and orange/purple 'EB' logo. Transcript: Build your own access provider list. This will help you and it will also help your clients. when someone says, we want you to speak at this thing. And you say, are you offering ASL? And they say, Oh, we don't know anyone. You could say, Hey, here are these five people who do online sessions.

As multiply marginalized Disabled folks, building access for our communities, we need to make sure that we build sustainability into our access efforts while also communicating honestly about what we can and cannot provide. It's a tricky balance between making sure we don't become over extended and burn ourselves out and it's also important that we don't become complacent in our efforts to improve accessibility. Building great access practices requires negotiation, honesty, and trust building. #EmbracedBody #DisabilityJustice #Accessibility . . . Black text reads "PRIORITZING ACCESSSIBILITY: BUILDING YOUR ACCESS NEEDS FIRST." White text reads "1. Acknowledge Your Limitations Evaluate your own energy, resources, and capacity. Recognizing your limits helps you build sustainable systems and prioritize effectively. 2. Start with Your Own Needs Ensure your working environment accommodates your own accessibility requirements. This creates a foundation for building inclusive systems for others. 3. Communicate Transparently Clearly outline your accessibility goals and constraints to others. Transparency fosters trust and sets realistic expectations for your community. 4. Develop Incrementally Build your accessibility efforts in manageable stages to avoid burnout and ensure long-term success. Small, meaningful changes can create significant impact over." Image has a dark purple background with lavender border and a graphic of four orange hands.]