Disability Studies brown bag talk. Join us on Friday, May 20th, 12-1pm, in the D Center (MGH 024)

Yonas Seifu, "My Intersectional Journey"

May 20, 12-1pm, MGH 024.

A stray bullet strike me in the back of the head and voila, I am shoved into my journey from temporarily able-bodied person to physically impaired person. 

As if being a Black Immigrant Male was not enough. 

Now, I am navigating another socially constructed group and battling the various gate keepers.

Going through the struggles, enlightenment, somewhat accepting and the battle to equalize.

Equipping myself with the language I needed to describe what I had been going through.

Defining successful endgame with the disability perspective. 

Article below about my situation in the Seattle Times: 

UW grad works to become whole 6 years after bullet shattered life 

Throughout my journey I have had some positive and not so positive experiences. These lessons have taught me a tremendous amount of coping capabilities. I have been writing and recording resilience stories. Learning the history of disability and how it has been constructed and a forced boundary on individuals has been strengthening my confidence.  

Topics I will cover:

The panic, devastation, coping and accepting. 

Relationships in immigrant family and culture and community.

Pursuit of romance, education, and a career.

Publish Date