A Look into Disability in Media and the RENEGADES Film Series
by Blog Writers
By Day Al-Mohamed
Welcome to National Disability Employment Awareness Month! So what is this “celebration” in October? In many ways, behind the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26th, October has grown to be the second largest disability-focused time period in the year (not including disability-specific days which may hold more significance for individual disabled communities). As per the US Department of Labor, NDEAM is the month where “we celebrate the value and talent workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and economy. NDEAM’s purpose is to confirm our commitment to ensuring disabled workers have access to good jobs, every month of every year.” It is a time where companies and businesses are encouraged to support, improve, and celebrate disability in their workplace. Why do we have this? Because disability is still not adequately represented in the workforce. Only 37.5% of the disabled population is employed as compared to 75% of the non-disabled population.
Despite Congress passing the ADA in 1990 and the rise of the disability rights movement, systemic discrimination is built into our processes and policies – in education, housing, healthcare, and most relevant for our conversation today, in employment. It is still legal to pay disabled employees subminimum wages in ‘sheltered workshops’ — a relic of the 1930s allowed by the Department of Labor under the auspices of maintaining employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Perhaps even more devastating in the current era of discussions around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, disability is often forgotten.
The Centers for Disease Control state that 1 in 4 adults in America have a disability, yet nowhere is underrepresentation of the disability perspective more obvious today than in mass media. Film, television, and other media seem to have not embraced disability inclusion in a way that is meaningful. GLAAD’s 2020-2021 study analyzing the overall diversity of primetime scripted series on broadcast networks, “Where We Are On TV,” highlights the fact that only 3.5% of characters have a disability, many played by non-disabled actors, and that network television “severely underrepresents the U.S. population living with disabilities.” A recent USC Annenberg study of the 100 most popular movies of 2019 found that only 2.3% of all speaking characters were depicted with a disability, and nearly half of the films did not include a single character with a disability. While there are no analogous studies for behind-the-camera and those working on films, anecdotal evidence highlights similar disparities in representation.
Day on the job.
That is part of the reason that disability was front and center in both the content of our American Masters/PBS series RENEGADES and also in process. RENEGADES is a series of five 10-minute short films designed for an intergenerational digital audience that showcases the lives of little-known historical figures with disabilities, exploring not only their impact on and contributions to U.S. society, but also the concept of disability culture, which honors the uniqueness of disability. Hosted and narrated by the musician and disability rights activist, Lachi, and created and produced by a team composed of more than 90% D/deaf and disabled filmmakers, the series is designed to increase public knowledge of disability, and also use these historical individuals’ lives as keystones to reexamine universal concepts such as identity, community, and normalcy from a disability culture perspective.
Infused with the spirit of the disability movement’s mantra, “Nothing About Us Without Us,” RENEGADES places a focus on authentic storytelling, with a cast and crew that are majority disabled people; and a majority filmmakers of color. Filmmaking is a “team sport” and like disability itself, it isn’t about independence so much as interdependence. Filmmakers with disabilities belong in media as much as any other industry. We believe our film series is proof of that.
In celebration of NDEAM, the RENEGADES short film series will be released on PBS’ website and YouTube channel starting October 1, with a new episode dropping every Tuesday. In addition, we are working with PBS Learning Media to develop curricula to bring a greater understanding of disability and history into classrooms across the country. The films are provided with ASL, Captions, and Audio Description, as well as an accessible transcript.
RENEGADES will feature the following groundbreaking individuals:
Judy-Lynn del Rey: Galaxy Gal – Premiered Tuesday, October 1
Judy-Lynn del Rey (1943-1986) was a woman with dwarfism who revolutionized the world of science fiction by editing and publishing books from sci-fi luminaries such as Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, and even George Lucas’ “Star Wars” in novel form. Through her story, RENEGADES shows how science fiction narratives, through their speculative and imaginative nature, offer a more inclusive and equitable lens through which to redefine disability.
Daniel Inouye: Life of Service – Premiered Tuesday, October 8
The first Japanese American to serve in the U.S. Congress, Daniel Inouye represented the State of Hawai’i for more than 50 years. As the first-born son of Japanese immigrants, Inouye’s early life was a balancing act of heritage and identity as an American. During his World War II service, he was injured in battle, resulting in the amputation of his right arm. Following the war and 22 months of rehabilitation, Inouye pivoted into law and public service, first winning territorial seats, then moving up to the U.S. House of Representatives, and then to the U.S. Senate. While also representing Hawaiian interests, his national policy work revolved around civil rights, civil liberties and support for policies that promoted equality for all peoples.
Celestine Tate Harrington: Building A Legacy – Premiered Tuesday, October 15 (Her birthday!)
Born with a condition that left her limbs unusable, Celestine Tate Harrington was a street performer in downtown Philadelphia and on the Atlantic City boardwalk in the 1980s and 1990s who impressed audiences with her skill at playing the electric keyboard with her tongue. When the Philadelphia Department of Public Welfare attempted to take away her infant daughter, claiming that Harrington was physically incapable of caring for a child, she successfully defended her right to parent. In the courtroom, Tate Harrington demonstrated her skills – dressing and undressing her daughter, and changing her diaper, using only her lips, teeth, and tongue – and retained custody. She used the limited preconceived notions of others to prove that she was capable of raising a family and breaking the cycle of poverty.
Thomas Wiggins: Composing the Future – Premiered Tuesday, October 22
A composer and pianist known as the greatest musical prodigy of his time, Thomas Wiggins was blind from birth. Some contemporary sources have also noted behaviors that indicate he also had autism. Born into slavery, Wiggins was the first African American to perform at the White House and toured throughout the U.S., South America and Europe. The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in 1863, but Wiggins was put under a conservatorship, and fought over in the courts as property – perpetual bondage until his death.
Brad Lomax: Creating Communities of Care – Premieres Tuesday, October 29
A civil rights and disability rights leader who had multiple sclerosis and used a wheelchair, Brad Lomax was a member of the Black Panther Party and founder of the East Oakland Center for Independent Living. He was a key protester during the historic 26-day sit-in of 1977 at the Federal Building in San Francisco, which demanded the federal government enforce regulations to prohibit discrimination of people with disabilities.
You can read more about the series in the Press Announcement, or you can check it out in more detail at the PBS website.
Day Al-Mohamed is an author, filmmaker, and disability policy advisor. Day has written two novels, “Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn” and more recently, “The Labyrinth’s Archivist” as well as multiple short stories and articles. She is a regular host on Idobi Radio’s Geek Girl Riot with a weekly audience of 100k+ listeners and a Founding Member of FWD-Doc (Documentary Filmmakers with Disabilities).
Her documentary, THE INVALID CORPS, about disabled Civil War soldiers, was licensed to Alaska Airlines and had its broadcast premiere on public television in 2020. She is currently working on a docu-series, RENEGADES, of role-breaking disabled leaders in history for American Masters/PBS digital (October 2024) and is a proud producer of feature documentary UNSEEN (POV, 2024). Day was named a DOC NYC 2021 Documentary New Leader, was part of the NBC 2022 Original Voices Fellowship class, and awarded a Disability Futures Fellow grant in 2024.
Outside of her creative work, Day is a policy expert with over 15 years of experience. The former White House Director of Disability Policy, she is a proven leader in inclusion and accessibility, policy development, organizational transformation, and innovative program design. Day lives in Washington DC with her wife, N.R. Brown, daughter Octavia, and guide dog.