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hjcommons.bsky.social
Health Justice Commons
@hjcommons.bsky.social
820 followers 79 following 80 posts
HJC is a movement-building project with a deep commitment to Disability justice and an abolitionist approach to the Medical Industrial Complex.

https://linktr.ee/healthjusticecommons
https://www.gofundme.com/f/Alice-Wongs-Legacy
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hjcommons.bsky.social
"We tell our stories and truths in our own words. We define who we are and our place in the world. We fight to be seen and heard. We live in defiance with joy and radical acceptance."

— Alice Wong, The Last Disabled Oracle (2020)

www.gofundme.com/f/Alice-Wong...
An Asian American woman with short dark hair and honey blonde streaks smiles wearing red lipstick. She is wearing a multi-shade pink and orange long-sleeve shirt along with pink pants. She is in a black power wheelchair with joystick and phone on top of a metal bar. A tracheostomy tube is at her neck and a sidewalk with greenery is in the background. The bottom half of the image is overlaid with a pink translucent half-circle containing white text that reads: “Remembering Alice Wong, 1974-2025. Disabled Oracle, Fierce Luminary, Crip Ancestor.” At the top of the image is white text that says “HealthJusticeCommons.” An Asian American woman with short dark hair smiles wearing red lipstick. She is wearing a BiPap mask; grey sweatshirt with a black outline of a tiger’s face in the center; a small orange, black, and white tiger face pin; and red and black leopard print pants. She is in a black power wheelchair. In the background are yellow and green bamboo trees. The bottom half of the image is overlaid with a yellow translucent half-circle containing white text that reads: "We tell our stories and truths in our own words. We define who we are and our place in the world. We fight to be seen and heard. We live in defiance with joy and radical acceptance. — Alice Wong, The Last Disabled Oracle (2020).” At the top of the image is white text that says “HealthJusticeCommons.”
November 25, 2025 at 5:46 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
This Trans Day of Remembrance, with deep love and rage, we celebrate the ways Disabled Trans people show up for each other to ensure our collective survival.
In the foreground, three disabled trans people of color look directly at the camera while posing. Everyone is wearing glasses and a different colored KN95 face mask. On the left and middle are two Black people leaning on their canes. On the right is a Filipino person leaning on their forearm crutch. The background is made up of stripes in the colors of the trans flag: blue, pink, and white. Black text in the top left corner of the image reads: “Still here. — Miss Major Griffin-Gracy.” Two labels at the bottom of the image read: HealthJusticeCommons and Photos by AffecttheVerb. In the foreground, two disabled Black trans people look directly at the camera while posing. Both are wearing glasses and a KN95 mask. A blue duotone filter has been applied to the image. The person on the right is wearing a shirt that says, “Pro-Black, Anti-Bullshit.” The background is colored light blue. The white text at the top of the image reads: “This Trans Day of Remembrance, with deep love and rage, we celebrate the ways Disabled Trans people show up for each other to ensure our collective survival. We honor generations of Trans and Crip resilience that has gotten us here while mourning the ways ableism and cisheteropatriarchy limit, detract from, and shorten our lives.” Two labels at the bottom of the image read: HealthJusticeCommons and Photos by AffecttheVerb. In the foreground, a disabled Filipino person is sitting down in a folding chair while leaning on one of their forearm crutches. The person is wearing glasses and a KN95 mask. A pink duotone filter has been applied to the image. The background is colored pink. The white text at the top of the image reads: “Our Trans and Disabled bodies are sites of revolt and revelation. Our Trans and Disabled bodies – in their non-conformity – show us a world beyond binaries while illuminating a spectrum of expansive possibilities. We are whole, beautiful, and meant to be here. Let us never forget these truths as we fight for the world we deserve.” Two labels at the bottom of the image read: HealthJusticeCommons and Photos by AffecttheVerb.
November 19, 2025 at 8:21 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
Disability Justice makes it clear that INTERDEPENDENCE and turning to each other is always the answer. We must build a world where hunger cannot be weaponized as a political tool! And each and every person has their needs abundantly and consistently met beyond carceral State apparatuses.
A background with multiple shades of purple and an abstract flower shape. The foreground in white text reads: “Disability Justice makes it clear that INTERDEPENDENCE is critical to our collective survival. Through mutual aid, collective care webs, grassroots organizing, and other forms of radical worldbuilding, ‘we meet each others’ needs as we build toward liberation, knowing that State solutions inevitably extend into further control over lives.’ Now is the time to lean into leadership of those most impacted: people who are disabled, poor, trans / queer, and otherwise not new to surviving State abandonment. Source: Sins Invalid – 10 Principles of Disability Jusice.” At the bottom is a label that says HealthJusticeCommons. A background with multiple shades of green and an abstract flower shape. The foreground in white text reads: “Update – November 13, 2025: The federal government shutdown has ended. This is the first time funding for SNAP was disrupted by a government shutdown, and there still remains uncertainty as to when benefits will be restored and issued in full. Source: The 19th News. Turning to each other is always the answer. We must build a world where hunger cannot be weaponized as a political tool! And each and every person has their needs abundantly and consistently met beyond carceral State apparatuses.” At the bottom is a label that says HealthJusticeCommons.
November 14, 2025 at 6:35 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
What is going on with SNAP? Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Federal Government Shutdown – a Disability Justice Analysis
A background with multiple shades of green and an abstract flower shape. The foreground in green and white text reads: “What is going on with SNAP? Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Federal Government Shutdown — a Disability Justice Analysis.” At the bottom is a label that says HealthJusticeCommons. A background with multiple shades of yellow and an abstract flower shape. The foreground in white text reads: “SNAP – commonly referred to as food stamps – is a United States federal government-run program that, since 1964, has provided monthly funds to lower income folks for purchasing groceries. Basic eligibility is determined based on monthly income and expenses, and each state has a different application process. In 2024, over 41 million – or, an estimated 1 in 8 people in the US – participated in SNAP. SNAP is run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), an agency impacted by the federal government shutdown that began October 1. Source: Center on Budget & Policy Priorities.” At the bottom is a label that says HealthJusticeCommons. A background with multiple shades of blue and an abstract flower shape. The foreground in white text reads: “Why haven’t SNAP benefits been issued for November 2025? On October 24, the USDA informed states it would not utilize $5 billion in reserve funds to even partially pay out November SNAP benefits. The program costs an estimated $8 billion per month to run in full. This decision was a reversal of previous public guidance from the USDA stating it would utilize the contingency funds. Several states, cities, religious groups, and nonprofits have sued the Trump administration over its refusal to fund SNAP during the federal government shutdown. Source: The New York Times.” At the bottom is a label that says HealthJusticeCommons. A background with multiple shades of red and an abstract flower shape. The foreground in white text reads: “How does this crisis relate to Disability and Health Justice? The status of SNAP funding and benefit issuance has changed on a nearly daily basis due to the Trump administration’s actions and subsequent legal hearings. This has caused confusion, benefit freezes, and harm to the millions of people who rely on SNAP to survive. The SNAP crisis – like so many crises our communities face – is manufactured. It is an example of escalating ableism and eugenics on the part of the State.” At the bottom is a label that says HealthJusticeCommons.
November 14, 2025 at 6:35 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
REPOST via Sins Invalid: We are honored to invite you to the virtual release of Stages of Grief: Crip Hearts on Fire, Sins Invalid’s 2024 live performance, marking 18 years of crip brilliance on stage.

To access both streaming and Q&A, please register at: sinsinvalid.org
In the center of the image, a rectangular white frame contains a glowing yellow sunburst with warm pink and coral tones at the edges. This radiance is surrounded by swirling, abstract flames and wave-like patterns in green, blue, red, and orange. At the top of the image is the Sins Invalid logo, a black rectangle with the words “Sins Invalid” in white letters. Below it, black text of varying sizes reads: “Presents: Stages of Grief: Crip Hearts on Fire.” Further down, black text reads: “Free Streaming, Nov 12-19, 2025” and “Artist Q&A, Nov 15.” At the very bottom, two sentences in smaller black text, one right below the other read: “Streaming, Q&A and Sign-up available in ASL, English and Spanish” and “To sign up visit www.sinsinvalid.org or link in IG bio.”
November 10, 2025 at 6:01 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
We are enormously grateful to everyone who attended our political education series: Patty Taught Us: Dreaming Disability Justice Futures. We wish to share a few gems of crip wisdom from our amazing panelists: Maria Palacios and Lateef McLeod of Sins Invalid, Talila A. Lewis Co-Founder of HEARD.
Various shades of purple, Patty Berne’s favorite color, are layered with text and photos. In the top left corner are the words: Series Recap. Below that are two diagonal rows of rectangles, 3 in each row alternating between photos of Patty smiling in their power wheelchair, and text. The most prominent text, in white letters, reads: Patty Lives Through Us! The other text – which is crossed out – includes the words Medical Industrial Complex, Ableism, and Eugenics. In the bottom right corner, a label reads: HealthJusticeCommons. In the foreground is a quote by Maria Palacios in white lettering: “Disability Justice helps us and shapes us and holds us together by recognizing that needing one another is part of our strength, not a weakness. Interdependence is that link, that lifeline that allows us to connect, that allows us to keep learning, to keep recognizing our wholeness, our greatness, our beauty, and everything else that the non-disabled world wants to negate.” Behind the text are various shades of purple layered over three images of Maria in her wheelchair performing with or speaking on behalf of Sins Invalid. A label at the bottom reads: HealthJusticeCommons. In the foreground is a quote by Lateef McLeod in white lettering: “Patty Berne’s legacy must include an envisioning of the liberation of everyone and what the world will be like if we all were free. In my time with Patty – being a performer in many Sins Invalid performances and also a Sins Invalid intern – I learned many things from them. Like their tenacious work ethic; their unwavering political convictions; their commitment to building and nurturing their community around them; and the crip love they showed everyone. I try to emulate these values in my life to better myself and also honor her legacy.” Behind the text are various shades of purple layered over three images of Lateef speaking or performing. In two of the images, Lateef is accompanied by a background performer clad in black. In the center image, Lateef smiles in his power wheelchair. In the foreground is a quote by Talila A. Lewis in white lettering: “When you understand yourself as sacred, and you have self-determination and autonomy, and we understand our value, we don’t let anybody ... put their ‘brand’ on us. We reject your assimilation. We reject your normalization. We reject your compliance. I will remain intransigent. I will be a ‘drapetomaniac’ until the day I die because I was born free, live free, and will die free – just like all of my Ancestors and my relatives who were told that they were ‘enslaved,’ ‘incarcerated,’ ‘institutionalized,’ ‘ensheltered,’ ‘in/en-[whatever],’ ‘enfreaked.’” Behind the text are various shades of purple layered over three images of Talila A. Lewis, who is holding a small leaf.
November 5, 2025 at 6:47 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
Join us for the final panel of our fall series, Patty Taught Us!

📅 WHEN: Oct. 30, 5p - 7p PT // 7p - 9p CT // 8p - 10p ET
📍 WHERE: Online (Zoom)
🦻ACCESS: Includes ASL, English→Spanish interpretation, live captions, and will be recorded (with permission).

Register: tinyurl.com/HJCFallPolEdSeries
Image 1: Three orange marigold flowers line the bottom of the image, which is set against an orange background. The overlaid white text, the beginning of a quote from Mordecai Cohen Ettinger, reads: We’re entering a time when the veils between the worlds of the living and the worlds of the dead are getting thinner. Maybe it is easier for us to connect with beloved ancestors on the other side.” At the top of the image is a black and orange label reading HealthJusticeCommons. Image 2: Three pink cockscomb flowers line the bottom of the image, which is set against a pink background. The overlaid white text, the continuation of a quote from Mordecai Cohen Ettinger, reads: “That seems good timing to be celebrating and honoring our beloved Patty Berne, and also other ancestors or trancestors who we have lost, like Miss Major and Assata Shakur.” At the top of the image is a black and pink label reading HealthJusticeCommons. Image 3: Three yellow marigold flowers line the bottom of the image, which is set against a yellow background. The overlaid white text, the continuation of a quote from Mordecai Cohen Ettinger, reads: “And it’s always a wonderful time to uplift and honor disability justice and our right to, our capacity for, and our power for collective liberation.” The attribution is included below. At the top of the image is a black and yellow label reading HealthJusticeCommons.
October 28, 2025 at 6:41 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
“Loving of all of ourselves . . . acceptance of all of ourselves is also part of Disability Justice.”

Join us as we honor Patty Berne's life and teachings via our Fall Series, Dreaming Disability Justice Futures.

📅 Workshop: October 23 • Panel: October 30
📍 Online

tinyurl.com/HJCFallPolEd...
October 21, 2025 at 6:22 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
To honor Patty’s legacy & build our collective power, Health Justice Commons is hosting a special political education series, Patty Taught Us: Dreaming Disability Justice Futures. More info in the link in our bio and images below!
Patty, a Japanese-Haitian person with light brown skin and long, dark, curly hair, sits in her power wheelchair indoors at a table. They wear a patterned orange-and-white blouse and are mid-gesture, smiling as they speak. Papers and a device rest on the tray attached to her wheelchair. A sheet of notes is taped to the wall in the background. Overlaid text reads: "Patty Taught Us: Dreaming Disability Justice Futures Fall Political Ed Series, Special Edition Workshop on October 23rd and Panel on October 30th" The background is a watercolor texture in pale green and purple tones. Patty, a Japanese-Haitian person with light brown skin and long, dark, curly hair, sits in her power wheelchair indoors at a table. They wear a patterned orange-and-white blouse and are mid-gesture, smiling as they speak. Papers and a device rest on the tray attached to her wheelchair. A sheet of notes is taped to the wall in the background. Overlaid text reads: "Patty Taught Us: Dreaming Disability Justice Futures Fall Political Ed Series, Special Edition Time: 5p–7p PT / 7p–9p CT / 8p–10 ET Location: Zoom, join from anywhere!” The background is a watercolor texture in pale green and purple tones. Patty, a Japanese-Haitian person with light brown skin and long, dark, curly hair, sits in her power wheelchair indoors at a table. They wear a patterned orange-and-white blouse and are mid-gesture, smiling as they speak. Papers and a device rest on the tray attached to her wheelchair. A sheet of notes is taped to the wall in the background. Overlaid text reads: "Patty Taught Us: Dreaming Disability Justice Futures Fall Political Ed Series, Special Edition Access Info: All sessions will provide ASL and English <> Spanish interpretation as well as live captioning.” The background is a watercolor texture in pale green and purple tones. Patty, a Japanese-Haitian person with light brown skin and long, dark, curly hair, sits in her power wheelchair indoors at a table. They wear a patterned orange-and-white blouse and are mid-gesture, smiling as they speak. Papers and a device rest on the tray attached to her wheelchair. A sheet of notes is taped to the wall in the background. Overlaid text reads: "Patty Taught Us: Dreaming Disability Justice Futures Fall Political Ed Series, Special Edition Learn more and enroll: www.tinyurl.com/HJCFallPolEdSeries” The background is a watercolor texture in pale green and purple tones.
September 27, 2025 at 5:58 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
Patty’s legacy lives in every act of care, movement for justice, and story told with love. Join us for Patty Taught Us: Dreaming Disability Justice Futures, a two-part series, Oct 23: workshop. Oct 30: panel. ASL, captions & Spanish interpretation provided. Link in bio for more details.
Patty, a Japanese-Haitian person with light brown skin with long, dark and curly hair, sits in her power wheelchair outdoors in front of a white picket fence and greenery. They wear a white button-up shirt and smiles warmly at the camera. A small wooden box rests on a tray attached to her wheelchair. Overlaid text reads: "Although it was horrible to think of, it was really important for me to understand that for some of us our bodies are the site of oppression. Our bodies are contested territory. Understanding that allowed me to develop this framework of disability justice." – Patty Berne At the bottom left, a green label reads HealthJusticeCommons.
September 20, 2025 at 5:01 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
Disability Justice is a lifeline in these times. We honor Patty Berne (1967–2025), co-founder of Sins Invalid and dear comrade, whose brilliance and vision shaped this movement. Join Health Justice Commons’ series: Patty Taught Us, this Oct 23 & 30. Link in bio.
Patty, a Japanese-Haitian person with light brown skin, looking youthful and happy, their face shining with light. Patty’s hair is long, dark and curly, they sit in a power wheelchair, smiling and holding yellow flowers . She wears a black top. Behind them are people walking around. Overlaid text reads: "Disability Justice is a vision and practice of a yet-to-be, a map that we create with our ancestors and our great grandchildren onward, in the width and depth of our multiplicities and histories, a movement towards a world in which every body and mind is known as beautiful." – Patty Berne At the top left, a red label reads HealthJusticeCommons.
September 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM
hjcommons.bsky.social
✨ Exciting announcement: enrollment is now open for our series, Understanding and Transforming the Medical Industrial Complex: Climate Justice Edition!

This series is for anyone interested in developing an in-depth understanding of the Medical Industrial Complex.
Artwork by Ash Lukashevsky. There's a light pink background and three people with fierce expressions standing side by side. On the left, a brown-skinned person with long hair flowing across their right shoulder wears a black top that says, "whatever your reason". In the middle, in a green turtleneck that says, "your body is yours" is a brown-skinned person with short, black hair, holding a flower in one hand. On the right, in a long-sleeved black top with the words, "the choice is yours" written on it, a dark-skinned person raises one fist into the air. Beneath them are the words, "fuck your abortion ban", and around them are blue flames outlined in black. White text in a deep pink background says, "Climate and Disability Justice Edition" and "A six-session series starting March 13th - April 17th".
January 17, 2025 at 9:32 PM