July is Disability Pride Month and this Friday, on the 34th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the disability community will come together for a festival from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Canalside in Buffalo.
This week on the Disabilities Beat, we feature an extended-length panel with two of the artists involved with the local Disability Pride Festival. Chris Wylie, is a musician and pastor known for his non-profit which uses music to raise money for wheelchair accessible van grants. Bianca L. McGraw is a poet and artist, who is known locally for her series of watercolor paintings with coffee that began in response to the May 14th mass shooting.
WBFO's Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins, Wylie and McGraw have a conversation about their experiences as disabled people, what disability pride means, and what people can expect at the local festival.
PLAIN LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION: Chris Wylie and Bianca L. McGraw discuss with WBFO's Emyle Watkins their experiences and work in amplifying disability culture in the music industry, arts and beyond. They emphasize the importance of using humor in raising awareness about accessibility issues, and how art can facilitate conversations about marginalized experiences. They also discuss the significance of Disability Pride events and the need for accessible and welcoming spaces. They argue that inclusivity is essential for building a more unified and caring community, both within the disability community and the wider Buffalo community.
DISABILITY PRIDE PANEL FULL INTERVIEW
TRANSCRIPT (FULL INTERVIEW)
This is a rush transcript provided by a contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins: Chris and Bianca, thank you so much for taking the time to join me on WBFO. To start, Chris, I'd love to have you talk a little bit about your work as a musician and a pastor and with your nonprofit.
Chris Wylie: Hey Emyle. It's good to be here. I'm really excited about disability pride to begin with. And as you said, I'm a musician and a pastor and have a nonprofit that was founded with my spouse Janelle called Rolling Nation, where we use music to fund wheelchair van grants for people in need. So again, I am a United Methodist pastor. I'm disabled though. And so as a result of ongoing disabilities and so on and increasing disabilities and limitations, I had to pivot out of that some years back.
And I was a musician long before I was a pastor, so I went back toward into music and I met some really cool people to help me along the way, including Sam Baker, who is a disabled musician himself and found my way back into making music. And then again, as I already mentioned, using it to fund wheelchair van grants for people in need. So that's a little about me.
Emyle Watkins: And you're now involved with RAMPD as well. Tell me a little bit about RAMPD in the work you do with them.
Chris Wylie: I am. RAMPD, Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities for people who don't know was just founded a couple years ago. It was started by our board chair Lachi and Gaelynn Lea, who I know. Gaelynn has been in Buffalo several times with Developmental Disability Day and stuff like that. And so they started it and really to amplify disability culture and to be a connecting point for disabled musicians and venues and the rest of the industry. So I'm the treasurer, I'm the executive committee for RAMPD and I'm also the partnerships co-chair. And things are great.
We're really out there. We're doing some really great things, working with a lot of organizations and there's several RAMPD members who are on different Grammy board of governors and things in different states and stuff, including New York where we are, which is really exciting and lots of great stuff happening there. But really again, especially since we're in Disability Pride Month, it really is about amplifying disability culture, about celebrating who we are, about claiming our space in the music industry and in the entertainment industry. And that's a little bit about RAMPD.
Emyle Watkins: Thanks. And that's really exciting to hear about and I'm really looking forward to talking with you and Bianca more about your performances at Disability Pride this upcoming Friday. But Bianca, people probably know you for your watercolor series of paintings with coffee. You're a local poet and artist. Tell me a little bit about your work and what you do.
Bianca L. McGraw: Well, I am a installation performance artist, so it's weird that now I've been called the coffee artist. Painting is not my expertise, but I've been going around the community painting with coffee. We had a shooting, a very racist situation that happened in Buffalo. I guess everybody calls it the May 14th shooting. And I'm originally from Chicago, so I've had family impacted by gun violence. I'm also was at an institution where we had on campus shooting was Northern Illinois back in 2008. And so I as artists where this incident took place about 10 minutes from my house, I was like, what do I do? What does my art actually do? And so I struggled with that. And so what I decided to do was take coffee, which we say, oh, you have a coffee addiction. Well, I wanted to juxtapose that to America's gun addiction.
And so I also wanted to use the City of Buffalo, the idea that City of Buffalo is supposed to be the city of good neighbors. So how do I take the energy of the city to create healing for me but also create healing for the community? So I only paint the coffee paintings in public spaces. So I go to cafes, restaurants, open mics, art shows, music events, I just pop up here I am art galleries and I just start painting. And basically people are like, "Oh, what are you painting?" I'm like, "Oh, I'm painting with coffee." And they go, "What?" And so they get really excited and I'm trying to create a space of conversation. So people always free if you ever see me to come up and talk to me and engage with me. The whole idea of the project was to create a space that was a dialogue.
And it may not go into every very detail, but they do feature black artists of Buffalo. My focus wanted to focus on them because that was the biggest community impacted. And so promotion of those artists, but also to talk a little bit narratives about gun violence. So that is also incorporated into pieces. Those may not always be the conversations I have with people. Sometimes people are just excited. I have little kids that just want to touch it and they can. So I really interact. It's just a moment of healing that moment of community that takes place in a public space. And as we're really ramping up for disability pride, I think for me is I think as an artist also more coming more into terms to what I'm able to do. And I don't think I, a person who struggles with mobility and I just was like, this is really hard.
I can't always open a door correctly or carry my supplies. And so I have really been thinking about that. And then when I had my art show, I believe I had an art show two years ago, we'll say two years ago, excuse me, the way back. And I wanted to hang all of my pieces onto the height. My neighbor's a wheelchair user. And during the Buffalo storm, she was my angel. We watched out for each other because we felt like City of Buffalo didn't really watch out for us. And so what did that look like through art? And so I did a series focused on the snowstorm and I hung that particular wall at the eyesight of a wheelchair user. And that was important to me. I wanted to hang the whole show, but I was just like, I wanted this wall to stand out from all the other art pieces because we don't always think about what's accessible.
I can only think about what's accessible to me, but I don't always use a wheelchair. But when I had to understand there's a lot of stuff, these buttons don't come out the way they're supposed to, the door swing into the person hitting the button. It does not feel like, the intent is there but the functionality isn't always okay for people who are struggling. This led me in through poetry. So I've been allowed to work with international poetry slams across the US, but right now was working with Women of the World Poetry. And so basically my job as the safety and wellness coordinator was to look at spaces and how they're accessible and it's a struggle. When we do musicians or shows or poets, they can go to these stages and they're not accessible. And so who is looking at that? And I know it's frustrating because it's like you're fighting with venues that don't have what we need and they may be the only venue we can use.
And so it's a struggle and it's so expensive, like oh, got to get this ramp. I don't know. This feels like it shouldn't be as frustrating as it is. And so I just like to in poetry or at least in art, how do I channel that frustration? And Chris said it's identity first. How do we identify this situation so we can make it more of a norm? So it's not an issue, so it's not something we're frustrated about. And so we raise a stink. I know that we found out there are no handicap spots in front of Moe's. I don't know if you ever been to Moe's. So I was with my neighbor who's a wheelchair user who runs Wheel Talk Wednesdays every Wednesday on TikTok, by the way. Really great show about being in a wheelchair user dating and doing other stuff. But we decided to take up three parking spots so the ramp could come out the van.
So we worked diagonal, but we put it on TikTok so it went viral because people were like, "Oh my God." We was like, "Forget this lot. We're going to make our own parking space." And then we walked up to the police office, "You going to give us a ticket?" He said, "Uh-huh, that ain't me. I'm not a part of that. I saw the sticker." So I don't know. It's also using humor to talk about that these issues do occur. And so how do we use art, humor, poetry, music to show that these are happening, but what are we doing to make it so it doesn't happen?
Chris Wylie: But that's all part of it for me. I think that's so profound in your work. So profound. Everything you said there just blows me away. But just so many layers and so much good and not so good with everything that happened and of course the shooting in Buffalo and the racism and all those things, but Buffalo being the city of good neighbors and all that. And I think that's part of it. First of all, taking up three spaces, you might say, well, oh, we took up three spaces but you have because you have to drop the ramp. There's no way. If I can't drop the ramp out of my van, I can't get out of my van, so you know what I mean? I can't exactly climb through the window, you know what I mean? Or anything like that. So there's no choice. But I think also I think one thing we see, especially in Buffalo, I think this is prevalent.
I think about people who donate money to so many great causes. Something happens and people will contribute and lift up and support and all those things. Venues aren't where maybe I want them to be. And again, I can't get on a lot of stages, but I'm not here to really jump on everybody. I want to try to work with people, I want to try to be with people. I think a lot of it is building relationships and getting to know people. I can think of Dwane Hall down at Sportsmens Tavern for example. I remember this is pre-pandemic and I would just be going in to go to shows. And I said, "For me, I really need a table." And he was like, "Give a call. Whatever you need. They don't normally take reservations or anything" but he's like, "If you need something you call me and we'll make it happen and everything."
And I think there's a lot of that, especially in Buffalo, you know what I mean? And I'm a little bit biased. I grew up here, I've been raised here. I've moved around Western New York a lot, but I know a lot of really great people. And so I think there's these opportunities to build and grow together. And we may not be perfect, but together we can make perfect possible, you know what I mean? And it's an ongoing process. But again, that's all part of it. And for me, with disability pride with the show, I want everybody to come. I don't want it to be like, oh, the disabled people are having their little fun picnic or whatever. I want everybody to show up because it's going to be amazing. I want everybody to come down. I want everybody to hang out. I want everybody to be part and see what we're up to, see what we're doing.
And I think Emyle, that's something great about the work that you're doing to bring our stories to the surface to share these stories that most people don't get a chance to hear or might not know. And again, and another thing you said, Bianca, about not seeing what you don't see, not understanding what you don't understand as far as your experience. I've been a disability activist for a long time. I've done accessibility audits, but I'll tell you the difference between me, I had knee replacement that caused me to become a full-time wheelchair user really suddenly.
And that's how Rolling Nation started, the Rolling Nation Network to do the wheelchair van grants because it was eyeopening to see how expensive it is to have to get a wheelchair van, how difficult the world is to navigate when you can't even go up one step. It's like a whole different thing that just people don't realize. And that's one thing I say to people all the time is if they want to think about what it's like for me, go out and count the steps. Every time you go up a step anywhere you're going in, whether it's 1 or 10 going into a building or something, I can't do that. So just go out and count the steps.
Emyle Watkins: Something that I picked up on as you were both talking is the potential for art and music and poetry to really be this neutral ground for people to have important conversations. I think a lot of times after covering the mass shooting, I would try and have conversations with family or friends who weren't close or didn't spend time with the community after the shooting and there was just this big disconnect between understanding. And even with disability, it's like I have a parking placard and when I try and go park in a disabled spot and someone is already parked there without a placard, I know I'll be like, "Hey, your placard isn't up." And they're like, "Well, I'm just getting my mobile order." And then I'm like, "Well, that's not a mobile order spot. I'm actually disabled and need that spot because no other spots."
And then it's almost like there's these confrontations about these difficult topics. You sometimes try and have a conversation with someone and they're not ready to have it. But it sounds like art is this opportunity to invite people to a conversation in a way that they're ready to have it, if that makes sense. I'd love to hear more about what you think about how art can be used to help bring in people who don't share experiences to have those conversations.
Chris Wylie: Can I jump in just? I'm sorry, Bianca, I didn't mean to cut you off. I was just going to say because I think about this a lot. I'm a pastor as we've already identified, but it's one thing to get up there in front of people and to speak and all that, and people don't always receive that the same way. But if you put that in three minutes and put a beat behind it, totally different thing. The art is so conducive to opening up doorways for conversations, at least in my experience. I'll stop there and let Bianca jump in. But to me, that's one of the biggest things that I found. And I use my music to share my experiences all the time and talk about what my life is like. My music is really personal, a lot of it. But again, it opens up conversations in different ways than just like if I'm just talking at somebody isn't the same. But like I said, you put a beat behind it and people are more receptive. That's what I found.
Bianca L. McGraw: Yeah, I think that this is the purpose of art has been for ancient times. You think about poetry limerick as an example, especially early 1500 limerick are horrible. But the idea that literature, poetry, art, music has these narratives to make discussions or frustrations, I would like to say more of because sometimes these things that are happening are built off of a frustration that is occurring in the community. And how do you create awareness for frustration to make it more digestible? So music, so chrisette, put it in a beat. Oh, that's catchy. Maybe there's a-hole song now about the guided parks in the svi. I have a line in one poem, it's very colorful, but it's just the idea that these things happen because there's privilege and we like to say, oh, we don't want to talk about privilege, but there's able-bodied privilege.
You do have the ability to park in spaces all these 38 other spaces when we're only allotted 1% of the space to come when there's a lot of us too. That's not just one or two spaces. There's also controversy in our own culture where just because I have a handicap placard doesn't mean I should take the space that is designated for the van and if the van has a very particular space, don't park yourself there. We have issues with that. But by me knowing a wheelchair user that has a ramp, I don't think I would be privy to that information.
So the more that we engage with each other and have community events that we are having more dialogue about stuff outside of our realm because sometimes, yeah, we have a disability but we're in that area. I'm black, I understand that black disabled, that it's within that realm, that area. There are things I won't understand that Chris goes through that Chris won't understand that I go through that we won't understand. So the whole part about art, music, literature, poetry is about engaging in conversation and through conversation, do we come together in a vehicle that can drive us to a better understanding? That's how we want to do with that.
Emyle Watkins: A wheelchair accessible vehicle, if you will, to a better understanding. Sorry.
Bianca L. McGraw: It's going to hope in this van with the ramp.
Emyle Watkins: Yeah. That's a great point you make too is I think part of the challenge our community faces is getting non-disabled or sometimes as people say it pre-disabled people to understand our experiences and take the time to listen to what we go through. But there's also, we're not a monolith. Our community has so many different experiences and intersectional identities. I guess I'm wondering why is it so important to have events that are inclusive of such a broad range of disability experiences? Because I know there are a lot of events that are Special Olympics and they're very centered on people with developmental disabilities. And then you have events that are very centered on people with arthritis or diabetes and we have these sub-community events. But why is disability pride so important to connect all of us?
Bianca L. McGraw: I think the idea of having disability pride the month or just events in general, lets us re-look at our spaces. I know that we had one, there was an art show, I'm sorry, open mic I was a part of where we had a wheelchair user, which meant if they can't use the stage, none of us are using the stage. So we decided to put everything in front of the stage because that's what we should do as a community. And then if we have a person who is sensitive to seizures with the lights, we are not doing the lights today. This is going to be what we are going to do because it should be the same experience across the board. Poetry slam is a competition and normally in the competition we try to provide for each poet what's fair is that same experience across the board, which we can't always do. But shouldn't we be doing that for our performers, whether we're having open mics or performances, how do we make that space more available?
Do we put that as accessible on flyers? What are we changing as far as when we say ADA accessible? And then another thing, again, I bring up my neighbor, La'Quisha Pompey, who does Wheel Talk Wednesday. She says this, she said, "Your space is not ADA compliant if your bathroom is not." And I had to think of it. That is so important because I have to use the bathroom with the wheel, otherwise I can't go to the bathroom. So it has to be an accessible bathroom. And I just saw by some of those spaces that have the rail don't have the space. So if wheelchair users coming in, they can't even navigate because you put a rail up. It doesn't accomplish that. But we have to have more dialogue about it. So when we're in these spaces, we can talk about that because sometimes some business owners, they try their best to make accommodations or at least let folks know when we're having events what they do and don't have. But it'd be nice to have a fully functional stasis. So that is difficult in older cities.
Chris Wylie: For sure, you have to be able to use the bathroom. If I can't go in and use the bathroom, I can't really be there not at least for maybe more than a half hour. I'm old. But anyway, but thank you. I'll be here all week. Anyway. No, but seriously I think the reason you have these spaces is the same reason we are trying to bring inclusion into all of our spaces. And I think Bianca, again, you hit on something really powerful because what would be an amazing reflection of solidarity to me would be like if I went in for a gig and I couldn't get on stage that if everybody performed from the floor because then it's not just me, it's all of us.
We're all doing things the same way. But the reason you create these spaces I think is because when I meet somebody who maybe seems like they want to exclude other people, I always just say, "Get out and meet more people." You just don't know enough people who are different from you because if you did, you wouldn't want to exclude. So that's why, again, I can't experience everything, but I can meet a lot of people where they are and I can learn and hear their stories, and that's what it's about. And you grow in relationship and you grow to care and you grow to build. And that's what brings people together, both in disabled spaces and in universal spaces, which is what we're really talking about because yeah, we're trying to bring disabled people together and say, "Hey, here we are." But also bring in the whiter community to say, "Hey, here we are. Include us as we are and include us as we are because if any of our stories are left out, then our story's incomplete. Our universal collective story is incomplete unless we're hearing all of our stories." Thanks.
Emyle Watkins: For people who aren't familiar, our Disability Pride Festival happens once a year on the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26th. It's usually held at Canalside since the COVID pandemic came out of lockdown, the first year of COVID, it was virtual. And then we've slowly moved to having an in-person festival again. And this year seems like the biggest one since we came back from virtual. And I guess I'm interested to hear what you're both excited for. And I know you're both performing, so I'd love to have you both just share a little bit about what people can expect with your performances.
Bianca L. McGraw: Go ahead, Chris. What you finna do on the stage?
Chris Wylie: Well, first let me say that I saw an email that they're going to have masks available. So they're not mandatory. We're not making everybody masks, but we recognize that there are some people who are more vulnerable to severe issues with COVID. So masks are going to be available, and I really appreciate that as somebody who's high risk for severe complications. But beyond that, I think what you can expect from me, I'm DJ Pastor Rock, I'm going to get up there. I'm going to really let it all out about my experience, about disability.
I have a song called Bringing Fire and I'm going to bring some fire. I'm a preacher. So that's me. But what I'm most excited about with disability pride is just to see everyone. There's so many great performers who are going to be there. Bianca, year one, I've already mentioned how excited I was just to see your name involved, like, oh yeah, this is going to be amazing. But again, Bianca and J.B. Stone and Chelsea O'Donnell and Stress Dolls, just there's so many great, great performers with disabilities who are going to be there and be part of what we're all going to experience that that's what I'm looking forward to most, just being submersed in it and hearing everybody share their art, share their experience, and just bring that fire for all of us.
Bianca L. McGraw: I get to help host the stages. So that's what I love to do, hosting. So I'm really excited to announce a lot of the performers that are going to be on the stage. And just also always having the opportunity to advocate for the poetry scene in Buffalo like J.B. Stone, Legendary, I believe Lisa's one of the poets. This seemed really exciting to have that space. And also one of my besties, Mike Farrow will be performing. So I don't know, I have not heard the Stress Dolls, so I'm really excited to hear them.
And then I may have heard them at another event, just didn't know that was the name of the band, but some are really excited about that. But just the space, just the idea having community, and I think what is the best part is creating space for community. My artwork has always been about creating space, whether it's visual or intentional or with poetry, just trying to create this space. And I just believe spaces are so important and having a space just for us all to hang out and converse is really exciting.
Emyle Watkins: Absolutely. And one of the things that always comes up during Disability Pride Month is some people hear the phrase disability pride, and they go, "What?" And I've had people ask me, "Why are you to be disabled?" So I want to ask you that question. What does disability pride mean to you?
Bianca L. McGraw: These people are mean. Go ahead. I'm sorry.
Emyle Watkins: No, I mean that's the reaction though within our communities. When people ask that, we're like, "What do you mean?" When they're like, "What do you mean by disability pride?" We're like, "Well, what do you mean by that's an odd thing to say?" But I'm interested to hear your thoughts on what does disability pride mean to you, and what do you wish people understood about that phrase and what it means?
Bianca L. McGraw: : So I got an opportunity, I teach at Tapestry Charter High School Visual Arts. So in the graphic design class, I was like, oh, they put up a contest for the logo. None of my kids got picked, but they got a chance to take and create a logo for the Disability Pride Festival. And so there was confusion and it was not confusion based off of the disability part, it was the pride part. The kids had all associated pride with LGBTQ pride and was unable to understand that there was a Disability Pride Festival separate of it. And so they thought that, okay, well no. They were like, "No, they're just disabled LGBTQ people, right?" And they can be. So I kept saying yes and no. And they were like, "That doesn't answer our question." I said, "It does, because what you said is both true and also that's not what the festival is about, the entire community."
And so there was a discussion on it, and I don't think I ever really had to think about it as deep until you have high schoolers trying to really doge out the semantics about the actual wording, until the point that they're researching the ad. It's like, I understand. Now I get it. And they were like, "How come we didn't know about this festival?" And then there was upsetness in the class about them not knowing, and then they were upset they didn't win. But still. I think for me, I struggled because I always felt like was I, before I even got my placard from my vehicle, I struggled with taking resources that I felt like were not warranted to me.
So I struggled for years about hesitancy, about being a part of a community, would I be taking resources from? Whereas I was really struggling with that, and it really was people around me like, "No, you're a part of this community. Everyone is very different in the community. And just because you are doing these things, it's not you taking resources away from anyone, it's just about you getting resources that are owed to you and also advocating in spaces for those who probably can't."
And so I think I looked at it as the sense of how do I do that more? And when I think of disability pride, how am I more of an advocate? What am I doing to advocate? And so I try to be intentional about spaces or taking up positions that allow me to have conversations or advocacy towards that because yeah. And it's a struggle I always get in my way. But yeah, I don't know. I just feel like there's pride in understanding that we're so different, we're so diverse. And I also for a while was like, "Oh, is disability a bad word? Is it okay for me to say it?" Because I was the only one in my family struggling at the time.
And just to meet other people who were so diverse and so different from me and to the way to encompass a word, it's all about taking back a word too, because you're seeing this as this negative thing. It's not. It's just a reality of my identity right now, and that's okay. And so I'm proud of it. And it also makes me think that when I'm going through this, if I have, you're more conscientious of things that I can't do as your friend. You're more paying attention to things that other people can't do as we look at because if something impacts somebody close to you, it starts to make you change how you view the world entirely. And I do think that visibility, especially with disability pride makes that very important, us being out and out and proud. So I guess they were right about this disability pride parade. We should have a parade. We didn't have a parade this year. Did they ever have a parade? Was there ever a parade?
Chris Wylie: Yeah, there's been parades.
Emyle Watkins: In the past.
Bianca L. McGraw: It felt like there was a parade to the ballpark, right?
Emyle Watkins: Yep.
Bianca L. McGraw: Okay, I remember there was a parade. All right, I think I was there for that. I was there for that one.
Emyle Watkins: But yeah, those are all great points. And Chris, I'm interested to hear what disability pride means to you.
Chris Wylie: So for me, disability pride means accepting and being exactly who I am without qualification, without trying to hide it. Let's talk in a practical sense. There were times not very so long ago where disabled people were hidden away and kept out of public view. And in a way we're still living those times in a different way. People don't talk about it in that sense and so on. But that's what happens without accessibility is we're kept out of spaces so people don't see us.
But let me say this also, by the way, when you were talking about disability pride, I thought it was funny because I was like queer and disabled. I'm like, that's me, that's me, me, me. So anyway. But that aside, when I speak to my daughter whose name is Hope, when I talk to Hope I say, "What I want for you is to be the most hope you can be because that's exactly who you were created to be is just be yourself, and be yourself out loud, and be yourself proud to be you, and be yourself as much as you can be you. I don't care anything else that you do. I don't care who you love, I don't care.
I want all those things for you, but I want you just to be the most you that you can possibly be. And to me that's disability pride is to be able, I want to be the most Chris that I can be because that's who I'm supposed to be. I want Bianca to be the most Bianca Bianca can be, and I want Emyle to be... Yeah, that'd be hard to not have.
And I mean that as the highest compliment. And I want Emyle to be the most Emyle. And you mentioned Mike Farrow, who I'm also super excited to see by the way, to be the most Mike that he can be and everybody. That's what disability pride is for me, is just to be who you are out loud and to claim who you are and say, "You know what? I belong here just as I am." It's not about having good days or bad days. We all have those. And some days you have pain and pain stinks. It's not fun to be in pain for anybody. And disabled people know that a lot. But even on my bad days, I still want to be the most me. And to me that's disability pride.
Emyle Watkins: Absolutely. I really liked what you said because I think that disability pride is all about we're proud of who we are with our disabilities, not in spite of them. We are people living with disabilities, but that's not, it can be a difficult part of our lives, and for some people it can be a traumatic part of their life what happened to them that led to them being disabled. But for a lot of us, it's just part of our life. It's just part of our experience and identity, and it's just something we live with. It's about just being proud of who we are with this part of our identity, at least for me, that's how I think about it.
And I think the interesting thing too is how do we balance disability pride being a celebration and a positive expression of disability while also honoring those more difficult parts of disability and just balancing out. I think a lot of times people want to hear really positive stories about disability, but I think the really great thing about our community is that we do have these really difficult conversations about what is hard about living with a disability and that grief that comes with being disabled.
Chris Wylie: I think the most important thing there is that that's solidarity. Even though we have all different disabilities, even though everybody's different, everybody's experience is different, even if we have the same disabilities, our experiences are all different for a number of reasons. But the one thing that I really think that I really love is that I don't have to explain that I don't have good days. I can go in and I can be in this conversation with all of you, and I don't have to explain that some days are good and some days aren't so good. You just inherently understand that we live the lives that we live. And I think it's something that non-disabled people don't always fully appreciate until they start to get the creeks and the eggs and everything else. But we know it inherently just from being disabled for however long we've been disabled. And everybody will know that at some point if they live long enough. But that's something I really value in our community.
Bianca L. McGraw: I think when Chris was saying how being yourself or being the most Chris, I was thinking more about visibility. And I think about my experiences just in public in general and how disability itself is stereotyped. And so I live out loud in vibrant colors or cute little outfits in my head. They're cute, I don't know. But I walk with my cane is very tall. Shakira is very high. So a person may walk up to me, "Oh, why you got this walking stick?" So it's like, "Oh, this is Shakira and she's my cane because I'm handicapped."
And I'll say that. And I feel like, it's not like I'm shaming people but I was like, I feel like it's okay for me to say that. I think people should know that we all don't look like, I'm not sure how you envision people to look, but this is what's happening here. But I think that being able to say that a lot more for me helped me out a lot to just be like, yes, we're out here being cute in spaces. And so I think that just visibility, especially for disability pride, it's that idea that we're visible, we're here, and we're out here being cute. I don't know.
Emyle Watkins: I love, there's a local author, Keah Brown, who's just wonderful and she has a hashtag, #DisabledAndCute, and I completely feel you on that because I have white bilateral knee braces, and I was so excited that I could get a pair that weren't black because every medical device seems to come standard in black. And then to find ones that are in other colors is like, woo, this is snazzy. And I was very excited. And so I get excited to match my knee braces to different parts of my outfit. But then people just see the knee brace and they're like, "What's that for?" And I'm like, "I worked very hard on this outfit. You don't need to ask what they're for. You can just appreciate that they look cool." And I love when people walk up and they're like, "You look like a cyborg." And I'm like, "Thank you. That's fun."
But [anyway] I feel like disabled people have a lot of wisdom. We have a lot of wisdom within our community. What do you hope people take away from disability pride this year either for disabled people, non-disabled people or everyone?
Bianca L. McGraw: The sense of community. That's it for me because whether the stories are positive or negative, they're a communal experience for the disability community. And I think that that part for me is important, that building community goes beyond that and becomes networks, because a lot of us are now discovering who we are. We get a chance to hang out with each other. Chris is going to take me to brunch. Chris didn't know they were taking me to brunch, but they're taking me to brunch, things like that.
Chris Wylie: I'm ready. Let's do it. And by the way, I have a hair scrunchie too. You just can't see it because I have my hair pulled back in a ponytail. But anyway, so I try to be disabled and cute but I'm just doing my best. But anyway, in all seriousness, I think you hit it right on community. Community just to be together, to share, to learn, to grow, to meet, to again, be in community.
And I think that about our disabled friends who we know or who we'll meet, or anybody else non-disabled, who comes by and sees the awesome things that we're up to, you know what I mean? You're not disabled maybe yet, but come in and feel the love that we have and feel the love that we share and feel the energy because that's what I'm most excited about I think is just, I know, and again, I've said it already, it's going to be off the hook. We have so many great and talented people, and I think the energy is just going to be so high and so great that whether you're disabled, whether you're non-disabled, whether you're somewhere in the middle of those things somewhere, just come and feel that energy because I think it's going to be amazing.
Emyle Watkins: As a final question, what advice do you both have for someone attending disability pride for the first time, especially maybe someone who might be nervous or not know what to expect?
Chris Wylie: Just come in and be you. Come in and be you and live into the experience. Just experience what it's like to be a part of this community, to be in this community, and just let yourself go and just be yourself.
Bianca L. McGraw: And if you're uncomfortable, feel free to come to the stage. And like, "Bianca, I need a hug." Bianca gives out hugs. She loves hugs. So just saying. So I'm a hugger unfortunately. A lot of people don't like that. I have a lot of introvert friends.
Emyle Watkins: Well, but you make a good point. I think disability pride is a place where people can feel embraced no matter who you are. It's a very cool space, and I really appreciate you both taking the time to share with-
Bianca L. McGraw: Isn't there food?
Emyle Watkins: Yeah, the free hot dogs.
Bianca L. McGraw: There's food. Make sure you know there's food.
Emyle Watkins: There's food, there's a [new] kids area this year which is exciting. There's tabling. And I'm excited to see you both there. And thank you again for taking the time to chat with me on WBFO.
Bianca L. McGraw: Thank you.
Chris Wylie: It's been great to be here. Thanks.
