Report out:

Calling Up Justice Producer, Jesenia @NeuroSpicyNetworking attended an amazing Out-In-Tech virtual panel discussion, Stereotypes Don’t Define Me. Latine individuals discussed issues surrounding our community in various industries for Hispanic Heritage month.

Attending the digital event:

The work that Out-In-Tech is doing for networking, visibility, and connection is vital to helping our queer community! The Panel was wonderful. Zara Espinoza was refreshingly candid with their values and discussion about the issues within our Latine / Indigenous community.

I was excited to hear about a wonderful opportunity to network at an in-person event. I asked questions about COVID safety for this event. After some discussion, my attempt to call up and call in was met with dismissal, and I was removed from the meeting. This experience surprised and saddened me from an organization advocating for inclusion. Access barriers are common in queer spaces and speaking up helps our community improve. 

Attending in person events as a disabled person:

With solidarity for the mission, I hope to work with organizations to ensure we are improving inclusion and accessibility for in-person events. Not only is it important to name harm or injustice, but also to attempt to address it when it happens. The practice of calling up endeavors to use transformative justice processes to cultivate future positive behaviors and impacts.

I would love to see all organizations striving for queer inclusion to minimize access frictions for disabled community members. In-person events that include information about accessibility and organizer’s desires and expectations for the event allows for more informed decisions. By requesting attendees wear masks, we are being more inclusive of disabled & immunocompromised members of our queer community as we continue to navigate surviving an ongoing pandemic.

About the Author

Jesenia, a collaborator with Calling Up Justice and cofounder of One Free Community. She is working to build a more equitable and inclusive world via collective action by building communities. Learn more on her Website or Read Jesenia’s Bio.