Imani Barbarin

Last updated
Imani Barbarin
BornMarch 1990 (age 33–34)
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
TikTok information
Page
Followers553.1 K
Likes47.5 M
Last updated: July 17, 2023
Website https://imanibarbarin.com

Imani Barbarin (born March 1990) [1] is an American writer, public speaker, TikToker, and disability rights activist who also goes by the username Crutches and Spice.

Contents

Career

In 2014, Barbarin launched the website Crutches and Spice as a space for her to write about her experiences as a disabled Black woman. [2]

Social media

On Twitter, Barbarin has spearheaded several hashtags to promote discussion of disabled issues and experiences. In 2018 she started #DisTheOscars to call attention to the lack of disabled representation. [3] In 2019 she started #AbledsAreWeird, encouraging disabled people to share their experiences of abled individuals misunderstanding their needs and experiences. [4] [5] In January 2020, she started the hashtag #MyDisabledLifeIsWorthy in response to remarks by former CDC director Rochelle Walensky about the "encouraging" fact that most deaths caused by the omicron variant of COVID-19 were in disabled individuals. [6] Barbarin joined TikTok in 2020, where she began posting both comedic and educational videos. [2] By February 2022 she had 140,000 followers on Twitter and 370,000 followers on TikTok. [7] In late 2022, Barbarin criticized Twitter policy changes after the company's acquisition by Elon Musk. [8]

Other work

Barbarin works as a communications manager for a disability legal office in Philadelphia. [9] [10] She also writes for online newspapers and magazines [11] [12] [13] and has speaking engagements at universities. [14] [15]

In 2020, Barbarin hosted the five-episode podcast Vote for Access, which investigated the difficulties of voting while disabled. [16] In May 2022 she appeared on MetroFocus to discuss her push to reinstate New York City's mask mandate. [17] In October 2022 she headlined the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Asexual College Conference alongside Schuyler Bailar. [18] In January 2023, she was a guest on The Assignment with Audie Cornish during an episode discussing long COVID. [19] In April 2023, she was part of the short film Unlucky in Love for the 2023 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. [20]

Personal life

Barbarin grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia. [10] She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 2. [9] She attended Eastern University where she earned a degree in creative writing and a minor in French. [21] Barbarin has a masters in communication from American University of Paris. [10] Barbarin is queer. [10]

Accolades

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talulah Riley</span> English actress (born 1985)

Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn is an English actress. She has appeared in films, including Pride & Prejudice (2005), St Trinian's (2007) and its sequel St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold (2009), The Boat That Rocked (2009), and Inception (2010). She has also appeared on the HBO science fiction western series Westworld (2016–2018) and the FX biographical miniseries Pistol (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittany Packnett Cunningham</span> American writer and activist (born 1984)

Brittany N. Packnett Cunningham is an American activist and the co-founder of Campaign Zero. She served as executive director for Teach for America in St. Louis, Missouri, then as a member of President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

Jeeja Ghosh is an Indian disability rights activist. She was born with cerebral palsy, a condition caused by lack of oxygen to the brain either during pregnancy or at the time of delivery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blair Imani</span> American author and historian (born 1993)

Blair Imani is an American author, historian, and activist. She identifies as queer, Black, bisexual and Muslim. She is a member of the Black Lives Matter movement, and is known for protesting the shooting of Alton Sterling and Executive Order 13769.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Carr (lawyer)</span> American lawyer (born 1979)

Brendan Thomas Carr is an American lawyer who has served as a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) since 2017. Appointed to the position by Donald Trump, Carr previously served as the agency's general counsel and as an aide to FCC commissioner Ajit Pai. In private practice, Carr formerly worked as a telecommunications attorney at Wiley Rein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TikTok</span> Video-focused social media platform

TikTok, whose mainland Chinese counterpart is Douyin, is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from three seconds to 10 minutes.

Rosie Jones is a British comedian, writer and actress. After starting her career as a writer on panel shows, she went on to appear as a guest on The Last Leg, 8 Out of 10 Cats, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, QI and Hypothetical. She attended the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo as a roving reporter for The Last Leg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Lawson</span>

Sandra Lawson is a rabbi and the first Director of Racial Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Reconstructing Judaism. She previously served as Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Elon University. Lawson became the first openly gay, female, and black rabbi in the world in 2018. She is a veteran, vegan, sociologist, personal trainer, food activist, weightlifter, author and musician.

Social media was used extensively in the 2020 United States presidential election. Both incumbent president Donald Trump and Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden's campaigns employed digital-first advertising strategies, prioritizing digital advertising over print advertising in the wake of the pandemic. Trump had previously utilized his Twitter account to reach his voters and make announcements, both during and after the 2016 election. The Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden also made use of social media networks to express his views and opinions on important events such as the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the protests following the murder of George Floyd, and the controversial appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Keah Brown is an American disability rights activist, author, journalist, and writer. She is also known as the creator of the hashtag #DisabledAndCute, which first went viral in February 2017 and caught the attention of such celebrities as Sophia Bush and Brie Larson. Brown has been featured on 3rd Hour of Today to discuss her first published book, The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love, with Me.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Lorenz</span> American technology reporter

Taylor Lorenz is an American journalist. She is a columnist for The Washington Post. She was previously a technology reporter for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, and Business Insider, and social media editor for the Daily Mail. She is particularly known for covering Internet culture.

Elon Musk is the CEO or owner of multiple companies including Tesla, SpaceX, and X Corp, and has expressed many views on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from politics to science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twitter verification</span> Identity management and paid subscription feature on X (formerly Twitter)

Twitter verification, is a system intended to communicate the authenticity of an Twitter account. Since November 2022, Twitter users whose accounts are at least 90 days old and have a verified phone number receive verification upon subscribing to X Premium or Verified Organizations; this status persists as long as the subscription remains active.

There is evidence that TikTok has down-weighted the posts of topics deemed sensitive by the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party. Topics alleged to have been censored by the platform include the Persecution of Uyghurs in China, the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, the Sino-Indian border dispute, foreign political leaders, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and people of African descent. TikTok has also removed or omitted information from its services to comply with company policies, legal demands, and government censorship laws. TikTok's responses to claims of censorship have varied, responding that the platform was attempting to protect users from bullying, arguing that certain instances were the result of human error, and stating that such incidents were the result of algorithmic mistakes.

Erynn Chambers, better known under her TikTok username rynnstar, is an American social media influencer, activist, and teacher. She is best known for her work on TikTok. She is also credited as a co-author on the country song "Beer Beer, Truck Truck", as a result of a viral video she made satirizing country music.

The Musk family is a wealthy family of South African origin that is largely active in the United States and Canada. The Musks are of English, Anglo-Canadian, Pennsylvania Dutch, and Swiss descent. The family is known for its entrepreneurial endeavours. Elon Musk was formerly the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$232 billion as of December 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libs of TikTok</span> Far-right and anti-LGBT Twitter account

Libs of TikTok is a handle for various far-right and anti-LGBT social-media accounts operated by Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent. Raichik uses the accounts to repost content created by left-wing and LGBT people on TikTok, and on other social-media platforms, often with hostile, mocking, or derogatory commentary. The accounts promote hate speech and transphobia, and spread false claims, especially relating to medical care of transgender children. The Twitter account, also known by the handle @LibsofTikTok, has nearly 3 million followers as of February 2024 and has become influential among American conservatives and the political right. Libs of TikTok's social-media accounts have received several temporary suspensions and a permanent suspension from TikTok.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandra Caraballo</span> American civil rights attorney

Alejandra Caraballo is an American civil rights attorney and clinical instructor at the Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic. Caraballo is a transgender rights activist and has spoken out against anti-LGBT legislation, policies, and rhetoric.

Catie Osborn, known by the username Catieosaurus, is an American TikToker, actor, podcaster, sex educator, adult performer, and mental health and disability advocate, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Much of her work is on the topic of living with ADHD, particularly its impact on sexuality and relationships. Since joining TikTok in November 2020, she has acquired over one million followers Her social media presence also includes Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and OnlyFans. Additionally she co-hosts the podcast Catie and Erik's Infinite Quest with Erik Gude. Her commentary is known for focusing on the intersections of ADHD, neurodiversity, and kink.

Copyright infringement and social media involves the use of social media platforms to distribute copyrighted material illegally.

References

  1. ↑ Barbarin, Imani. "I'm A Black Woman With Cerebral Palsy, & I Didn't Think I'd Make It Into Adulthood". Refinery29 . Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  2. 1 2 Samuel, Ruth Etiesit (31 March 2021). "'Representation matters': How these 4 Black women with disabilities are changing the narrative". Today . Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  3. ↑ "Opinion | What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Disabilities". HuffPost. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  4. ↑ Quraishi, Hafsa (20 March 2019). "#AbledsAreWeird: People With Disabilities Share Uncomfortable Encounters". NPR. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Holohan, Meghan (1 April 2019). "'Ableds Are Weird' leads to discussion on how people with disabilities are treated". Today. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  6. ↑ "The Pandemic Tried to Break Me, but I Know My Black Disabled Life Is Worthy". Cosmopolitan. 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  7. ↑ Mendoza, Casey (2 February 2022). "Disability Rights Activist Imani Barbarin And Social Media Power". Scripps News . Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  8. ↑ Morris, Amanda (18 November 2022). "Disabled people fear Twitter changes under Elon Musk leave them behind". The Washington Post . Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  9. 1 2 Shapiro, Joseph; Bowman, Emma (26 July 2020). "One Laid Groundwork For The ADA; The Other Grew Up Under Its Promises". NPR. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Keah (15 June 2021). "Trolls Can't Stop This Black and Disabled Activist From Taking Over TikTok". Vice . Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  11. ↑ "Imani Barbarin". Bustle. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  12. ↑ Barbarin, Imani (31 March 2020). "Disabled people have long fought for accessibility — but coronavirus made it a priority | Opinion". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  13. ↑ "Imani Barbarin". Rewire News Group. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  14. ↑ Fishel, Maeve (1 March 2022). "Disability rights activist Imani Barbarin on the systemic obstacles facing the disabled community". The Eagle. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  15. ↑ "Nothing About Us Without Us: Tik Tok Activist Imani Barbarin Talks Intersectional Changemaking – Brock Pride Week 2023". experiencebu.brocku.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  16. ↑ ""Vote for Access" Tackles the Barriers Disabled Voters Face". New Mobility . 2020-05-04. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  17. ↑ "Metrofocus: May 19, 2022". MetroFocus. 2022-05-19. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  18. ↑ "Schuyler Bailar, Imani Barbarin to keynote 30th annual MBLGTACC". mblgtacc.org. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  19. ↑ "The Long Arc of Long Covid – The Assignment with Audie Cornish – Podcast on CNN Audio". CNN. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  20. ↑ David, Menzies (2023-04-12). "JC actor is 'Unlucky in Love' for Easterseals Disability Film Challenge '23". The Jersey Journal . Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  21. ↑ "About". Crutches and Spice. 2014-09-02. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  22. ↑ "Imani Barbarin – The Root 100 – 2022". The Root . Retrieved 2023-04-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.