Zaakirah Muhammad, a blind cancer survivor and founder of See Life Different Media, moderates a panel on disability inclusion at Essence Fest. She notes that 1 in 4 people are disabled yet rarely appear in media, then introduces panelists including former WNBA player Lisa Willis and filmmaker Dev Howard, who works with the Saving Grace Epilepsy Foundation.
Chapters
Thank you. Good morning, everyone. How we feeling? Good. Good, good, good. I know it's still morning, so tell me again how we feeling? Good. Good, good, good. Let's have a seat, ladies. Thank you. Hi, my name is Zaakirah. I am the founder of See Life Different Media. I'm also blind in my right eye, so I literally see you through one lens. I'm here moderating the See Life Different panel, Reimagining Inclusion, to make sure that anybody with invisible disabilities is now visible. I am also building my own media company to make sure that those with disabilities are seen in front of the screen and behind the scenes. So being here at X in Sex is full circle moment. It's bucket list, vision board setting. So just being here is an amazing experience and I can't wait to see what happens next. Okay, so as she said, 1 in 4 people are disabled. Most of you know someone. We all are someone. And maybe you're someone who has not seen it on the screen. You've seen it in a magazine. You've seen it in a wellness space. So now we're gonna talk about what that's like and how we're all committed to changing that. So I am Zaakirah. I am the founder of See Life Different Media, which means I only see you in one eye. I am a childhood eye cancer survivor. So that's the whole idea behind that. Now we're gonna introduce Dr. Lana M. Joseph, or Dr. J. She has a booth right over here. She has all of her branding materials on. So what I like to do for those who are visually impaired is describe what she's wearing. So she got drums all branded out, all black everything, locs as well, braided locs. And then we're gonna move over to former WNBA player, gold Olympian Lisa Willis. Hey! She's also the founder of Ballin' Beyond. And last but not least, Dev Howard. She is a fashionista, a filmmaker, and she also has a booth over here for Saving Grace Epilepsy Foundation. So before we close out, prioritize your inner child. I want you to ask yourself what you are going to do going forward to see your life through a different lens. Go inward in order to go outward. Remember to keep breathing, keep choosing you, and keep being empathetic to others. Thank you. Well, I hope you all see life differently going forward, and I hope you enjoy this panel, and I hope you enjoy Essence Fest. Thank you, ladies. Thank you so much for sharing your genius with us. Fabulous job. Woo! Yeah! All right. So if you love this conversation, stay with us. We'll be back.
