Episode 146 with Sandy Ho, Discussing the Work and New Book (Year of the Tiger) of Alice Wong, Partner in Meaningful and Change-Inducing Work in Disability Circles and Beyond

Episode 146 with Sandy Ho:

A Discussion of the Work and New Book (Year of the Tiger) of Alice Wong, Sandy’s Partner in Meaningful and Change-Inducing Work in Disability Circles and Beyond

Sandy Ho is guided by the light of the closest disco ball. Born in the year of the tiger, her boldness has shown up in her community organizing and activism as the founder of the Disability & Intersectionality Summit. She is also one-third of the team behind the “Access is Love” campaign in partnership with Alice Wong and Mia Mingus. Her essay “Canfei to Canji: The Freedom of Being Loud” is included in Disability Visibility: FirstPerson Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong. She produced the discussion guide for Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life by Alice Wong (September 2022). In 2022 Sandy received the Disability Futures Fellowship. Currently she is the director of the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy. Sandy spends her time reading, cheering for the Red Sox, and daydreaming while drinking tea. She identifies as a queer disabled Asian American woman. 

 

Donate to Alice Wong's Recovery Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/alice-wong-stay-in-community

Alice Wong is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community that fosters and amplifies disability media and culture. A Chinese-American activist and writer, Wong fights for access and representation for people with disabilities from all backgrounds.

Wong launched the Disability Visibility Project in 2014. It began as a partnership with StoryCorps to offer opportunities for people with disabilities to record their own oral histories. It grew into an online community that documents and amplifies disability media and culture. Wong, who never felt represented in popular culture while growing up as an Asian-American girl with a disability, wanted to help people tell their stories without the filter of the media, an act she hoped they would find empowering.   

Wong’s writing on disability issues has been published in numerous media outlets across the country. She has edited two anthologies that feature essays written by people with disabilities, and she published her memoir, Year of the Tiger, in 2022.

In 2020, Time recognized Wong as one of 16 notable people fighting for equality in America. 

Wong continues her intersectional advocacy for the disability community and the Asian American community through her efforts as an activist and writer. In her own words, “I want to create a world that is reflective of all of us. This is my life’s work.”

At about 10:50, Pete and Sandy discuss a recent Teen Vogue article, “ 'Year of the Tiger' By Alice Wong Is a Letter to Asian American Disabled Women and Girls,” excerpted from the book

 

At about 11:30, Sandy responds to Pete asking about what Alice means to the disabled communities and beyond and how she functions as an “oracle”

 

At about 15:10, Pete and Sandy reflect on how relatively short the post-Americans with Disabilities Act history is and about Alice and her contemporaries as “OGs”

 

At about 17:05, Sandy gives background on her meeting Alice and “community organizing” and how “Letters to Thrive” served as a catalyst 

 

At about 20:50, Pete and Sandy talk about interdependence and community, including the symbolism of the peaches brought from Masumuto Farms

 

At about 26:55, Sandy tells of a recent birthday party that Alice threw for her; this serves as a shining example of Alice’s copious generosity, selflessness, and care for others

 

At about 29:00, the two discuss Alice’s emphasis in her book and in her life on rest and relaxation and recharging 

 

At about 31:40, Sandy and Pete examine the word “ally” and Sandy discusses what we as a collective can do to be more than just “performative” allies

 

At about 34:00, Sandy gives out bookstores and libraries of note, including Green Apple Books

 

Alice Wong's Twitter Page

 

Disability Visibility Twitter Page

 

Buy Year of the Tiger: Activist's Life

 

From Eater Magazine, October 2022: "Constant Cravings"