Recently, Pedro and I have been asked a lot about allyship during Q&As for unseen. What does it mean for a non-blind person like me to make a film about a blind individual? What can citizens do for undocumented communities in the midst of the ongoing political climate?
I don’t always know what to say, but here are learnings that I shared during my remarks at the National Federation of the Blind’s Convention (linked above), where I had the privilege of complicating what allyship has meant to our film as I continue to learn from Pedro:
For me, being an ally implies that I have no stake in the lives of the community I am working with. It implies that I’m there to help. It implies that none of the systemic barriers Pedro experiences affect me. Instead, I want to uplift the framing of Lilla Watson who said: “If you came here to save me, you are wasting your time. But if you came here because your liberation is tied to mine, then let us work together.”
It never crossed my mind that I wanted to make our film accessible for Pedro because I wanted to be a good ally to the blindness community. To be honest, I did it because Pedro is one of my dearest friends whom I love profoundly, the same way I love all of my friends and family. Just as my teachers and high school friends went the extra 100 miles to help [an undocumented student like] me go to college because they loved me, I wanted to make Pedro feel that same care I have experienced from others. In the words of Cornel West: “Justice is what love looks like in public, just like tenderness is what love looks like in private.”
With October being Disability Awareness Month and days away from the 2024 elections, I hope this framing speaks to you somehow. Thank you as always for spending your time on our newsletter.
P.S. We are so grateful to our impact leadership team, Conchita Hernandez Legorreta and Ana Portnoy Brimmer, for bringing me and Pedro to the NFB Convention in July.
