Metaphors for Disability (Sickle Cell) & Queerness in Media

This workshop explores texts such as A Warm December and The Color Purple along with stories of vampires in popular media examining how their storytelling and themes reflect or parallel the lived experiences of Sickle Cell Warriors and queer/trans communities. Participants will learn key facts about Sickle Cell disease (directly from persons living with Sickle Cell) and queerness (from queer/trans people) , then engage in small-group discussions to identify shared themes such as resilience, identity, and community care as they appear across film, television, and literature.

B. Wilson, also known by the mononym, brilyahnt, is a multidimensional Black queer-trans cultural organizer, educator, and writer whose work bridges storytelling, education, and community care. Through essays, poems, event curation, and facilitated dialogue, they explore themes of Blackness, disability, queerness/transness, and belonging, making visible stories that are often overlooked or erased. 

Their creative practice is rooted in stubbornness, reclamation and declaration using art and spacemaking as both a mirror and a tool for liberation.