My Essay on CNN Opinion: “How Starbucks’ Straw Decision Lets Me Down”

StrawLast week, I experienced a freelance writing first: One of my editors at CNN Opinion emailed me to see if I’d be interested in writing about Starbucks’ straw ban. Yes! THIS is why I’ve worked so hard to cultivate my beats as a writer! So honored to advocate for the disability community again!!

My plastic straws op-ed was published last Thursday!!! This marks my 10th one with CNN. Some of the negative responses and ableist comments I’ve received just proved how important this conversation is! It’s disappointing that, again, the disability community was left out of a conversation/decision that directly affects us. As I said in my essay, it’s just another example of our autonomy being taken away.

Here’s an excerpt of the piece, in which I emphasize the fact that even straw replacement options pose problems for some people with disabilities…

These types of unilateral decisions simply don’t take into account the needs of those who will be most impacted. Sure, not everyone will need plastic straws, but people with disabilities should be given the option to use them if they need to.

In an email response, Starbucks told me, “We will work with the disability community to ensure we continue to meet their needs going forward.”

And while that’s at least an acknowledgment of the issue, it doesn’t immediately address the difficulty that disabled people have grasping or holding a cup, or even drinking directly from a cup. Take me, for example. My hands are deformed as a result of my disability, and this makes it hard for me to pick up some cups. My neck is also fully fused, which makes using straws ideal, because I can’t bend my neck back to sip from a lid.

You can read the full piece here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo

My Essay on CNN Opinion: “Trump Doesn’t Get What Makes the Paralympics Great”

ParalympicsLast month, just when I was itching to write another timely op-ed, that guy who “lives” in the White House opened his mouth. Again. This time, he insulted the Paralympics. You know I’m going to speak up for the disability community. Again.

After Trump’s ableist comment about the Paralympics, I wrote an essay the very next day because I had so many thoughts swirling in my head and I just had to get all the words out.

I’m happy to say it’s on CNN Opinion! The editors even kept my snarkiest sentence in! My response to those defending Trump, saying he was referring to his time constraints when he said the Paralympics were “tough to watch“: “Surely he could skip a round on the golf course to support the fine athletes of Team USA.”

Here’s an excerpt of the piece, in which I stress that Trump’s treatment toward the disability community is something we all should be concerned with…

“Which is why to go from calling the athletes “incredible” to downright insulting them in the very next sentence is nothing short of dangerous. By saying it’s tough to watch, Trump is invoking that archaic stereotype that people with disabilities shouldn’t be seen — that they make people too uncomfortable to be out in public.

Indeed, Trump missed an important opportunity here to support people with disabilities. Now more than ever, we need positive representations when it comes to disabilities, and the Paralympic team is such a powerful force in the movement.

Trump could have thanked the team for their wonderful contribution to the Olympic spirit, but he didn’t. He could have lifted them up instead of putting them down, but he didn’t. And that subtext behind his words spoke volumes.”

And speaking of Trump and CNN, he recently tweeted that CNN is “dead.” So, naturally, I tweeted him all of my op-eds with the hashtag #CNNIsAliveAndWell.

You can read the full piece here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo

How the Disability Film Challenge Celebrates Diversity Through Storytelling

Disability Film ChallengeWhen I received an email about the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, I instinctively knew that I just had to interview the organizers. Why? Because the April event combined the disability community and pop culture, which are two of my favorite things. I’ve written a lot about pop culture’s lack of representation when it comes to disabilities and featuring disabled characters, so I was ecstatic to learn about the Disability Film Challenge, an initiative that aims to promote better representation by giving filmmakers — with and without disabilities — the opportunity to tell unique stories that showcase disability in its many forms.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Nic Novicki, who founded the challenge along with Mark Whitley, the CEO of Easterseals Southern California. Read on for Novicki’s thoughts and wise words, including the importance of disability representation, shattering negative stereotypes and what the future might hold for representation… xoxo

Tell me about the Disability Film Challenge? How did it come about?
The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge is a weekend-long film competition where, over the course of 55 hours, participants write shoot, edit and submit a 3- to 5-minute short film based off an assigned genre. While the filmmakers are not required to include disability in the story line, each team must include at least one person with a disability in front of or behind the camera. After submission, the films are judged by a diverse group of entertainment industry talent, which this year included RJ Mitte, Nicole Castro, Kat Coiro, Jenni Gold, Ken Kragen, Kevin Jordan, Steven Martini, Mark Povinelli and Danny Woodburn. This year’s finalists were announced and screened at the Bentonville Film Festival on May 3rd, which champions inclusion in all forms of media, invited to an exclusive round-table discussion with agents at United Talent Agency and received a one-year subscription to Variety Magazine.

Winners, announced at the red-carpet event hosted by United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills on May 10th, were awarded industry mentorships with industry leaders such as agent Bec Smith from UTA, Executive Vice President Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i from CBS Entertainment Diversity, Inclusion & Communications, casting director Pam Dixon and a yet-to-be-announced production executive from Universal Pictures. They also receive the opportunity to screen their film at the Los Angeles-based HollyShorts Film Festival (August 9-18), an Academy Award-qualifying competition; they also receive $1,000 grants provided by Universal Filmed Entertainment Group toward their next production.

I founded the Disability Film Challenge in 2013 to give filmmakers a platform to collaborate and tell unique stories to help change the way the world defines and views disability. I was also looking to motivate people with and without disabilities to take their career in their own hands and increase their own visibility. I personally have found success as an actor, comedian and producer because I realized early on in my career that as a little person, if I wanted to continue to play three-dimensional characters in Hollywood, I was going to have to create my own work. It has led to a lot of work for me over the years, and it has also been creatively fulfilling to be in charge of my own career. I wanted to provide the opportunity for people in the entertainment industry and in other industries to experience the same thing. The film challenge is also a great tool to build lasting relationships

The film challenge has grown each year, and the partnership with Easterseals Southern California in 2017, along with the sponsors that have joined us, has turbo-charged our development! We are currently sponsored by Adobe, The Bentonville Film Festival, CBS Entertainment Diversity & Inclusion, Deadline, Dell, Inc., Deadline, HollyShorts, Nike, SAG-AFTRA, Heartland Film Festival, United Talent Agency, Universal Pictures and Variety.

Each year we see more and more amazing films created over our weekend film challenge. We are proud to see past participants getting hired in film and TV, and to see the films at festivals around the world!

Disability Film ChallengeWhy is disability representation so important?
As people with disabilities, we represent 20% of the population, but we are only seen in less than 2% of film and TV. When we are depicted in typical, authentic roles, it helps change perceptions of what people with disabilities are like.

What can people do to help change society’s view/negative stereotypes of people with disabilities?
Easterseals has started a campaign called “Celebrate. Don’t Separate” that I think really sums up what we are all aiming for. The “Easterseals Promise” as a part of that campaign asks people to promise to take steps to change the way they see disability. It features calls to action such as “Celebrate. Don’t Separate,” “Encourage. Don’t Exclude” and “Dialogue. Not Doubt” that reminds everyone to treat people fairly and equally. The message is the overarching theme of the film challenge as well, so whether people participate in the film challenge, watch and share the winning films or take the “Easterseals Promise,” they are helping change the way people define and view disability.

Where do you see disability representation in, say, 5 or 10 years?
I see disability being represented in more and more projects. The numbers can only go up, especially once entertainment companies, studios and Fortune 500 companies realize the incredible buying power of people with disabilities that they are missing out on.

What are some films that do justice to disability representation?
It’s sad to say that it is hard selecting a lot of recent films that were theatrically released. I would again have to point to numerous films from our film challenge, although they are short films. The movie, “The Sessions” was a great film and although the actor that portrayed the lead character didn’t have a disability, the supporting cast members did. The director Ben Lewin is also disabled and incredibly talented.

Although there are a couple other films that I think did a great job with representation, including Baby Driver, I would have to say that TV is really leading the way. Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Speechless, and numerous other TV shows have been groundbreaking examples of on-screen representation.

Disability Film ChallengeThanks, Nic, and thanks for all the inspiration!! You can learn more about the Easterseals Disabillity Film Challenge here. Be sure to watch and share this year’s films, and participate in next year’s film challenge!

[Photos courtesy of Reggie Ige and Easterseals Southern California]

My Essay on CNN Opinion: “On Disability, Twitter Is Better Late Than Never”

DisabilityYes, I know, it’s another timely essay from me!! But when there’s a win for the disability community, of course I’m going to write about it! Twitter finally updated its reporting form to include hate directed at people with disabilities. I wrote about this long-overdue milestone and the importance of including disability in conversations about hate speech. So excited to see it published on CNN, which is quickly becoming my favorite site to write for!

You’ve all seen me lamenting about Twitter trolls, which seem to be on the rise more and more every day. It’s sad, really, and it can feel like the vicious vitriol knows no bounds. That’s why I’ll be forever grateful to the work and perseverance of Natalie Weaver, the amazing woman who called on Twitter to revise its reporting form after her daughter’s photo was used in an offensive tweet promoting eugenics.

Here’s an excerpt of the piece, which made me realize how revolutionary and groundbreaking to be able to say, “YES, ableism is a form of hate speech!“…

When we think of hate speech and what sorts of things constitute hate speech, we automatically think of racism and LGBTQ issues. What we don’t automatically think of are things like ableism and discrimination against people with disabilities, which are rampant in society, to be sure, but sometimes get overlooked. Consider the flippant use of the “R” word — and even a seemingly less offensive word like “cripple.” Even Disney villains usually have some sort of facial deformity, which sends the message to children from a young age that disabilities are bad and that people with disabilities are evil or monstrous.

Disabilities may make people uncomfortable. I’m sure my disability and my wheelchair has made people uncomfortable in the past. But that doesn’t give people the right to use it against me and vilify me for it. Twitter’s change in policy gives me hope. Hope that perhaps, finally, we’ve moved the needle of dismantling centuries of negative misconceptions surrounding people with disabilities. We’re not monsters. We’re people. And we’re not going anywhere — on Twitter and in real life.

You can read the full piece here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo

Why Mental Health Awareness Month Is So Important

Mental Health Awareness MonthMay is Mental Health Awareness Month. As I’m sure you all know by now, mental health is something that’s so important to me, especially how we view it and how we treat those who are struggling with love and compassion.

In honor of this month, I wanted to take a minute to remind you of a couple important things:

1. Mental illness is the SAME as physical illness. It’s not simply a matter of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.” Would you say that to someone who had cancer? Would you say that to someone in a wheelchair? NO.

2. There is NO shame in seeking help. It doesn’t mean you’re weak or a coward. It means you’re strong.

3. Never underestimate the importance of asking someone, “How are you?” It’s loving and powerful and caring. And those three words could very well save someone’s life.

Also, here are some of my favorite pieces on mental health that I’ve written over the years…

• How Phrases Like “I’m So OCD” Are Damaging

• 5 Things I’ve Learned About Suicide

• 5 Things I’ve Learned About Depression In 5 Years

• End The Stigma

• In Which I Have Some Deep Thoughts on Therapy

• On Facing My Depression

• How To Support A Loved One With PTSD  —  From Someone Who Has It

Mental Health Awareness MonthNever be afraid to speak out, friends. It’s the best thing we can do in this life. If you’re struggling, know that you are loved. Visit NAMI to learn about this year’s #CureStigma campaign and resources for getting help. We’re all in this together. Love you… xoxo

[Photos via We Heart It]