Jennifer White-Johnson

Artworks

Black power fist against white background with infinity symbol and the words “Black Disabled Lives Matter” in bold white font down the wrist

Black Disabled Lives Matter Poster Design, 2020. Digital design. Courtesy of the artist.

Black Disabled Lives Matter, Limited Edition Riso Poster, 2021. Riso print. Courtesy of Fran Osborne.

Audio description

This powerful symbol, created at the end of May 2020 in response to the killing of George Floyd, combines a black fist—representing protest and solidarity—with the infinity symbol, which Autistic communities use to depict the breadth of the autism spectrum as well as the larger neurodiversity movement. In an act of love and generosity, Jennifer White-Johnson made the design freely available and its presence quickly spread around the world via social media, reaching Barack Obama’s Twitter feed for the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 2020.

About the Artist

“This past May, as footage of the uprisings around the nation and the world began to flood my social media feeds, I felt emotionally exhausted by the weight of seeing Black and brown bodies murdered by the people meant to protect us. I also felt exhausted knowing that Black disabled bodies would be excluded from the conversations around police brutality that were arising out of the protests.

"In solidarity with my seven-year-old Black Autistic son and in virtual protest with my Black disabled community, I felt compelled to use my art to bring visibility to the facts. More than half of Black/Brown bodies in the US with disabilities will be arrested by the time they reach their late 20s. We don’t see many positive stories or acts of #AutisticJoy among Black/Brown bodies because they don’t make headlines.

"It is my hope that the Black Disabled Lives Matter symbol can continue to embolden disabled and non-disabled communities to engage in conversations about disability culture and acceptance. I also hope it inspires other designers to continue to uplift through design activism, because our work actually can activate change in real and tangible ways. Watching the world use the symbol in solidarity and in protest, uplifting the message that we can unite to save Black disabled lives, has shown me that my joy, if I let it, can bring about social change. Yours can too.” —Jennifer White-Johnson

Jennifer White-Johnson is an Afro-Latina, disabled artist, designer, educator, and activist, and her bold visual design work is “redesigning ableist visual culture.” Her activist and advocacy work has been featured in The Washington Post, AfroPunk, The New York Times, Teen Vogue, Rolling Stone, and Crip Camp: The Official Virtual Experience, and she was selected as an honoree on the 2020 Diversability’s D-30 Disability Impact List.

White-Johnson has presented, consulted, and collaborated with brand initiatives, art spaces, and universities facilitating events centering disability art and design advocacy. These presentations and collaborations include Nike, Converse, Twitter, Amazon, Today at Apple, Google Stories, Harvard College, Stanford University, Howard University, and Tisch School of the Arts/ NYU Center for Disability Studies.

White-Johnson currently teaches as an Adjunct Professor of Photography at Bowie State University, in Bowie, MD. She holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a BA in Visual Arts from University of Maryland Baltimore County.