As copywriters, editors, and creatives, we use language and ideas to persuade, inform, promote. We may communicate across vastly different communities and cultures, with different standards and norms. And our choices have influence. So how do we manage to talk about race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, economic status, and other identities in a fast paced, rapidly changing—and often politically volatile—environment?

I’ll start by sharing that I’m a writer with experience in activism and communications for social justice organizations. I’m not an expert and my lived experience has provided both some privilege and challenges around identity. I’ve made mistakes and I will make others. I’ve encouraged other writers to rethink some of their choices. And I have my own discomfort about writing this piece because it is a contentious topic and messing up can seem risky.

Language Evolves

Words come into our lexicon all the time through cultural exchanges, new technologies, or memes that stick. Perhaps you’re an etymology nerd who knows that words like “ketchup” come from the Chinese or that “thagomizer” (the spikes on the tail of a dinosaur), was used in the Far Side comic before becoming informally adopted by scientists. Maybe you look out for which words get added to the dictionary every year. Or perhaps you readily accepted the use of “they” pronouns or dropping the Oxford comma.

No matter what, you know that we don’t speak Dickensian English. We generally accept that language changes. So why are some people so resistant to change and to feedback about the language and choices that they make? In My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies, Resmaa Menakem describes “white-body supremacy.” He writes that the trauma and history of racism is felt within and upon the body by white bodies, by Black or other dark bodies, and by the bodies of public safety professionals. That fear and pain in the body, he argues, is what needs to be settled and metabolized through somatic (body) practices. In other words, people get activated in their primal brains, and their reactions to this discomfort reflect this.

Just as some words enter into the language, other words or phrases get phased out because they have sticky historical connotations or are outright offensive. It might take some education and understanding of history to learn that the phrase “grandfathered in” or the word “boss,” for example, have their roots in our racial history. Many people refrain from using words with negative connotations around mental health or disability. Some women cringe at the idea of being called ma’am, while, regionally and generationally, others may find it polite. Know your audience and interrogate the language that is used.

Be Curious and Ask Questions

Some people bemoan that there isn’t a complete list that they can refer to of words or phrases that are problematic, or that historically have negative or harmful meanings. The path to justice isn’t linear and known. We must accept that there will never be a comprehensive list because language continues to change — and we continue to analyze and learn. Don’t let the fear of making a mistake deter you from engaging with challenging social and political issues. Or assume that because you’ve read a book on the subject, that you have completed the work or that things won’t continue to change.

Be Transparent

Think about the choices that you make and why. Acknowledge them. Ask people you are describing how they want to be identified. For example, some people in the disability community prefer the phrasing “person with a disability” because it is “person first” language; others favor identity first language, such as “disabled person.” Differences could be regional, like the use of “Anglo” in the southwest, or they could be generational, like the use of “queer” versus “gay,” or they could be highly personal. Language that centers violence, like “fight for x,” is also increasingly seen as problematic by some clients.

If You Do Make a Mistake, Apologize and Learn from It

When a listserv that’s geared to media professionals recently sent out an email with a subject line that completely missed the mark and insulted people with disabilities, they certainly heard from other writers. But they promptly understood and accepted that they made a mistake. They sent another email apologizing: no dancing around the issue, simply accepting that an error was made and making a commitment to do better.

That said, there are excellent resources for creatives who want to be aware of the language they employ:

As writers, we can easily say something differently or by using different words. Don’t get stuck or attached to using a familiar phrase that is outdated. Shakespeare was so skilled at this, there’s even a Shakespearean insult generator. Find creative solutions to words and phrases that fall out of favor.

We’ve recently heard from many companies and brands that acknowledge the work they need to do around racial justice. These are good things and barometers of change. Perhaps your company is newly committed to racial justice or maybe it was at the forefront.

It’s critical to listen to feedback and to correct our mistakes. What might be acceptable today might not be acceptable tomorrow. When change is necessary, as writers, we can be stewards of it.

About the author.
Jess Powers writes about marketing, food, and wellness. She has experience in nonprofit communications and emergency management. Follow her @foodandfury.

As a twenty-don’t worry about it-year old, I was not above grumbling about Generation Z, with their TikTok videos, seemingly missing awkward phases, and “know it all” aggressive personalities. Having spent the last two years working with college students, I admit it. I was wrong.

This generation is fiercely passionate, incredibly savvy, shockingly mature, and fired up to make a difference. I have worked with students who, at 21 years old, knew they wanted to create more equitable access to public parks or wanted to research the impact of trauma on incarcerated populations. They have written books, founded nonprofits, raised tens of thousands of dollars for causes they care about. Importantly, this is also the most diverse workforce we have ever seen in America.

In 2020, it’s estimated that up to 4.4 million Gen Zers will replace 3.6 million retiring baby boomers — the least diverse sector of the labor force. If you want to build a more diverse industry, the most effective way to do so is starting at the bottom of your organization.

Our traditional corporate mindset has been to use a “top down” approach to building these values into a company culture. We have seen a rise in hiring Chief Diversity Officers or bringing more women and BIPOC professionals to board meetings. These are highly visible roles, and certainly an important step in moving towards creating more diverse industries. But they can often just be a signalling tactic, rather than a step towards deeper change. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that CDOs in particular are not set up to succeed, because they are not provided the resources needed to take on what is usually an unreasonable set of expectations. Essentially, these leaders are tasked with the sole responsibility of dismantling what may be a decades-old company culture of racism, sexism, ableism, white supremacy, and more.

When it comes to efficiently and meaningfully bringing a change to ANY industry, the key is not just in hiring leaders from underrepresented communities or with ‘nontraditional’ backgrounds. Creating a long-lasting and sustained culture change within industries that have been historically homogeneous or have struggled to see true reform requires playing the long game. There is no overnight fix here, but there is a clear investment that few organizations are currently making: recruiting, training, and supporting young and diverse entry-level employees.

Let’s walk through the funnel of recruiting to retaining. There are several key considerations in creating a process that is effective and responsive to the values of this generation:

Recruitment

Start by taking a hard look at where you currently recruit and the kinds of applications you source. For example, in the last two years, we’ve learned that many students from underrepresented communities don’t feel comfortable going to typical recruiting events or using career centers. It’s important to dig deeper into why you may not be attracting a more diverse candidate pool, and be willing to invest in new and creative ways to connect. It may be easiest to just throw a job posting out to your existing network or channels, and wait for a few safe choices to come in. However, diversifying your talent pipeline requires significant effort to reach beyond your or your leadership team’s circles. We spend hours researching institutions, administrators, professors, and student leaders so we can reach out to beyond our immediate network. We also find that scheduling one-on-one (virtual) coffee chats with students, building rapport and trust even before an application is filled out, is an incredibly valuable time commitment.

Hiring

What do you consider a “promising” candidate? Is it the college they went to? Their GPA? If they have relevant work experience? The more applications we read and more students we work with, the more we have realized that these markers tell an incomplete story of what someone can bring to the table. For example, there is a lot of literature around the discomfort and insecurity first-generation college students experience on campuses, which may lead to lower GPAs or fewer industry-related internships. So what if we eliminated requiring GPAs as part of the hiring process? We need to toss out our old measuring sticks for success, and create a more holistic approach to evaluating potential hires. We already have seen a rise in soft skills proficiency in professional success; identifying candidates with the lived experience and the emotional intelligence to thrive at your organization is an important way to strengthen the team overall.

Onboarding

All I’ll say here is pay your employees more. Particularly if you are committed to diversity. There is a disconnect in the narrative between investing in DEI training, seminars, speakers and investing in your existing talent,making sure they are being paid a fair salary. Be cognizant of the types of financial hurdles a young person faces as they start their careers. They may need assistance with moving costs, transportation for interviews, or a bonus to cover the typical “first and last month rent” deposit required when you get an apartment for the first time.

Black men get paid $0.87 for every $1.00 that white men do. Black women get paid $0.63 for every $1.00 that white men do. It is one of the few problems that can actually be solved by throwing money at it!

Supporting

Two years ago, there was a lot of online water cooler chatter about Google being unable to retain Black and Latinx employees. We know that it’s not enough to just bring more diverse talent in, but to create internal systems to ensure that they are comfortable, respected, and thriving. By bringing in more young people who may be ‘fresh’ and require more training, you actually invest in creating an organic sub-culture of support and shared experience that, over time, will go mainstream as they rise up the ranks.

There is also a need to invest in training managers to be more conscientious mentors and colleagues to employees who may have backgrounds or lived experiences that are unfamiliar, so that they understand how to best listen and support accordingly. Bringing in outside coaches who specialize in these topics is a meaningful investment, and can help bring in a fresh approach that fills your potential blind spots.

There are also seemingly innocuous practices in how organizations and offices are run day-to-day that can leave BIPOC staff feeling particularly alienated or uncomfortable. We’ve created company cultures that are built on white culture; when someone’s working- or interpersonal-styles seemingly conflict with those (e.g. how they wear their hair, their collaboration strategy, their daily written communication style), we deem it “unprofessional.” However, it is often the case that as you introduce more diverse thought, practice, and ideas into your organization, you haven’t created the internal infrastructure to slow down and allow those to settle in and flourish. This piece highlights some ways that we perpetuate white supremacy in the workplace, and how to to actively dismantle those patterns.

Finally, provide your employees with much clearer and more robust tools to take on situations when they may experience microaggressions or overt racism. Remember, we are talking about people who are entering the workforce for the first time and may not have any external support system. They need to know exactly what steps to take to report toxic behavior, and trust that there are processes in place to protect them.

About the author.
Mariam Matin is one of the co-founders of Second Day, an organization dismantling inequitable talent pipelines into social impact through their Impact Fellowship program. She started her career in New York doing brand marketing at digital advertising agency Undertone and then transitioned to product marketing for the Digital Payments team at Chase. She also is a certified User Experience designer, and continues to take a data-driven, creative, and user-centric approach to the work she does at Second Day. She is also the host of the new podcast “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” which highlights moments in history that pop culture and politics collide. A native Texan with the heart of a New Yorker, she currently resides in Houston.

In 1920, after over a century of proposals, petitions, and protests, the 19th Amendment was finally ratified, granting women the right to vote. The road to that ratification is long, messy and complex, just like most of American history. As with many complex battles, there are lessons to be learned. Here’s a breakdown of what the suffragettes did well, and where they failed.

Finding the Angle

While most of our modern fights come from a human rights and justice perspective, the women’s suffrage movement had to get crafty with their point of view. Some people feared giving women the vote would lead to familial chaos and a breakdown of societal structure. (Men in power truly are the biggest drama queens out there.) So instead, suffragettes focused on how giving women the vote would favorably affect families and society. This affected the tone of their pamphlets, the kinds of events they held, and even the way they dressed.

suffragetteImage credit: Woman Suffrage Memorabilia

Battling Bad Press

Anti-suffrage propaganda was fierce as hell, although modern women have probably seen worse in the deep dark corners of the internet (and probably their inboxes). Looking back, it’s jarring (and honestly sad) that so many of these posters showed men taking care of children as a societal nightmare instead of the utter joy most modern fathers see it as.

Instead of further bruising the male ego, the suffragettes came up with a range of campaigns to quell the fear of social disaster and familiar destruction. These included:

  • Fundraising suffrage coffee + tea
  • Suffragette cookbooks, claiming “the best cooks are suffragettes”
  • Postcards and greeting cards with cute and clever cartoons
  • Social events, balls, and parades
  • Swag on parade day: buttons, leaflets, “keep cool” fans
  • Pins to rouse conversation and later the “jailed for freedom” pin (see “The Tides Turn” below)
  • Mascots, sashes, banners, and coordinated colors
  • A film that actually showed suffragettes in a positive light (because there were many that didn’t): Your Girl and Mine
  • Coordinating with photographers to capture pivotal moments (see “The Tides Turn” below)

They additionally used the power of symbols and imagery to draw attention, change associations and garner recognition to their plight. For instance, they used the color white to battle their image as ugly spinsters to show purity of cause, youth and vitality. (I’m not saying it’s cool, I’m just saying it’s what happened.)

Lesson: “When they go low, we go high.” — Michelle Obama

Image credit: Library of Congress

Selling Out the Sisterhood

Many suffragettes decided to distance themselves from the Black women among their ranks because they believed focusing on the vote for white women would help their cause. They departed from their abolitionist roots and started courting Southern women, leaving out their Black sisters to appease the racially-divided south.

Not only was it cringeworthy, this tactic clearly failed as Black men won the vote before women did.

Lesson: Throwing your comrades under the bus has consequences and is not a good look in the eyes of history.

Racism Within the Movement

In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, most of the suffragettes were problematic at best and horribly racist at worse. When Black men won the vote before women as the 15th amendment was ratified, white suffragettes were, in a single phrase, less than pleased. Susan B. Anthony went on to proclaim, “I will cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work or demand the ballot for the Negro and not the woman.” Yikes.

White women saw the 15th amendment as a slap in the face, turning a blind eye to the crimes of white southern women (who had made up 30% of slave owners), and essentially upheld a white supremacist stance to court political favor.

Lesson: Kill your idols. Every. Single. One.

Black Women Speak Up

“I feel that I have the right to have just as much as a man. There is a great stir about colored men getting their rights, but not a word about the colored women; and if colored men get their rights, and colored women not theirs, the colored men will be masters over the women, and it will be just as bad as it was before.”

— Sojourner Truth (1867)

Interestingly enough, the famous “Ain’t I a woman?” speech may not have even contained that phrase, as Truth’s words were changed to sound more southern 12 years after the original transcription by Frances Dana Gage. Truth didn’t speak in a southern dialect as she grew up in New York, but as Tammy L. Brown points out, these vernacular changes “depicted Truth to white audiences as a genuine albeit primitive ally in the fight for women’s rights… this progress is tainted by white suffragists’ attempts to control Truth’s voice.” Despite the bastardization of her words, this OG abolitionist and champion of civil rights kept speaking out until the day she died, fighting for the liberty of all people.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a lesser known MVP of the suffrage and early civil rights movement, was outspoken about how little white liberals were doing to oppose crimes against Black Southerners. She organized an anti-lynching campaign and then went on to organize the Alpha Suffrage Club for Black women in Chicago. The women were met with opposition from the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession. Wells-Barnett refused to be delegated to the back of the parade and instead rushed in to walk between two white supporters to protest the segregation decision. Despite the efforts of many of the suffrage movement’s leaders, activists like Wells-Barnett would not back down from contributing to the movement.

Lesson: Segregation is no way to dismantle the patriarchy.

Deeds, Not Words

In 1913, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns broke from the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) to form the National Women’s Party (NWP) because they thought the NAWSA were not getting rowdy enough to make s#*t happen. They were a significantly smaller force — 50,000 vs. NAWSA’s 2 million — but they went hard. They continued protests during World War I, calling out Woodrow Wilson’s hypocritical war stance, while NAWSA took a break from campaigning to contribute to the war effort instead. The NWP were focused on winning a federal amendment rather than the NAWSA’s state-by-state approach, as they felt that strategy had already taken too long.

Their tactics included:

  • Aggressive agitation
  • Relentless lobbying
  • Creative publicity stunts
  • Repeated acts of nonviolent confrontation
  • Examples of civil disobedience

During their wartime protests, the “Silent Sentinels” were arrested, beaten, and tortured. Any anti-government criticism during the war was seen as treason.

Lesson: The road to justice is a bumpy one. We area standing on the shoulders of women and men who faced government cruelty in response to calls for equality—which inadvertently worked to tip the scales in favor of the oppressed. When the going gets tough, the tough double down for their cause.

The Tides Turn

In the early 20th Century, suffragette art became more sophisticated and targeted. Posters and ads depicted the glory of equality that had already been won at the state level in much of the west, the education, work, and taxes women have contributed to society, and depictions of torture in prisons.

Leaders like Alice Burns coordinated with the press to get images of suffragette arrests in newspapers across the nation. They also created the Jailed for Freedom pin that was given to all the women who were arrested and tortured for picketing and demanding the vote. By circulating photographs of their arrests, the suffragettes were able to paint a more sympathetic portrait of their cause.

Eventually, Puck magazine, which originally published anti-suffrage cartoons, started publishing pro-suffrage cartoons instead. Public opinion started to turn, the women’s contribution to the war effort became undeniable, and enough representatives were finally worn down enough (or convinced, who knows) to vote for the 19th amendment’s ratification.

“Women have suffered agony of soul which you can never comprehend, that you and your daughters might inherit political freedom. That vote has been costly. Prize it!” — Carrie Chapman Catt (1920)

However, this wasn’t the end of the fight, especially for Black women, who had additional barriers and voter suppression to contend with. In fact, the battle for universal suffrage isn’t quite over, at least not in practice. With voter ID laws, the shutdown of polling locations, reduced opportunities for registration, limiting early and mail-in voting,*  and most pressingly attacks on the US Postal Service, voters are facing more challenges than ever to cast their ballot.

*These measures were introduced in more than a dozen pivotal states after voter turnout increased between 2004 and 2008 which has me shaking my head, to say the least.

What can we do? Save the USPS. Call our Senators and Representatives to demand an end to voter suppression (along with any other issues you may care to bring up), and for the love of liberty, VOTE.

Lesson: The truth of oppressive brutality, targeted lobbying, and showing your worth can swing public opinion, but the battle is never truly over.

About the author.
Alessandra is the mentor, educator, and writer behind Boneseed, a private practice devoted to deep self-inquiry through a range of physical, energetic, and mental modalities. She has over 500 hours of yoga, mentorship, and facilitation training and can be found slinging knowledge on her website, newsletter, and @bone.seed.

As a copywriter or creative, you may be tasked with creating alt text (or alternative text) for images that appear in the digital content that you make. Having a good understanding of how alt text is used will help you to make your work more accessible. Here are some best practices for creating text descriptions.

What is Alt Text?

Image text alternatives explain a picture, illustration, or chart through web page markup. People who are blind or low vision can use a screen reader like JAWS, which reads text on the web to them. People with slow internet connections may turn off images to load pages faster, showing the text description of the image instead. Also, people with cognitive or learning disabilities may elect to read text descriptions of images for better comprehension.

Complying with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines affirms the right of people with disabilities to be able to navigate the web freely and independently. While the average reading speed for an adult is around 300 words per minute, a person accustomed to using a screen reader may process text as fast as 500 wpm (like speeding up a podcast). Without image descriptions, even if the image isn’t necessary to comprehend the page, the screen reader sometimes reads an error. This creates confusion or frustration because the site is not fully accessible to the user.

If an image has a function, such as a donate button or to click somewhere, without alt text, the user will be lost. They might not be able to make a purchase, to fill out a form, or to understand an important piece of information. It’s worth mentioning that W3C WAI guidelines say that if an image is decorative, it should simply have null alt (alt=””). But many people in the disability community and their allies add a short description regardless.

Context is Everything

People who use screen readers — like sighted people — scan a page of text. That’s why it’s so important to use properly formatted headers, so the reader can jump from one section to another. Other navigation tools ensure that the reader doesn’t get stuck in a navigation trap or endlessly scrolling through a page. When an image conveys information about what is being discussed, tabbing through image descriptions can help the person using a screen reader to understand the content of the page or article. Or it may be necessary to advance within the page.

The first step to writing better alt text is to understand the context for which the image is being used. Often an image is intended simply to break up large blocks of text on a page but is related to the subject. It may not be crucial to understanding the meaning of the text, or it can show something mentioned in the text for emphasis. Keep descriptions short. A simple alt text like “woman seated at desk, using computer” is enough. Cut unnecessary words: you don’t have to write “image of” or “link” because the screen reader provides that information.

Many people attempt to describe an image in greater detail, such as: “white woman wearing blue and white striped shirt seated at desk, working on computer and smiling.” In this case, think about the purpose of the image and whether the color of her skin or shirt is critical to comprehend the page. Some graphic designers, photographers, or art directors, who rely more on visual information, can get bogged down in the details of an image. But it’s not necessary to describe every detail unless it adds value to the reader’s understanding of the image and the content of the story.

If an image is essential for understanding the content of the story, clearly explain what it depicts. For example: “people at rally holding signs saying ‘xyz’” or “empty shelves of coronavirus tests.”

Shorter is Better. Usually.

Shannon Finnegan (they/them) is an artist who examines disability in their multidisciplinary work. With artwork constantly being shared on websites and in social media, Finnegan became curious about accessibility and exploring the questions that come up as we try to describe images. With collaborator and fellow disabled artist, Bojana Coklyat, they teach workshops on “Alt Text as Poetry.”

If a picture is worth a thousand words, well, it seems that “sighted people have a tendency to over describe,” Finnegan confirms. Perhaps it’s because they’re constantly engaging with and categorizing visual information. Or maybe they’re concerned about making a mistake. But usually a concise description is better, saving the reader time and conveying the significance of the image without describing every detail.

It Should Match the Tone of the Piece

Finnegan interrogates subjectivity in the alt text workshops. They believe that when possible, there should be a “unified perspective or voice” in digital content. It can be confusing if a piece is confessional and the images are described in an objective way. In a first person piece, it might make sense to even use slang or jargon in a description.

Finnegan points out that it is also a choice to have a very technical description of an image. It’s not neutral, and something is lost when the feeling of an image isn’t conveyed.

It is also possible to be more transparent in image descriptions. If an image is being used to convey a point, the description could use less authoritative words. It can demonstrate that the image is being interpreted: “seems to show,” “can be,” etc.

Don’t Forget about Complex Images

Many people forget or avoid including alt text when it’s far more challenging. Social media graphics with long pull quotes or charts with lots of detail are complicated. Meaning is being conveyed through images with text or through data visualization. In these examples, it is necessary to explain the information in greater detail.

The DIAGRAM Center has extensive resources and training tools for how to describe more complex images, like flow charts, maps, and diagrams. If you are a creative who regularly designs infographics or charts, it’s worthwhile to check out their slide decks.

Another challenge is describing people. There can be value judgements ascribed when mentioning a facial expression or gesture. Some people think that it is best to omit descriptions of race or ethnicity entirely. Others think that it can be more direct to describe skin tone, physical characteristics, or body type. Sometimes it may also be important for the client to show that the images include a specific population.

Gender identity and expression is another challenge. The writer may assume that they know the identity of the person pictured. Where possible, Finnegan suggests, ask people to provide the image description for their own headshot or portrait. That enables them to share any personal preferences they may have about language and identity.

We make assumptions and categorize people all the time visually. This becomes even more apparent when thinking about describing an image for alt text. The complexity of visual information can be overwhelming at times, but that leads to the next point.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect

Many people worry about getting it right when they need to create alt text. But omitting a description altogether is far worse than an imperfect description. Practice helps. Discuss standards or tone for image descriptions for a particular project in advance. Include them in a style guide. It’s helpful to think about why you’re making the choices that you’re making and to understand that they are, in fact, choices.

These are “interesting and complicated questions,” Finnegan believes, adding that we can all “practice together.”

With more lawsuits opposing lack of equal access and a greater awareness of accessibility in general, writing good alt text is not just “a nice thing to do.” It ensures that people with disabilities have the same access to information as everyone else.

About the author.
Jess Powers writes about marketing, food, and wellness. She has experience in nonprofit communications and emergency management. Follow her @foodandfury.

With the rush to rapidly push communications out during the COVID-19 pandemic, accessibility considerations can fall by the wayside. There are a few simple things that you can do now to make sure that your online content is more accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Use Checklists for Web Accessibility

The web accessibility initiative (WAI) sets guidelines for making online content accessible for people with disabilities. This generally includes people with visual or auditory disabilities as well as people with cognitive or intellectual disabilities. People with some physical disabilities may also have difficulty navigating certain websites. But everyone should be able to access information independently and equally.

WAI offers a host of information and tools to use to make sure that your website is accessible for people with disabilities. However, sometimes these automated tools are inaccurate. It is always helpful, if possible, to ask someone who uses a screen reader to check a web page or document for usability.

Headers are Your Friend

Formatting informs and assists how people read online. Most people scan a page of content. A screen reader like JAWS “reads” the content of anything online for people with visual disabilities. Users can tab through text and images much like a sighted reader scans a page.

It’s helpful to break up text on the page so readers can jump from one section to another to find what is relevant for them. Bullet points, headers, and formatting important words in bold or italics is helpful. Use formatted headers so the reader can skip ahead.

Accessibility requirements are also true for PDFs or complex documents with lots of design. Where possible, design documents with formatted text and headers so the user can tab through the pages. It is also important to describe images — including complex ones like charts and infographics — using alt text. At the very least, providing a text version of the document for download is an acceptable substitute.

Simplify Your Writing

Write content for the web in plain language. The recommended reading level for people with cognitive or intellectual disabilities is at the ninth grade or lower. Some sources suggest the sixth-grade level. Most complex sentences are at the 12th-grade level, yet the average reader reads at the eighth. People who are non-native English speakers also benefit from language that is easier to read.

Hemingway app is a great tool to check that what you write is simple and clear. You can cut and paste your text into the main page, and it evaluates your sentences and word choices. Sentences that are hard to read are highlighted in red or yellow. You can usually break them down further and make them even more concise. Words in the passive voice or that can be made more direct are also highlighted. Hemingway app also estimates the grade level for a particular body of text.

From a user experience (UX) perspective, someone with a cognitive or learning disability may benefit from having information represented visually (such as through icons) as well as through words. The repetition of concepts or ideas is helpful.

Use ASL or Captions on Videos or Zoom

With the prevailing trend of Zoom calls and video communication as we are all social distancing, many organizations forget to include captions or to use American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation. Deaf or Hard of Hearing people may need these services. And people with cognitive or intellectual disabilities and English language learners may also find captions useful to follow along.

There are several free online tools available to create captions on a video. Presently, Zoom allows a host to assign an attendee to close caption a call manually or to enable a third party service. Like converting voice to text on your phone, the latter is not always accurate. It is generally necessary to recheck any captions generated by a service before sharing it online.

At the very least, it’s a good practice to ask people, when registering, if they need sign language interpretation or captions.

Be Inclusive

Just as you want to be mindful to include people of different backgrounds in images, it’s important to include people with visible disabilities in your content. Stock photos of people with disabilities are notorious for perpetuating stereotypes or for using nondisabled models.

Keep up to date with terminology that is acceptable and current for inclusivity. Back in mid-February, Mediabistro, a company that connects media professionals to jobs and training, sent out an e-newsletter with the subject line: “Are your stories lame?” Many people responded that this phrase is outdated and offensive to people with disabilities. They later apologized.

The Center for Disability Rights has a useful Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines resource on their website. But if you do make a mistake, don’t be afraid to accept feedback, to apologize, and to learn from it.

Making content that is accessible for people with disabilities isn’t a perfect science. But showing effort towards reaching that goal is critical. And making information as available and accessible as possible is an essential skill in today’s marketplace.

About the author.
Jess Powers writes about marketing, food, and wellness. She has experience in nonprofit communications and emergency management. Follow her @foodandfury.

After 110 years, the U.S. Navy finally has its first Black female tactical jet pilot! Her path was paved by the iconic Bessie Coleman: the first BIPOC female pilot, who saw aviation as a way to empower women and people of color in the United States.

Born to poor sharecropper parents in 1892, Bessie Coleman, one of 13 children, had a hardscrabble childhood in rural east Texas raised by a single mom — but she soared past her humble beginnings to become the first African-American and Native American female pilot. Known for performing daredevil flying tricks, she was dubbed “Queen Bess,” “Brave Bessie,” and “The Only Race Aviatrix in the World.” Her goal? To encourage women — especially African-American and other women of color — to reach their dreams.

Humble Beginnings

Her mother was an African-American maid; her father, a Native American sharecropper. When Bessie was 9, her father moved back to Oklahoma to try and escape discrimination. Bessie’s mother did not go with him, staying in Waxahachie, Texas. Childhood was what you might imagine for poor African-American children in the racially-divided South at that time. She walked four miles to a one-room schoolhouse that lacked the basic materials that most students take for granted today, and helped her Mom pick cotton and wash laundry to help earn extra money. But despite these humble beginnings, Bessie excelled at mathematics, and she finished all eight grades.

College, Chicago, and Falling in Love with Flight

By the time she turned 18, Bessie had saved enough money to attend the Colored Agricultural and Normal University — today Langston University — in Langston, Oklahoma, but completed only one semester before running out of money, and returning to Waxahachie, Texas.

When she turned 23, Bessie decided to move to Chicago, where she moved in with one of her brothers. She went to beauty school in 1915 and became a manicurist at the White Sox Barber Shop. Chicago is where she fell in love with flying; she would listen for hours on end to pilots’ stories about their adventures during World War I.

Her two brothers served in the military during World War I and came home with tales from their time in France — where French women were allowed to learn how to fly airplanes. This fueled her dreams of becoming a pilot. Bessie applied to many flight schools across the United States but received countless rejections; no school would accept her because she was both a woman and a woman of color. Her brother teased her, saying that women in France were better than those in the United States because they were allowed to fly. Bessie — determined to fly — decided to take her dream across the pond to France, where she could become a pilot.

Vive le France

With support from a local banker and famed Chicago Defender newspaper publisher, Robert Abbott (one of the first self-made African American millionaires), she took a crash course in French from the Berlitz language school so that she could complete her application, which needed to be in French. At long last, she was accepted at the Caudron Brothers’ School of Aviation — founded by sibling aviation pioneers René and Gaston Caudron, in Le Crotoy, in northern France. Triumphant, she set off for Paris on November 20, 1920, aboard the ocean liner S.S. Imperator.

She began a seven-month flight course, learning to fly in a Nieuport Type 82 — a fragile, 27-foot long biplane, with a 40-foot wingspan. Not the steadiest craft, Coleman had to inspect it tip to tail before every flight. She learned aerial maneuvers like tail spins, banking, and loop-the-loops, but also witnessed an accident that killed another student. On June 15, 1921, Bessie Coleman became the first African-American and Native American woman to earn an international pilot’s license, granted by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, an organization that oversees aeronautic sports, that gave her the right to fly anywhere in the world. After several months of additional training with a top French pilot, Coleman was ready to return home and fulfill her dream of owning a plane and opening her own flight school stateside.

Bessie Coleman: The Sky Kissing Sensation

When she returned to New York City in September of 1921, The Associated Press lauded her as “a full-fledged aviatrix, said to be the first of her race.” Coleman gave speeches and showed films of her airborne exploits in theaters, schools, and churches to earn money — but refused to speak anywhere that was segregated, or that discriminated against people of color. In 1922, Coleman performed the first public flight by an African American and Native American woman. She dazzled onlookers with her daring stunts — showing off her aerial skills by doing loop-the-loops, making the figure “8” with her plane, and became famous for walking on the wings of her plane while aloft or parachuting down while a co-pilot took the controls.

Her performances riveted people in both the United States and Europe. Her aerial exploits were widely covered by the press — particularly in black newspapers — and she became a glamorous sensation. Coleman toured the United States, giving flight lessons, performing in aerial shows, and inspiring African Americans, Native Americans, and women to learn how to fly.

A Plane of Her Own

Eventually, Coleman saved up enough money to buy her own plane: a military surplus Curtiss JN-4, known colloquially as a Jenny. She went to Santa Monica, California to pick it up. While there, Coleman was to perform at an air show — but instead ended up surviving her first major plane crash. As she was taking off to fly to the Los Angeles Fairgrounds, the site of her show, her engine suddenly stopped working, and she plummeted from 300 feet up to the ground. She destroyed her plane and sustained severe injuries, including a broken leg, several cracked ribs, cuts on her face — but was able to fully heal and went back to performing daredevil aerial stunts in 1925.

It All Comes Tumbling Down

By April 1926, Coleman had saved enough money to purchase another surplus Jenny plane. She scheduled an aerial show for May 1. On April 30, Coleman and her co-pilot, William Wills, took a practice flight in the new plane. Coleman sat in the passenger seat, unharnessed so that she could peer over the side of the plane once in the sky and find a good place for her parachute landing during the show. But at 3,500 feet in the air, a loose wrench got stuck in the engine of the plane, and Wills was unable to control the steering wheel. The plane flipped over — and Coleman immediately fell from the open plane and died instantly on impact. She was 34. Wills crashed the plane just a few feet from Coleman’s body; he also died. Her death was heartbreaking. More than 10,000 people came to pay their respects, with the journalist Ida B. Wells — famed for her crusade against lynching — leading the ceremonies.

She was never able to open her flight school, but many flight clubs have since been named in her honor. In 1931, the Challenger Pilots’ Association of Chicago began a tradition of flying over Coleman’s grave every year; in 1977, African American female pilots created the Bessie Coleman Aviators Club; and in 1995, the Bessie Coleman stamp was issued to honor her accomplishments. At a time when flights are largely grounded due to COVID-19, we remember Bessie Coleman, who saw aviation as a way to empower people of color in the United States.

About the author.
An award-winning creator and digital health, wellness, and lifestyle content strategist — Karina writes, edits, and produces compelling content across multiple platforms — including articles, video, interactive tools, and documentary film. Her work has been featured on MSN Lifestyle, Apartment Therapy, Goop, Psycom, Pregnancy & Newborn, Eat This Not That, thirdAGE, and Remedy Health Media digital properties.

What do you do?

I am a community builder, coach, and facilitator. My passion is bringing people together. Last year, I created a workshop series called Vulnerable AF, a monthly community event experience that encourages vulnerability, intimacy, and thought-provoking conversations in a safe space. The goal of the workshops is to help people gain a new perspective on themselves and to find deeper and more authentic connections with the people in their lives. I have a particular mission to bridge the gap between men and women.

What are your Vulnerable AF workshops like?

In the workshops, I guide exercises that teach people to connect differently. I want to inspire real conversations and teach you how to feel safe and open up. I’ve been doing this work for a year and a half—and began doing teacher training in late November 2019, to instruct people to lead Vulnerable AF workshops. I am actually doing a teacher training right now. Virtually. In Bali.

In Bali?

Yes! I’m from NYC. I live with my boyfriend in a co-living space called the Lightning Society in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We had plans to go on vacation in late March, but when COVID-19 began to rear its head, we decided to leave for Bali early. We landed here in early March. Then the sh%t hit the fan in NYC, and soon after, the borders in Bali were closed. I imagine we are here for another month or so.

What happened to your business as a result of C19?

I had a 5-hour embodied leadership workshop planned for mid-March. But as the pandemic gained traction, Lightning Society—where I was hosting my workshop—closed for events. My boyfriend said that things were going to get bad. Then two days later, everything was different. Despite finding another place to host my event, it became irresponsible to do it in person. So we left for Bali. And I took Vulnerable AF virtual. Taking this work online was definitely a challenge for me. Could I have the same results online? It was not a natural shift as so much of what I talk about in my workshops is about being present in the moment.

Can you share what a typical in-person Vulnerable AF workshop is like?

The in-person Vulnerable AF experience is so human. I create time for people to network and connect. I facilitate that by giving people questions to ask one another. We do a lot of partner and group exercises that promote closeness—some involve touch, eye gazing, or dancing with one other. I help people get out of their comfort zones and get comfortable with each other.

Usually, I have participants sign agreements for my workshops that run counter to the use of technology. Be present. Turn your phones off. Leave your resumes outside. My workshops were designed to take you off your screen—so it’s ironic that I am now using the screen to create connections. Online, this concept of “shut your technology off” is no longer a thing. I think that’s the most significant pivot.

How have you adapted to the realities of C19?

Given our new pandemic reality—I had to figure out how to take these in-person embodiment exercises and turn them in an online experience. I began a journey to see how I might use technology to create a Vulnerable AF experience. I took workshops on Zoom. I learned that you can break out into smaller groups—which can help create more intimate conversations within a larger body of participants. I did my first virtual event on March 21st, and it turned out great. I learned that I could take those tools and bring it virtually—but it is different. I can still use the same exercises on Zoom, but I’m looking at someone on a screen, and I can see the world of distractions. My workshops used to be three hours long. Now they’re two. You have to make adjustments to the medium.

But virtual events do open up other doors. I don’t have to worry about where I do them, or how many people sign up. Or worry about geographic disparity. More people can join globally. Yes, it’s a different experience—but it also lends itself to experimentation with new ideas.

We are living in such an uncertain time—I think it’s essential for us to connect now more than ever. Connect back to ourselves and think about the paths we want to take in the world. It’s a time to get deeply authentic and think about what actually matters to us.

Check out Vulnerable AF!

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About the author.
An award-winning creator and digital health, wellness, and lifestyle content strategist — Karina writes, edits, and produces compelling content across multiple platforms — including articles, video, interactive tools, and documentary film. Her work has been featured on MSN Lifestyle, Apartment Therapy, Goop, Psycom, Pregnancy & Newborn, Eat This Not That, thirdAGE, and Remedy Health Media digital properties.