main Speakers

---

Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu  

Crip (or crippled wisdom) refers to the embodied knowledge that Disabled, mad and neurodivergent people possess, the new worlds we build, and the lineage of sick healer power & blood in our bodyminds. In this presentation, Stefanie will discuss the innate wisdom Disabled & mad people have about grief and death, including: how ableism dictates what it means to have a good life, death, and bodymind; living and dying on crip time; joining people’s universes and letting go of expectations; and how crips navigate “loss of capacity” with humor, grace, (and yes, frustration and anger)-- way before the time we transition. We crips are resilient dreamers, creative strategists, life engineers, and time travelers who have wrestled with mortality more often than most. Because crips know the biggest secret of all: Disability is the final form (Maria Palacios). 

 Malkia Devich Cyril 

Malkia Devich Cyril is a writer, public speaker and award winning activist on issues of digital rights, narrative power, Black liberation and collective grief; and is the founding and former executive director of Media Justice — a national hub boldly advancing racial justice, rights and dignity in a digital age. 

Malkia will share about grieving in community. Grief is something that doesn't go away, it's a part of us and learning how to tend it is vital. Let's talk about who holds us in our grief & how are we being held, about how are we making it... for real tho HOW ARE WE MAKING IT?

Together, we will make it together, in community.

 Ahkia-Rayne 

Conversations about sex and pleasure during the dying process happen in quiet spaces, and in hushed tones. Join Ahkia in shattering the shame shield that prevents many people from fully accessing sex and pleasure while dying or caring for the dying.  

 Ahkia-Rayne is by their own definition “just a Chi-town gurrrlll. Living in a lonely world”. Ahkia-Rayne identifies as a nonbinary queer black disabled femme. They have worked hard to provide healing spaces for folks that share their intersections as well as training for entities that service these communities. They have made it their life mission to connect people back to their pleasure and souls. They use self awareness and accountability to increase humor healing while promoting positive self image and understanding