Jen White-Johnson

Mothering as Resistance

In an ableist, supremely white world that works to eradicate and kill Black, disabled, and neurodivergent, there are persistent voices like Jen White-Johnson, who fights back with resistance, joy, and hope in her artwork, design, and activism. In these increasingly fascist and eugenic times, White-Johnson finds deep self-love and inspiration in her son and other disability justice activists. Her work gave me, the interviewer, the strength to continue being true and clear about the importance of disabled Black Indigenous Queer Trans People of Color experiences. Our interview is a record of how one performs this disability justice work through art and design.

Iris Xie: You’ve done an enormous amount of work connecting, drawing inspiration, and building solidarity with other disabled activists, translating their work to visual communication design. What do you find fulfilling in that radical practice work, and how does care work factor into it?

Jen White-Johnson: When I started to feel comfortable identifying as someone who has a disability and is neurodivergent, who parents someone who is also neurodivergent, I started to realize that design can begin to be used in a very celebratory, uplifting way. To me, that’s the whole point of design and art, to help you feel that you have a collective responsibility, and to help people feel valued, understood, and seen. So I feel that my work naturally became rooted in advocacy, as a result of not necessarily feeling that I was seen.

What is a memorable experience you’ve had that has validated your approach and success in your art and design practice, as well as advocacy work?