Black disabled and Deaf artists have always existed. They were on street corners down South singing the Blues, spray-painting on New York subways, and bringing sign language to the big screen. Today, young Black disabled artists are finding their own way to the stage and studio. As a Black disabled youth in the 1970s and 1980s, I wished that there was a book like the one you are holding now. No more wishing—the book is here!
“This is an important book. It presents a prized contribution to the intersectional invisibility of blackness, disability and queerness in the history of the arts. Its powerful personal representation and historic narratives are compelling and invaluable.”
—Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo,
Global Disability Advisor, World Bank
“This book is exactly what’s needed in the minds of our children today. I am excited about this book because it supports disability identity, blackness, and art culture. It is valuable information to understand where we come from as people especially highlighting disability culture.It’s a book that’s long overdue.”
—Candace Coleman,
Youth Community Development Organizer, Access Living
“Leroy F. Moore Jr.’s stylish primer, Black Disabled ART HISTORY 101 is a celebration of art and activism by Black and Brown disabled artists that every kid in America ought to read. Moore tells us that his book is for kids to learn about “people like me,” but kids and grown-ups alike will learn from this book not only about what it’s like to be Black and disabled, but what it is like to be fully human and to flourish through making art. Moore recovers a vibrant tradition, long obscured by racism and ableism, of “creativity…deeply intertwined with disability” of visual art, music, dance, performance, and poetry by Black disabled artists.”
—Rosemarie Garland Thomson, Professor, Emory University
“Black Disabled ART HISTORY 101 is a wonderfully illuminating and thought provoking read. Leroy Moore’s affirming and inviting voice welcomes the reader into an exploration of a history known to too few. Though written for disabled youth, this text is worthy of a wider audience, as it offers an unapologetic look at disabled Black artists from an asset based stand point. Moore’s encouragement to give voice to his poetry serves as the connective tissue between the chapters and vignettes, and provides an additional somatic experience that transports the reader to another level.”
—Milton Reynolds, Bay Area Educator,
Activist and Change Agent
“Black Disabled ART HISTORY 101 is a rhythmic roll-call, naming and claiming black disabled artists whose work deserves a much broader audience. The text remixes identity and creativity into an altogether new cultural record that defies categories and expectations. Documenting the complex interplay between art and embodiment, Leroy F. Moore, Jr. has assembled an aesthetic archive that refuses to allow racist and ableist histories to have the last word. Instead, the reader is offered a living lexicon to speak with, not about black disabled artists, encouraging us to continue the conversation well beyond these pages!”
—Ruha Benjamin,
Professor, African American Studies at Princeton University
“I believe that Leroy Moore opens a big door that we may not have known existed. In his book, Black Disabled Art History 101, he introduces the world to many accomplished artists and activists who defied their disabilities and mastered their creative intelligence into substance. It is filled with some amazing stories, images and words of wisdom. It is both purposeful and motivational, as
he educates on the “emerging definitions” that celebrate art and humanity.”
—Deborah Day, CEO and Founder,
Ashay by the Bay Children’s Bookstore
“Leroy Moore’s work clearly follows Toni Morrison’s sage words, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Yet Moore does not simply write a book, but breathes fire into its pages. Through his own poetry, interspersed within the visual art, pictures, and stories of Black Disabled Artists, Moore’s book brings to life the history of art in the Black Disabled Community. He both teaches about individual histories and creates a mosaic of the community of Black Disabled artists. Bringing these stories together illuminates what had previously been empty spaces, filling children (and adults) with much needed knowledge about Black Disabled Art History. This book is for anyone who loves art, hip hop, poetry, and/or history.”
—Subini Ancy Annamma, Assistant Professor,
University of Kansas
“It seems to me that the privilege of ability, above all else, is the ever present and least acknowledged structure of exclusivity and inequity in our society and institutions. A prophetic storyteller, Leroy Moore presents the narratives of American sheroes and heros that most of us are completely unaware and invites us, through his beautiful truth telling form, to be more honest, more conscious human beings to this reality.”
—Mary J. Wardell,
Chief Diversity Officer, University of San Francisco
About Us
About Us
Xóchitl Justice Press creates diverse and educationally sound, non-fiction children’s books to support the intellectual, affective, aesthetic, and social development of the whole child. Our press promotes a just and equitable society through publishing, community partnerships, education, and research.
Publishing. We work with authors to write and present books that are non-fiction, represent non- dominant cultures and narratives, are educationally sound, and appropriate to young children (birth through first grade). Access to such texts allows readers to see lives that are familiar to them, to re-imagine future possibilities, and to acquire language and literacy skills.
Community Partnerships. We partner with communities to foster the love of reading and writing, effective teaching in urban schools, to harness community members’ assets, and to reflect on, and refine the pedagogical relevance of our books.
Education. We provide teachers with the opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills related to the teaching of reading and writing in the context of urban education. In addition, we provide opportunities for second- through eighth-grade authors to write non-fiction books for younger children.
Research. Through our research, we contribute to deeper understandings of reading identity, reading engagement, and the teaching and learning of literacy in a diverse society.
Our Team
Executive Directors and Founders
Nicola McClung , Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Learning and Instruction, University of San Francisco, was a teacher in San Francisco public schools for eight years prior to receiving her doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley. Her work focuses on illuminating various factors in the environment that mitigate or exacerbate reading difficulties. She is particularly interested in challenging the pervasive view in education that learning difficulties are caused by "problems in children" and, instead, advocates addressing the issue of instructional opportunity.
Arturo Cortez, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Teacher Learning, Research and Practice at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Broadly, his research explores how teachers design transformative and humanizing learning environments. He is interested in how adults and young people learn how to work together in overcoming everyday dilemmas. Professor Cortez’s early commitments to working with youth and teachers were honed while he was a middle school teacher in East Palo Alto and a high school teacher in San Francisco.
Advisory Board
Diana Arya, University of California, Santa Barbara
Miriam Desmukes, Prince Hall Computer Learning Center
Leah Elamin, Designer
José Ramón Lizárraga, University of Colorado, Boulder
Helen Maniates, University of San Francisco
Andy Maul, University of California, Santa Barbara
P. David Pearson, University of California, Berkeley
Marcia K. Russell, Ventura County Office of Education
Laura Sterponi, University of California, Berkeley
Suzannah Weening, Photographer
Emily A. Nusbaum, University of San Francisco
Contact XJP at xochitljustice@gmail.com.
XJP in the Press
XJP in the Press
Co-Founders Nicola McClung and Arturo Cortéz receive the prestigious UC Berkeley Yamashita Prize
COMING SOON! Activist Leroy Moore's new children's book.