Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice

A study guide of Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha’s 2018 book ‘Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice.’

This study guide was written by Tereza Lopez and edited by Gari De Ramos and August Devore Welles

Disclaimers (1) The subject matter in this book covers various triggers that include sexual abuse, physical abuse, and suicidality. If this book makes one thing clear, it is that you must take care of your mind and body. If this study guide is at any point too much, please take the space you need to take care of yourself. (2) This study guide is of Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha’s book, where she uses terms that some consider outdated such as ‘able-bodied’ and ‘disabled people.’ This study guide uses the words Piepzna-Samarasinha uses but acknowledges that there are alternatives to these words, which you can read about here.

“‘Disability Justice’ is a term coined by the Black, brown, queer, and trans members of the original Disability Justice Collective, founded in 2005 by Patty Berne, Mia Mingus, Leroy Moore, Eli Care, and Sebastian Margaret” (p. 15).

Piepzna-Samarasinha’s book is a collection of essays about the politics and realities of the disability justice movement. Disability justice centers queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, Person/People of Color (QTBIPOC) and what they need, how they live, and how they organize justice for themselves. Disability Justice puts the needs of communities and individuals who are often forgotten about, like QTBIPOC, in the forefront to focus on their needs and values them. This work destroys the structure that keeps ableism in tact. This book is not meant to be seen as THE book on disability justice, but one of many books on this topic.

This study guide summarizes the text not chapter-by-chapter, but instead theme-by-theme. We will address what disability justice and care work are, what it looks like in action, healing justice, and the realities for queer, disabled femmes-of-color.

Navigate our study guide using the table of contents below.