Crip Coffee Break

Crip Coffee Break

Wednesdays, Sept. 25-Dec. 4
3-4 p.m.

At DCC (231-235 Behavioral Sciences Building) and on Zoom.

Crip Coffee Break

DCC’s Crip Coffee Break is a chill and comfy space to meet people and take a break. Come as you are! We’ll put a pot of coffee on and we have snacks as well as tea/hot chocolate. Different meetings have different ways for us to hang out together — but we’ll let the conversation be guided by what’s going on in our lives or what’s on our minds. This is an intentional space for people with disabilities (and people thinking through their relationship to disability identity) to build community.

Wednesdays at 3 p.m.

Sept 25: AV Club Sins Invalid: Unashamed Claim to Beauty
Oct 2: Game Time: Cards and Chit Chat
Oct 9: Get Crafty: Paint and Sip (Open Paint Studio)
No CCB Oct. 16- Join us at Superfest Disability Film Festival!
Oct 23: Game Time: Chess and Checkers with Dante
Oct 30: Get Crafty
Nov 6: AV Club: DCC Comedy Club
Nov 13: Game Time: Bingo for a Dreaded Task with Margaret
Nov 20: Get Crafty: Make a DCC Disability Justice Coloring Book
Dec 4: Game Time: Open Games (Mario Party, cards, etc.)

Audience note: Crip Coffee Break is an intentional space for people who are disabled or who are exploring their own relationship to disability identity. We define disability and disability experience broadly to include any kind of body or mind that doesn’t fit into cultural norms about what a bodymind should be and do. This can include physical disabilities, sensory disabilities, psychological disabilities and/or mental health conditions, traumatic brain injury, chronic illness, chronic pain; it can include Crohn’s, dyslexia, neurodivergence, madness, etc. And we welcome those in our community who think they may have a disability but aren’t sure. Whether you have an official diagnosis or not, this space is yours.

We ask that nondisabled folks respect that this is an intentional space for disabled people to build community with one another.

Wondering about the word “crip?” Crip is a reclaiming of the insult “cripple,” and as Carrie Sandahl explains, it “has expanded to include not only those with physical impairments but those with sensory or mental impairments as well.” It is, to quote Eli Clare, a “cousin” to the term queer: “words to shock, words to infuse with pride and self-love, words to resist internalized hatred, words to help forge a politics” (Exile and Pride, 84). We’re using “crip” here as an invitation to community, one that’s built around questioning ableist norms, sharing our lived experiences, and cross-disability solidarity.

COVID-19 safety: UIC does not require masking, but we are still masking in our spaces as an accessibility measure for chronically ill/immunocompromised folks and those living interdependently with them. Please wear a mask!* We’ll have extras on hand. People may be sipping/eating and then replacing their masks. Zoom is another COVID-cautious option.

Access Information: These gatherings will have CART (live captions). The Disability Cultural Center is located on the second floor, which is accessible by elevator. CART will be provided. We use fragrance-free products in the DCC, but UIC is not a fragrance-free campus. To maintain a low-fragrance environment, please refrain from wearing scents to DCC events. Let us know about any other access requests at dcc@uic.edu or 312-355-7050.

*If masking conflicts with your access needs, please get in touch. We can work something out.