The Late Patty Berne Was a Visionary Leader in the Disability Justice Movement

Iwas in the middle of writing an email to my friend Patricia (Patty) Berne when I got a text message from our mutual friend. “Come to the hospital quickly,” they said. “Patty’s dying.” My first thought was, ‘But that’s impossible. We’re right in the middle of a conversation. ’

I knew that Patty had been sick, but it didn’t seem possible to me that they might die. Patty’s impact on me and the disabled world I live in was simply too huge. I couldn’t imagine the planet without them. Born disabled, Patty was told as a child that they would not live past 16 years old. This prediction was pessimistic, and wrong. Patty grew up to live a full life, and changed disability history. They were a visionary artist and one of the primary architects of the Disability Justice movement , which connecte