WXXI Move to Include

Renegades: Kitty O’Neil: On-Demand

In this new digital series, musician and disability inclusion advocate Lachi explores the cultural contributions of people with disabilities and how they transformed America. This pilot episode investigates the amazing life and accomplishments of deaf stunt legend and speed racer Kitty O’Neil.

Kitty O’Neil (1946-2018) was a racecar driver, stunt legend, and daredevil. Known as “the fastest woman in the world,” O’Neil broke the land speed record in 1976, clocking an average of over 512 mph in a three-wheeled rocket car across Oregon’s Alvord Desert. The first woman to join with Stunts Unlimited, the leading stunt agency in Hollywood, O’Neil was also a stunt double for the iconic stars of both The Bionic Woman (Lindsay Wagner) and Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter). And she did it all while being deaf.

(Open Captioned) Watch ASL-Audio Described Here

Learn More About Kitty O’Neil

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution On-Demand

In the early 1970s, teenagers with disabilities faced a future shaped by isolation, discrimination and institutionalization. Camp Jened, a ramshackle camp “for the handicapped” (a term no longer used) in the Catskills, exploded those confines. Jened was their freewheeling Utopia, a place with summertime sports, smoking and make-out sessions awaiting everyone, and campers experienced liberation and full inclusion as human beings. Their bonds endured as many migrated West to Berkeley, California — a hotbed of activism where friends from Camp Jened realized that disruption, civil disobedience, and political participation could change the future for millions.

Crip Camp is the story of one group of people and captures one moment in time. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other equally important stories from the Disability Rights Movement that have not yet received adequate attention. The filmmakers are committed to using the film’s platform to amplify additional narratives in the disability rights and disability justice communities – with a particular emphasis on stories surrounding people of color and other intersectionally marginalized communities. We stand by the creed of nothing about us, without us. For too long, too many were excluded, and it is time to broaden the number of voices and share the mic.

Explore The Crip Camp Website

Inside Our Autistic Minds • WXXI-TV

Chris Packham helps autistic people illustrate how their minds work, helping them connect with their friends and family in a new, more authentic way.

Inside Our Autistic Minds airs Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

Since sharing his own autism diagnosis with the world, naturalist and presenter Chris Packham has been flooded with letters and emails from other autistic people, frustrated that their friends, families and co-workers don’t understand them. By teaming up with top film-makers, graphic designers, animators and musicians, Chris helps a group of autistic people create short films to reveal to their family and friends how they’re truly feeling inside – what’s really going on in their autistic minds.

This program repeats on January 18 at 4 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

This program is presented as part of Dialogue on Disability, a partnership between WXXI and Al Sigl Community of Agencies – in conjunction with the Herman and Margaret Schwartz Community Series. Dialogue on Disability is supported by the Fred L. Emerson Foundation with additional support from The Golisano Foundation. The weeklong initiative runs January 13-19, 2025

WXXI and Al Sigl have been hosting Dialogue on Disability since 2005. In 2014, with the support of businessman and philanthropist Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation, Move to Include™ was formed. This initiative enables WXXI to present and develop programming that promotes inclusion year round.

Photo: Naturalist and presenter Chris Packham • Credit: BBC

POV: Eat Your Catfish • WXXI-WORLD

A brutally frank and darkly humorous portrait of a family teetering on the brink, grappling with the daily demands of disability and in-home caregiving.

POV: Eat Your Catfish airs Sunday, October 27 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-WORLD.

Kathryn’s ALS diagnosis has left Kathryn paralyzed and needing 24-hour care, communicating only by pointing out letters with her eyes on a special keyboard. It has also put incredible strain on her relationship with her husband who has a hard time looking at her and has been difficult for many nurses and aides. Yet, her desire to be with her children and to see her daughter’s wedding drives Kathryn’s persistence in surviving, and her critical and humorous spirit remains unbroken. Filmed almost entirely from Kathryn’s point of view, filmmakers Adam Isenberg, Senem Tuzen, and Noah Arjomand – Kathryn’s son – put together Eat Your Catfish from over 900 hours of recordings.

This documentary is presented as part of WXXI and the Golisano Foundation’s Move to Include^TM, an award-winning national initiative to promote disability inclusion, representation, and accessibility in public media.

Photo: Kathryn’s son and husband • Courtesy of Eat Your Catfish

POV: He’s My Brother • WXXI-TV

Peter was born deaf and blind, so his family has always seen and heard the world for him.

POV: He’s My Brother airs Monday, April 7 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming on the WXXI app.

Christine’s brother Peter experiences his world through touch, smell, and taste. Now 30 years old, Peter’s family is having trouble finding the proper care for his multiple disabilities. He’s My Brother explores how the family works to assure him a dignified life once the parents are gone – and Christine’s own uncertainties about one day becoming his primary caregiver.

This film is presented as part of Move to Include™ , a partnership between WXXI and the Golisano Foundation promotes inclusion.

Photo: Peter & Christine • Credit: Provided

All You Hear is Noise Screening • The Little Theatre

A fearless documentary portrait of three athletes with intellectual disabilities navigating life beyond the international spotlight of the Special Olympics World Games.

Thursday, January 11, 2024 | 7:15pm
Little Theatre 1 (240 East Ave.)
Doors open: 6:45pm
Screening: 7:15pm
Includes post-screening discussion

Click here to purchase tickets online.

Dialogue on Disability and Move to Include, in partnership with The Little Theatre’s One Take Documentary Series, present All You Hear is Noise.

All You Hear is Noiseis a verite-style documentary that tells the story of three athletes with intellectual disabilities navigating everyday life beyond the spotlight of the Special Olympics. Trent Hampton, Melanie Holmes, and Chris Wines travel to the Middle East to compete on the global stage at the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi–then return home to face different hurdles in employment, relationships, and living independently.

Ned Castle and Matt Day’s directorial debut feature was created in partnership with the film’s main subjects and a panel of respected disability advocacy stakeholders–including renowned disability rights advocates Judy Heumann, Loretta Claiborne, and Lawrence Carter-Long. The production pays homage to the slogan adopted by the disability rights movement, “Nothing About Us Without Us,” as the film subverts the paternalistic and saccharine tropes that typically dominate media portrayals of intellectual disability (ID). In doing so, the film challenges the dominant representation of the ID community and offers a fresh perspective on the ID experience.

The film will also screen on Saturday, January 13 at 3 p.m. at The Little. This screening will not include a discussion.

This Old House: Lexington Modern “Gone GEO” • WXXI-TV

A home with disjointed additions gets a modern update to become accessible for the whole family, and especially 12-year-old Caffrey, who has a rare form of muscular dystrophy called Duchenne.

This Old House: Lexington airs Sunday, July 28 at 4 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

In this episode, framing begins for a new zero-threshold sliding glass door. The geothermal heating and cooling system is explained and wells for the system begin at the house. The entrance gets a steel focal point.

Photo provided This Old House.

Deconstructing Ableism: A Community Conversation • WXXI-TV

A panel discussion with Disability Rights Activist Imani Barbarin.

Deconstructing Ableism: A Community Conversation airs Thursday, January 25 at 3 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Disability rights activist Imani Barbarin is joined by moderator and disability advocate Jeiri Flores and a panel of local community members to discuss their lived experiences of ableism and address some of the issues raised in Imani’s keynote from a 2023 virtual event hosted by Starbridge.

Photo: Imani Barbarin l Credit: Maude Ballinger