Straddling Death and (Re)birth: A Disabled Latina’s Meditation on Collective Care and Mending in Pandemic Times

Abstract

This critical autoethnography, informed by Critical Race Theory (CRT), intersectionality, and DisCrit, explores the lived experience of a disabled Latina mother-scholar during COVID-19. She uses meditation to think about macroscopic conceptions of independence and time, asking how COVID-19 has changed the way she relates to others and her scholarship. In the process of journaling and engaging in different evocative prompts, she has visceral responses to the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement, and the suffering of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities. The author realizes that contemplative methodologies should center collective care and mending to “let go” of White supremacy, ableism, and sexism.

Keywords

critical autoethnography CRT intersectionality contemplative practice collective care mending Black Lives Matter COVID-19

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