This month, Able News had the opportunity to chat with sisters Annie Nishwani Lachhman and Lakshmee Lachhman Persad—a dynamic duo committed to shifting the narrative about disability through art, culture, and travel. Lakshmee supports Annie’s communication as an accommodation, so her broader answers also express Annie’s point of view.
Annie, can you tell us about the work you do as an artist and entrepreneur?
I make Disability Pride pins to raise awareness of disability as an identity. They are inspired by the original Disability Pride flag. I have reimagined the design to be more inclusive and progressive. I made one design with a shooting star, aiming to show that individuals with disabilities are capable of “reaching for the stars” when given the right support in advocacy, accessibility, and adaptive technology. I also made a few designs that have an added brown field to represent people of color who are disproportionately systematically marginalized but are nonetheless at the forefront of the Disability Rights Movement. Other versions showcase an empowered wheelchair user, moving away from the common depiction of us as faceless people without personality, by featuring a smile shown in a tiny gold heart on the face. I also sell cards with floral paintings on them. This is my way of making my own money using my talents.
Lakshmee, we’re so proud to have you on the Able News Editorial Advisory Board. Can you tell us about the work you do to highlight accessible travel options across New York City?
I’m really glad to be on the Advisory Board so that I can share more about accessible travel across New York City for the readers here. Thanks for having me as part of it.
I’d love to share the process of how we look for accessible places for our “daycations.” We started doing this seven years ago when we were going through a really difficult time as a family and wanted to get out of our homes to heal and feel we were part of a larger community.
I had been in travel and tourism for more than 20 years and had never once seen a disabled person represented in any of the marketing across the industry. And when I started looking for accessible things to do, it was very difficult to find information. Every time I would click on “accessibility” on a website, I would find digital accessibility compliance statements, but not much about accessible information for us to visit the place.
Without any funding behind us and just using our skills, we shared our stories of when we went out in public, how we were treated, and whatever accessibility information we could find on accessibletravelnyc.com. It’s a travel resource for incoming tourists and local residents with disabilities to find accessible places and things to do.
We became the change we didn’t see. We want people to know that they, too, can be changemakers. We don’t want to own this space. We have a model in place that people can follow, or if they want, they can contribute information about what their experience is like at sightseeing places, arts and cultural spots, hotels, restaurants, and transportation.
What does disability pride mean to you?
Annie: Disability pride means going out and not being ashamed of my disabilities.
Lakshmee: For me, it’s constantly working through ableism, because I have non-apparent disabilities. It’s showing up in spaces and asking for the accommodations that I need to fully participate, and not being ashamed to speak up so I can be my full self. Honoring disability pride means being unapologetic.
What disability rights issue is your biggest advocacy priority right now?
Lakshmee: For me, it’s transportation equity. It’s also important for accessible information for people with disabilities to be publicly available within travel and tourism, as that’s part of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Give us the information we need so that we can get to where we’re going and know what we’re going to encounter.
And together, Annie and I focus on educating about disability pride and disability as an identity. We work on educating children and families of all ages that it’s okay to have a disability and it’s just part of being human. We use art as a catalyst for change. Annie gets to speak to her art and what the disability pride flag means to her. And I speak about the different models of disabilities and tie it in how our lives have been viewed.
Looking ahead, what’s next on your exciting journeys?
Lakshmee: Annie is creating a new set of greeting cards that highlight New York and disability. She is also hoping to work on a children’s book educating on disability. For me, I’d like to see some type of standards adopted within travel and tourism to ensure destinations are accessible for all. We’re also excited for some upcoming public programming for Disability Pride celebrations.