Imani Barbarin
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| Born | March 1990 (age 33–34) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupations |
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TikTok information | |
| Page | |
| Followers | 553.1 K |
| Likes | 47.5 M |
Last updated: July 17, 2023 | |
| Website | https://imanibarbarin.com |
Imani Barbarin (born March 1990)[1] is an American writer, public speaker, TikToker, and disability rights activist who also goes by the username Crutches and Spice.
In 2014, Barbarin launched the website Crutches and Spice as a space for her to write about her experiences as a disabled Black woman.[2]
OnTwitter, Barbarin has spearheaded several hashtags to promote discussion of disabled issues and experiences. In 2018 she started #DisTheOscars to call attention to the lack of disabled representation.[3] In 2019 she started #AbledsAreWeird, encouraging disabled people to share their experiences of abled individuals misunderstanding their needs and experiences.[4][5] In January 2020, she started the hashtag #MyDisabledLifeIsWorthy in response to remarks by former CDC director Rochelle Walensky about the "encouraging" fact that most deaths caused by the omicron variantofCOVID-19 were in disabled individuals.[6] Barbarin joined TikTok in 2020, where she began posting both comedic and educational videos.[2] By February 2022 she had 140,000 followers on Twitter and 370,000 followers on TikTok.[7] In late 2022, Barbarin criticized Twitter policy changes after the company's acquisition by Elon Musk.[8]
Barbarin works as a communications manager for a disability legal office in Philadelphia.[9][10] She also writes for online newspapers and magazines[11][12][13] and has speaking engagements at universities.[14][15]
In 2020, Barbarin hosted the five-episode podcast Vote for Access, which investigated the difficulties of voting while disabled.[16] In May 2022 she appeared on MetroFocus to discuss her push to reinstate New York City's mask mandate.[17] In October 2022 she headlined the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Asexual College Conference alongside Schuyler Bailar.[18] In January 2023, she was a guest on The Assignment with Audie Cornish during an episode discussing long COVID.[19] In April 2023, she was part of the short film Unlucky in Love for the 2023 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge.[20]
Barbarin grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia.[10] She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 2.[9] She attended Eastern University where she earned a degree in creative writing and a minor in French.[21] Barbarin has a masters in communication from American University of Paris.[10] Barbarin is queer.[10]
