Passerby BookClub
Connection and curiosity are each central to our mission at passerby, and we’re bringing these practices alive through our virtual passerby book club. Up next, we’re working through Year of the Tiger by Alice Wong in a conversation led by disability activist and artist Jen White-Johnson.
Join us on Zoom on Tuesday, February 7th at 6-7 PM EST for a conversation about Alice Wong’s Year of the Tiger, led by Jen White-Johnson. As an Afro-Latina disability activist and artist, Jen will be conducting a short reading of the book, as well as leading us in discussion about its contents, Alice’s work at large, and, in light of Black History Month, black disabled identity. RSVP at club@passerbymagazine.com and buy your copy here.
Our virtual book club is open to everyone in our community. However, members of our passerby club also receive access to our Discord, where we can discuss our book of focus continuously in a text channel, extending beyond our hour on Zoom. Members of the passerby club can also join in on our in-person book club, which meets in New York, and our partner-level club members get books included in their membership gift bags. Join us for these perks and more (for as little as $3/month).
about year of the tiger
In Chinese culture, the tiger is deeply revered for its confidence, passion, ambition, and ferocity. That same fighting spirit resides in Alice Wong. Drawing on a collection of original essays, previously published work, conversations, graphics, photos, commissioned art by disabled and Asian American artists, and more, Alice uses her unique talent to share an impressionistic scrapbook of her life as an Asian American disabled activist, community organizer, media maker, and dreamer. From her love of food and pop culture to her unwavering commitment to dismantling systemic ableism, Alice shares her thoughts on creativity, access, power, care, the pandemic, mortality, and the future. As a self-described disabled oracle, Alice traces her origins, tells her story, and creates a space for disabled people to be in conversation with one another and the world.
about jen white-johnson
Jen White-Johnson is a disabled and Neurodivergent Afro-Latina art activist and design educator whose visual work aims to uplift disability justice narratives in design. With an MFA in Graphic Design from The Maryland Institute College of Art, Jen uses photography, zines and collage art to explore the intersection of content and caregiving with an emphasis on redesigning ableist visual culture. Jen has presented her disability justice activist work to and collaborated with a number of brands and art spaces across print and digital such as Twitter, Target, Converse, and Apple. Her photo and design work has been featured in The Washington Post, AfroPunk, and The New York Times and is permanently archived in libraries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and The National Museum of Women in the Arts in D.C. In 2021, she was listed as one of “20 Latino Artists to watch” on Today.com. She was born in Washington, D.C. and currently lives in Baltimore with her husband and 10 year old son.