I Identify As Blind : A Brazen Celebration of Disability Culture, Identity, and Power

Recording artist, activist, and provocateur Lachi redefines what it means to celebrate disability, by showcasing the innovations and leadership within her community, and by framing disability as an identity, a cultural force, and a reservoir of resilience and creativity.

Lachi is an award-winning musician and an unapologetic activist who awakens the world to this truth: Disability is an identity worth brazenly celebrating. In her book, Lachi spotlights how disabled people have to be driven, persistent, perceptive, and highly adaptable just to get through any given day. What would happen if society finally valued disabled people as the leaders, role models, and key innovators they truly are?

I IDENTIFY AS BLIND envisions how we can build that world. Weaving together personal stories, sharp pop culture takes, inspiring activist history, and incisive cultural criticism, Lachi lights the path forward and reveals how insights from people with disabilities have shaped society for the better. She interviews some of the most powerful personalities in Disability Culture, including Senator Tammy Duckworth, ADA advocate and disability rights icon Judy Heumann, and Oscar-nominated filmmaker of Crip Camp Jim LeBrecht. She even takes readers behind the scenes at Coldplay concerts, since after Chris Martin developed tinnitus he helped transform his concerts into some of the most accessible in the world. Readers discover how many innovations created for people with disabilities benefit everyone—from audio books, to curb cuts, to the Internet. (Yes, Vint Cerf helped develop the first commercial email service because he was hearing impaired and had trouble communicating by phone.)

Filled with humor and inspiration, I IDENTIFY AS BLIND helps readers find the power of leaning into the riskiest parts of their identities (whether they are disabled or not), and understand all the wisdom inherent in the disability experience.

Lachi is an award-winning recording artist and world touring public speaker. Born legally blind, she is the CEO of RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities), a global network that has partnered with Netflix and the GRAMMYs. Named a USA Today Woman of the Year and a “dedicated foot soldier for disability pride” by Forbes, Lachi hosted the PBS American Masters series Renegades; and was featured in the New York Times, Good Morning America, and TIME Magazine; and in ads for Google and Mastercard. She has spoken at The White House and United Nations. She lives in New York City.