Lawrence Carter-Long

Lawrence Carter-Long is difficult man to peg or to pin down and that's just the way he likes it. LCL-as friends call him-has been on the frontlines of popular culture and social change since the age of five when he was drafted to be a poster child for a disability-related charity campaign. A lifelong activist, as an adult Lawrence has been a modern dancer, radio show host and producer, and was the curator/co-host of groundbreaking festival The Projected Image: A History of Disability on Film on Turner Classic Movies reaching 87 million people. His advocacy has been awarded by the likes of former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg and the American Association of People with Disabilities. Formerly the Public Affairs Specialist for the National Council on Disability-the independent federal agency that brought us the Americans with Disabilities Act, he joined the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund in July 2017, as our first-ever Director of Communications and spearheads our revitalized Disability & Media Alliance Project. In his communications work, Lawrence has both set-up media coverage of numerous disability issues in, and been interviewed by, respected outlets like USA Today, Associated Press, the New York Times, The Daily Show, the BBC, and CNN among other notable news source. He's even given Dear Abby advice about disability and dating. His interview with NPR is about the evolution of disability as a concept, and in language.