"How About Having A Person": Representation of Intellectual and Developmental Disability in Washington State Archives
Background behind “How About Having A Person”
In March 2025, I presented my Master of Library and Information Science capstone titled “How About Having A Person”: Representation of Intellectual and Washington State Archives, which was a physical exhibit in Suzzallo Library on the University of Washington’s Seattle campus from early March to late April 2025. This exhibit explored issues of representation, access, and the need for reparative archiving by examining archival artifacts from various Washington State archival collections related to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The namesake of the exhibit was from a short poem a friend introduced me to, written by Barb Rabe and featured in Cow Tipping Press’s Future Drivers from the Future. This national literary magazine shares writing and art by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The poem goes:
How about history. And how about think about history. How about shadow. How about think about shadow. How about think about listen to a poem. How about thinking about a poem. How about Beach Boys. How about having a person. - "Beach Boys" by Barb Rabe
For me, I interpret this poem as being about how history, and the documents of an overall community’s history, silences, undervalues, and excludes the lives, voices, and legacies of members of marginalized community groups, such as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As you continue to explore this website, I want you to think not only about what this poem means to you, but also about how community historical narratives can both highlight and hide specific lived experiences and perspectives.
About This Website
Throughout the original capstone project I worked on, I wanted to create a long-lasting resource accessible not only to the UW academic community but also to anyone in the general public who might find this tool beneficial. This website is to serve three purposes: to reflect and explore issues related to accessing, representing, and presenting archival collections around people with disabilities I discovered through my own research, highlight current individuals and organizations currently working to archive and share these histories with their community, and to provide resources of scholarship for anyone who would like to read into these topics, past what the website itself provides.
This website was funded through the Harlan Hahn Endowment Fund of UW’s Disability Studies Department. For further information about this fund and how to donate, please visit: https://disabilitystudies.washington.edu/HarlanHahnFund.
Table of Contents
Disclaimer/Content Warning:
The “Representation” section of this website contains documents and topics that use outdated language considered ableist today. It discusses issues related to institutionalization, eugenics, abuse of people with disabilities, and societal ableism. Please take care of yourself and approach the site accordingly.