A friend and collaborator with ReelAbilities since the beginning, Lawrence Carter-Long is an internationally respected authority on the history and evolution of disability in film and media. He has provided feedback, guidance, curated, or consulted on projects for SAG AFTRA, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Sundance Institute, the American Film Institute, NPR, ITVS, the BBC, along with other notable names and initials that Non Disclosure Agreements don’t allow us to reveal.
In 2012, and again in 2021, Lawrence curated and cohosted “The Projected Image: A History of Disability in Film” on Turner Classic Movies reaching 87 million people. An updated, revised version of the project will be repeated on the popular cable channel this July.
As an author, Lawrence has written for a broad range of publications including academic journals like Film Quarterly, had pieces commissioned by PBS and The Atlantic, and been published in major mainstream publications like USA Today. A popular public speaker and educator, Lawrence has lectured on disability history and media representation at the Library of Congress, the Television Academy, and the United Nations, among other respected venues.
As an analyst, Lawrence’s insights are featured in the award-winning 2020 feature documentary, “Code of the Freaks,” a radical reframing of disabled characters in film. As an actor, he appears in the 2021 NY Times Critic’s Pick, “Best Summer Ever” as Officer Gorinsky.
Previously the communications lead for the National Council on Disability – the independent federal agency that played a central role in drafting what became the Americans with Disabilities Act – during the Obama administration, Lawrence is currently the Co Director of DisArt, a Disability centered production company and consulting nonprofit organization based in Grand Rapids, MI. He resides in Oakland, CA.