This year for Women’s History Month, we’re talking to two members of our DEI department about their work and the women who have inspired it. This week, we hear from accessibility specialist, Sabine Rear (she/her), who shares a story about the intergenerational relationships and wisdom she’s discovered at her local Knit Night.
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Sabine Rear and I use she and her pronouns. I am Metro’s accessibility specialist and I work on Metro’s accessibility program, which is a part of the DEI department.
What do you do at Metro?
I staff the Committee on Disability Inclusion (CODI), which is a community committee that provides feedback and guidance to Metro on issues related to accessibility. I collaborate with ADA Coordinator Heather Buczek on the ongoing work of ensuring Metro is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) while working to move us beyond compliance toward more comprehensive disability inclusion and celebration of disability culture.
The theme for Women’s History Month this year is, “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating and Inspiring Generations.” Tell me about a woman who inspires your work as a public servant.
When I was nineteen, I was lucky to connect with a group of older women who invited me into their knitting circle. A knitting circle to me is a sort of definitive example of the often compulsorily private world of women, and the ways women organize and educate each other in these private spaces are often under-appreciated. The women of Knit Night come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, and they regularly inspire me with their commitment to civic engagement and community care.
Over the many years I have been a part of this group, I have learned a lot about how to show up for neighbors, how to get your voice heard in your community, and how to lift up the voices of others. I see these women care for each other and their communities in material ways including donating their time, resources and skills, sharing their ideas and thoughtfully assessing and leveraging their power. I’ve been reflecting on this group’s impact on me lately, as one of its most civically engaged members passed away earlier this year. Celebrating her life has prompted me to reflect on her lifelong activism and commitment to racial and class justice and has reminded me of all the things I have learned from this group of knitters about the importance of intergenerational organizing and the value of inviting those whose work often happens in private to bring their thoughts and skills into public space.