Digital Series "Divas in the City" Amplifies the Voices of Black Women with Disabilities

New season continues to challenge stereotypes, spark conversation, and promote visibility through real, unscripted stories

DETROIT, MI, UNITED STATES, April 22, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Divas in the City, a groundbreaking digital series highlighting the lives of five Black women living with physical disabilities, is packed with more powerful stories that challenge perceptions and push for true inclusion. Co-Created and produced by Disability Justice Advocate, Speaker and Independent Film Producer Tameka Citchen-Spruce and Dr. Donna R, Walton, author, actress, Speaker and Founder and President of The Divas With Disabilities Project (DWD), the series gives an unfiltered look at life, love, and leadership through the lens of women too often left out of mainstream media.

Citchen-Spruce's most recent film credit includes PBS's American Masters: The Renegades, featuring the Blind Thomas Wiggins episode. She was mentored by Comedian W. Kamau Bell through the Unlock Her Potential mentorship program in 2023. As a co-creator and producer, Citchen-Spruce is deeply invested in this project, particularly as she lives with a T2 spinal cord injury, resulting in paralysis from the chest down. Dr. Donna Walton, also a co-creator and producer, brings her unique perspective to the project with her personal journey of limb loss at the age of 18 due to bone cancer. Her recent acting credits include Nuanse Entertainment's The Retreat and Hulu’s The Other Black Girl. Walton also shines as an author with her book Shattered Dreams, Broken Pieces, which highlights the systemic gaps in representation and inclusion for people with disabilities.

Available on YouTube and supported across social media platforms, Divas in the City brings representation to the forefront by documenting the personal journeys, challenges, and triumphs of its cast. It is not a scripted drama or an inspirational tale—it is a reality-based digital series grounded in authenticity. The series will officially launch of May 5, 2025.

“The idea was never just to entertain,” said co-creator and executive producer Tameka Citchen-Spruce. “This series exists to show the reality of what it means to navigate the world as a Black woman with a disability—and to do it with power and purpose.”

The cast includes five women with varied disabilities and life experiences: Zazel-Chavah O’Garra, Melva Henderson, Natalia Mendez, Karen A. Gasperini Quiles, and Kebra Moore. Each brings a distinct voice to conversations about identity, family, running a business, and independence. as well as unique perspectives on disabilities including a spinal cord injury, a rare disorder, Beals Syndrome, vision impairment, and a brain tumor survivor. In a media landscape where disabled women, especially Black disabled women, are rarely seen, Divas in the City opens the door to real inclusion—not just visibility, but agency.

Behind the camera, the series is shaped by a creative team led by Citchen-Spruce and Walton, with support from editors, and social media managers who also bring lived experience and passion for disability advocacy to the table. Citchen-Spruce and Walton envision expanding their shared mission into a multimedia platform that extends the series’ impact far beyond the screen.

Several seasoned industry professionals have joined the Divas team. Robert C. Wertman joins as an additional editor, with credits including the hit series Pose. Together, this diverse team ensures that the stories are shared with care, context, and the professional reach they deserve.

More than a show, Divas in the City is a conversation starter. It encourages audiences to question long-held assumptions about disability and invites Millennial and GenX women, sponsors, educators, and media outlets to support inclusive storytelling.

To watch episodes or learn more about the project, visit www.divasinthecity.com and www.divaswithdisabilities.org. For sponsorships, collaborations, or press inquiries, contact Tameka Citchen-Spruce through the website.

Lindsey Chastain
Writing Detective
lindsey@writingdetective.com
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