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disability rights
As Always, It’s Up to Us: Questions for a Second Trump Presidency
As a scholar of social movements in the United States, I look to what the activists of the past show us: Justice doesn’t come from the White House. It comes from the people.
Nov 06, 2024
Former U.S. President Donald Trump won a second term. Handily. I see, already, the overwhelming dread flooding my social media. After all, Americans elected a man who has bragged about grabbing women by the pussy, who has bred fear and hatred toward Central American migrants, who has pledged to undo any climate protections he can get his grubby little orange hands on, who oversaw the eradication of abortion rights, who has praised white supremacist, antisemitic marchers as “very fine people,” and who fostered an insurrection. Again.
Knowing this, what do we do next?
As a scholar of social movements in the United States, I look to what the activists of the past show us: Justice doesn’t come from the White House. It comes from us.
In 1977, dozens of disabled activists occupied a federal building in San Francisco, demanding that the Carter administration enforce Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 was the first piece of federal legislation that prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities, yet four years after its passage, the law just sat on the books with no regulation to power it. Disabled protestors camped out for 26 days, supported by a coalition of labor, queer, and Black groups—most importantly, the Black Panther Party, who fed the protestors warm food every single day. Eventually, the administration relented, vowing to regulate Section 504. If you know a child who has benefited from a 504 plan in school, that wasn’t because of the goodness of the government’s heart but because of the sweat, the joy, and the organizing of a group of disabled activists and their allies in the Bay Area.
There are countless examples before and after 1977 of tireless activists creating the world they want to live in despite the apathy of their government. And we can continue to follow their roadmap today by building the worlds we want to live in, we want to grow families in, without the permission of the electorate.
Here are some questions to guide us.
The Trump campaign mobilized its base by villainizing some of the most vulnerable youth, transgender, and non-binary kids, as symbols of a decaying world order. Knowing that, how are we going to uplift gender-non-conforming kids in our communities? Who are we going to elect to school board that will affirm trans kids’ dignity and protect their privacy? How are we going to open our homes to queer and trans youth who are rejected from their families? How are we going to build spaces for kids to explore their gender with love and curiosity?
The reality is, these are the same questions we should have been asking ourselves even if Kamala Harris had won the presidency.
The president-elect has been recorded bragging about touching women’s genitals without their consent, was found liable for sexual assault, and ushered in the end of Roe v Wade. Knowing that, how are we going to raise children with confidence in their bodily autonomy—and respect for others? How are we going to create reporting structures in our workplaces and schools that believe and support survivors? How can we move toward restorative justice practices that prioritize the healing of survivors and communities and prevent further harm? How are we going to mobilize to ensure every person has access to safe abortion care, no matter what state they live in, whenever it is needed?
The Trump campaign promised mass deportations, characterized immigrants as criminals, and admitted to spreading false claims about immigrants eating pets. Knowing this, how we do build communities that welcome immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers? How do we amplify stories that illustrate the humanity of brown and Black immigrants? How do we advocate local governments for policies that protect our neighbors from deportations and criminalization? How do we teach our children to welcome new cultures and traditions rather than fear the unknown?
The Trump campaign has vowed to undo the minimal environmental protections we had. Knowing that, how are we going to ensure that our cities don’t dump environmental disasters on the doorsteps of our working class, Black, and brown neighborhoods? How are we going to push state governments to invest in clean energy, clean water, and clean air? How are we going to support Indigenous-led movements to return the land to its original stewards and protectors? How are we going to re-organize our daily lives to privilege sustainability over convenience and thus divest from corporate solutions that pollute our world?
The Trump campaign has used vulgar, racist, sexist, and just plain rude language to describe its opponents. How do we build communities grounded in love and kindness? How do we model such love and kindness to our children? How do we listen to marginalized communities and follow their lead on what language to use when organizing with them? How do we organize ourselves to protect the most targeted as beloved kin? How do we create opportunities for collective joy and creativity and friendship?
As individuals, we cannot tackle every question listed above, and in my post-election haze, I know I have left out critical issues. (How do we protect our children from gun violence? How do we stop the genocides in Gaza and Sudan and emerging genocidal threats across the globe? How do we abolish systems that criminalize Blackness, disability, and poverty?) But if you’re new to organizing and activism, you can find a group of people who are already grappling with the questions that resonate for you and can figure out how to amplify and support their work. And if you have been already doing this work for years, I thank you.
The reality is, these are the same questions we should have been asking ourselves even if Kamala Harris had won the presidency. Presidential candidates will never be our saviors. As always, it is up to us to forge the path to liberation, even in times of the deepest despair, grief, and shock. Especially in these times.
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The Disabled Community’s Election-Season Message to America: Don’t Box Us Out
We deserve to not just survive, but to thrive. And we’ll fight like hell, and vote like hell, until we get everything we deserve.
Oct 26, 2024
It’s been a hell of a year for everyone. Record-breaking natural disasters have decimated entire cities, gun violence continues to plague our schools and public spaces with little-to-nothing done to stop it. Grocery and rent prices are high, wages are low, the U.S. war machine rages across the globe while we have no choice but to foot the bill, and yet another major election looms.
For disabled folks across the country, these issues and more have never been more amplified. The reality for our community is that disabled people are exhausted because we’re being left behind with no choice but to fight for our survival in a world that isn’t designed for it. We’re being forced to grieve because our friends and family are dying—deaths that are often avoidable. We’re still being misrepresented in the media, still without adequate access both in physical spaces and in the digital realm, and all the while our needs aren’t being heard. 2024 has proven, once again, that we as a community are being cast aside. But what those in power don’t realize is that while they ignore us, we’re organizing. We are making it known that we’re tired of being forgotten, and we’re ready to fight.
Right now in the final days of the election, we’re seeing politicians going about business as usual—touting plans for the country, states, and local communities that sound appealing but often lack substance and detail. That in itself is frustrating and disheartening, but disabled folks aren’t even seeing themselves in the conversation. We aren’t at the table in any way. Candidates aren’t including disabled people in decision-making processes when it comes to policy and campaign platforms. Disability orgs nationwide have approached campaigns to ask candidates about the issues facing our community, and are being met with lackluster responses; in many cases, no response at all. We are being neglected by those in power, even as we continue to raise our voices about what we need.
The disability community is not a monolith, but we are a legitimate voting bloc and one that demands to be taken seriously.
The recent devastating hurricanes across the South have shown us not just the horrific consequences of our inaction on climate change, but also that disabled folks are being boxed out of disaster preparedness measures and training. How can disabled people survive these storms if there’s no plan in place for how to save us? Saving ourselves only goes so far when there’s no consideration for our well-being in the plans that local and state governments make. Emergency resources are often inaccessible, leaving many out of reach of help that they desperately need. Disabled folks are two to four times more likely to die or be critically injured during a disaster—that in itself is a crisis, and one that we are being left alone to navigate.
Disabled people are also being forced into poverty at frightening rates. As the cost of living continues to increase across the board, the cost of survival for disabled folks is at an all-time high. People have to choose between full-time employment or government assistance for services they need to live; there is no middle ground here. Thousands of disabled people across the country are being paid subminimum wages, with hundreds of businesses allowed to do so thanks to the legality of 14c certificates. Over 700,000 people across the country are on waiting lists for in-home care Medicaid waivers that in many cases have left them with no choice but to live in nursing homes. All the while, states like Texas, which has over 300,000 people on its waiting list, boast budget surpluses in the tens of billions. Funding of these waivers are given the lowest priority, even while advocates beg lawmakers to do something. Anything.
For multiply marginalized disabled folks, like Black disabled people and trans disabled people, their lives are at greater risk due to law enforcement interactions and dangerous legislation than ever before. Fifty percent of those killed by law enforcement are disabled, and 55% of Black disabled men are likely to be arrested by 28 years old. The killing of Sonya Massey in July shows plainly, as do countless other examples, that Black disabled folks are not safe when interacting with police.
Legislation that targets the LGBTQ+ community has a significant impact on disabled folks as well, with the anti-trans legislation being introduced and enacted in states across the country leaving trans disabled folks at risk of not receiving care that they need. And we know that transgender people are more likely to be disabled than cisgender people.
And let’s not forget about one of the biggest threats to disabled autonomy that there is—voter suppression. Across the country, hundreds of anti-voter laws have been introduced and in many cases passed, which disproportionately affect disabled voters and prevent them from participating in Democracy. In Alabama, SB1 prohibited voters from receiving assistance with absentee ballots, which specifically targeted disabled Alabamians who rely on assistance from care workers to cast their vote in elections. SB1 is just one example of the over 400 anti-voter bills that have been introduced in recent years.
Where does this leave us today? Exhausted. But that doesn’t mean we’ve given up. The disability community is not a monolith, but we are a legitimate voting bloc and one that demands to be taken seriously. We are a powerful community of people with a shared identity that has empowered us like never before. The disability justice movement, which centers self-determination and emphasizes that ableism is a form of oppression that is linked to other forms experienced by the most marginalized among us, has grown exponentially in recent years. Activists across the country are fighting on behalf of all of us to be seen and heard. We’re working to shift the lens on disability—to be seen as more than just one thing. We’re running for office and assuming positions of leadership. We’re launching our own organizations, advocacy groups, media companies, and news publications because that’s what we need to do to make sure we’re being counted.
And so, in the last weeks of the election, if there’s one message the disability community has, it’s this: Don’t box us out. Don’t ignore us. Because we might be tired, but we’re here. We’re fed up. And we deserve the autonomy we’ve been fighting for day in and day out. We deserve to not just survive, but to thrive. And we’ll fight like hell, and vote like hell, until we get everything we deserve. 2024 be damned.
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Devastating Report Details Israel's War on Gaza Children With Disabilities
"Israeli authorities need to take immediate action to end the wrongful deaths, injuries, and suffering of children, particularly those with disabilities," one advocate said.
Sep 30, 2024
Israel's bombardment and blockade of Gaza have caused "profound trauma and suffering" to the children there, particularly to those with disabilities, Human Rights Watch said.
In a report released Monday, the watchdog group wrote that thousands of children had become disabled due to injuries sustained because of Israel's use of explosive weapons after October 7. Their numbers are added to the 98,000 children living in Gaza with disabilities before the war began, who now face "enormous difficulties to survive."
"The Israeli military's unlawful attacks and denial of aid are harming and traumatizing Palestinians throughout Gaza, but children with disabilities are facing increased threats to their lives and safety," Emina Ćerimović, HRW's associate disability rights director, said in a statement. "Countries providing military support to Israel should suspend arms transfers so long as its forces commit serious laws-of-war violations with impunity, including unlawful restrictions on aid and attacks on hospitals."
"They took everything that helped me live, like my devices, my boot, and my wheelchair. How can I go back to how I was without all this?"
For the report, titled "They Destroyed What Was Inside Us": Children with Disabilities Amid Israel's Attacks on Gaza, HRW interviewed one child with a disability, 20 family members of children with disabilities, and 13 healthcare and humanitarian workers. They also reviewed children's medical records and watched more than 50 videos and photographs showing the aftermath of bombardments.
The child they interviewed was a 14-year-old girl named Ghazal who has cerebral palsy. A bombardment of her home in Gaza City destroyed her orthotic shoe, wheelchair, and a third nighttime device, as well as most of the family's belongings.
"From the day the war broke out, they destroyed what was inside us," Ghazal told HRW. "They demolished my house and my room, which held all my memories. They took everything that helped me live, like my devices, my boot, and my wheelchair. How can I go back to how I was without all this?"
Without her mobility aides, Ghazal had to rely on her parents to carry her when the family fled south, leading to psychological distress for everyone.
"Most of the time, Ghazal would tell me, 'Mama, it's over, leave me alone and run away. You should leave me in the street,'" her mother, Hala Al-Ghoula, told HRW. "It was one of the worst days of my life, with a very difficult feeling that can never be described. I was confused: whether to stop while we were under bombardment or to walk and leave Ghazal."
Israel's assault on Gaza carries "particular risks" for children with disabilities like Ghazal because their age and conditions make them more vulnerable.
"They face additional challenges in accessing essential food, water, sanitation, medical treatment, medicines, assistive devices, and services, all of which are extremely hard, if not impossible, to obtain due to frequent Israeli strikes and major ground operations and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid," HRW said.
Several elements of Israel's assault on Gaza following Hamas' October 7 attack on Southern Israel are particularly difficult for both the newly and previously disabled. It is extremely challenging for people with disabilities like Ghazal to respond to short-notice evacuation orders. The use of starvation as a weapon of war is even more dangerous for children who require a special diet to maintain their health, and limited access to water and sanitation puts additional strain on those with special health needs.
Israel's method of warfare—the bombardment of densely populated urban areas—is extremely disabling. A December report from Humanity & Inclusion found that the leading type of injury from these explosions was "traumatic amputations." Meanwhile, three doctors told HRW that the most frequent kind of injury they saw when treating children following bombardments was burns, but the second most common was amputations.
"We are talking about a huge number of traumatic amputations, especially in children, leaving children with permanent disabilities. Also, many children who were wounded by shrapnel all over their faces and bodies, and I have seen children lose their eyesight due to injuries," Dr. A.G., who worked at Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital, told HRW.
Whether a child was injured in the war or had a preexisting health need, Israel's frequent assaults on hospitals further impedes them from getting the care they need. Between October 7 and August 20, Israel conducted 505 separate attacks on healthcare facilities that left 752 dead, 982 injured, and the enclave with only 17 hospitals that partially function.
"I saw a semi-functional hospital become unable to function because of the mass casualties, lack of supplies, inability of staff to reach the hospital, and security constraints," Dr. Seema Jilani, who worked for two weeks at Al-Aqsa Hospital, told HRW. "One day while I was there, a bullet went in through the ICU. And in the following few days, Israel dropped leaflets in the surrounding area, the red zone, asking people to evacuate. We were not able to return after that."
Israel's actions come despite the fact that international humanitarian and human rights law affords special protections to people with disabilities in wartime, HRW noted. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Israel ratified in 2012, mandates that signatories take "all necessary measures" to safeguard people with disabilities during armed conflict. In Israel's case, that would mean providing more effective evacuation measures and lifting the blockade to make sure that those with disabilities have what they need to survive, such as food, water, healthcare, medication, and mobility aides.
HRW also said that countries such as the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Germany should pressure Israel to protect children with disabilities by condemning violations, applying sanctions when appropriate, and not sending weapons to Israel while it commits war crimes.
"Israeli authorities need to take immediate action to end the wrongful deaths, injuries, and suffering of children, particularly those with disabilities," Ćerimović concluded. "Governments should urgently adopt measures to press the Israeli government to comply with its legal obligations to prevent further atrocities and to ensure the rights of children with disabilities, and everyone else, are respected."
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