Intersectionalityfinal1 - Disability History, Activism, And More

Disability and Theory

"Disabilities have been perceived differently throughout history, through a variety of different theoretical lenses. There are two main models that attempt to explain disability in our society: the medical model and the social model. The medical model serves as a theoretical framework that considers disability as an undesirable medical condition that requires specialized treatment. Those who ascribe to the medical model tend to focus on finding the root causes of disabilities, as well as any cures—such as assistive technology. The social model centers disability as a societally-created limitation on individuals who do not have the same ability as the majority of the population." (Wikipedia, 14th Apr. 2025)

Open captions. Eye contact. Proper closed captions. Audio description. ~1 minute.

From the video's info section:

Lawrence Carter-Long is the director of communications at Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF). In this video interview, he shines a spotlight on how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) came to be through the persistent work of disability activists. “The draft legislation for the Americans with Disabilities Act was put together in the mid-’80s. And then, right, 1990, over 20 years later, what did it take to pass that law? Disability being disruptive. Disabled people saying, ‘No, no, no. We’re not going to be taken for granted, we’re not going to be left behind, and we’re going to show you how determined and how dedicated we are.’ Those are decades between advances, decades between real progress. We’ve waited long enough. The time to be included, the time for this to change is now. And you can be a part of it. You should be a part of it.”

BTW, that Disability and Philanthropy Initiative is another thing the Biden Administration has done to try for more equity for marginalized groups -- including the Disabled.

It's arguable whether or not the philanthropy model is a good thing (personally, I've grown increasingly skeptical of it in my radical middle age). But this is another example of how the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are not the same.

Are you heading for a burnout without even realizing it? For neurodivergent folks, the warning signs of burnout may look different and be harder to recongize. 

Neurodivergent or not, we all need to understand our limits and boundaries. When you’re neurodivergent, you may not know you pushed yourself too far - until it’s too late!

Need help with some of the terms in this post?

😎 “Masking” or “Camouflaging": a coping strategy that many neurodivergent people use to suppress aspects of themselves to appear neurotypical. It’s important to note that social masking is a tool many neurospicy folks use to keep themselves safe, and usually starts in childhood. 🥄 “Spoons” refers to Spoon Theory, which is a metaphor describing the amount of physical or mental energy that a person has for daily activities and tasks. It is a helpful tool for disabled and neurodivergent folks to describe their energy. 👋 “Stim” short for "self-stimulation" is a term used to describe repetitive behaviors or movements that people may engage in to help cope with emotions. It may include rocking, flapping hands or twirling. 

If any of this resonates with you, try letting the “mask” slip a little! 

Reshaping Reality

A History Lesson: Disabled Activists and our Right to Exist in Public

For a History Lesson and reminder of the role Disabled people have played in activism, I singled out a few instances, but there’s hundreds o

"For a History Lesson and reminder of the role Disabled people have played in activism, I singled out a few instances, but there’s hundreds of thousands throughout America’s history. Many of the privileges and rights people have had are due partly to the fight of our disabled ancestors."

My article details the oppression we've faced for centuries (how it impacts disabled folks of different races, genders, orientations, citizenship status), it talks about the strikes organized by the Disabled Miners and Widows in conjunction with other union groups (and the solidarity this created across union lines). I also talk about the origin of the concept of Accessibility.

As a reminder, Disability is the one marginalized group you can join at any time. Everyone can become disabled, and that is not something to fear -- society taught us to fear it, but I am here to remind you that disabled people are worthy of care, dignity, and respect. We matter and fighting with us will help save all of us including non-disabled people as what impacts us will impact you.

I'd recommend reading it all! I pull out this one example since we're having to defend Section 504 yet again. These tactics used for Section 504 was also used to push for the ADA. I believe it is time for solidarity and more sit-ins/occupations of federal offices:

SECTION 504 Sit-ins

In 1972, Congress drafted the Rehabilitation Act, which was driven largely by the needs of Vietnam veterans. However, this act drew the gaze of the civil rights activists largely due to Section 504.

In Section 504, it stated that people with disabilities should not be “be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

The bill was first vetoed by Nixon in 1972, however, activists across the country from various disability advocacy groups and many student groups testified before state legislatures and Congress to push for the elimination of architectural, educational, bureaucratic, and other barriers. They argued heavily for elimination of these barriers and for the ability to be considered for jobs.

Despite Nixon vetoing the Rehab Act a second time, it passed in September 1973. Its section 504 gave disabled people legal and cultural frameworks to gain access to the parts of society they’d been denied prior.

However, these laws were not enforced. Through the lawsuit Cherry v. Matthews, activists pushed for enforcement regulations, and in July 1976 a federal judge ordered the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) to develop regulations.

With the continued federal failure to enforce Section 504, Disability activists staged demonstrations in Washington D.C. and in each of the ten HEW offices across the country. This sit in lasted twenty-five days. Judy Heumann helped lead one of the largest sit-ins of federal offices.

“Oh deep in my heart, I do believe that we shall overcome today,” protesters sang at the sit-ins.

These protests gathered allies from local and national labor unions who joined protestors and wrote statements of support.

When phone lines were cut, the Butterfly Brigade, who were a group of gay men who patrolled streets to stop antigay violence, smuggled in walkie talkies.

The Black Panthers provided one hot meal a day, and Chicano activists brought food regularly.

Chuck Jackson, who was part of the Black Panthers, joined the protest by provided attendant-care services for Disabled Black Panthers in the sit-ins and other protest members.

Increasing media attention brought the focus of the nation. Images and video of disabled people crawling up the steps to reach the sit-in were heavily publicized.

Four weeks into the occupation, HEW secretary Joseph Califano signed the enforcement regulations, thus ensuring all programs receiving federal funding could not discrimination based on disability.

READ THE FULL POST HERE.

the Guardian

Fossil of Neanderthal child with Down’s syndrome hints at early humans’ compassion

Skull anatomy shows the boy or girl would have been severely disabled, yet survived until the age of six

WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE

While the researchers cannot be certain whether the fossil was that of a girl or a boy, they have nicknamed the Neanderthal child “Tina”. Tina’s combination of inner-ear abnormalities is known only in people with Down’s syndrome. “The pathology which this individual suffered resulted in highly disabling symptoms, including, at the very least, complete deafness, severe vertigo attacks and an inability to maintain balance,” said Mercedes Conde-Valverde, a palaeoanthropologist at the University of Alcalá in Spain, lead author of the study, published in the journal Science Advances. “Given these symptoms, it is highly unlikely that the mother alone could have provided all the necessary care while also attending to her own needs. Therefore, for Tina to have survived for at least six years, the group must have continuously assisted the mother, either by relieving her in the care of the child, helping with her daily tasks, or both,” Conde-Valverde added.

check out this research station, an archeology of disability!

found here: https://anarchaeologyofdisability.com/en/ (accessible website); https://hub.jhu.edu/2021/08/10/archaeology-disability-acropolis/

[ID copied from alt text: An image of the installation. It is a room with stone brick walls. Mounted on the walls are the photographs of rocky cliffs large panels. Concrete structures in various shapes dot the area, complete with drilled holes to invoke the layering on a weathered rock. On the left, a person on video appears to be signing with captions on their right. End ID.]

From the article:

In ancient times, the path to the Acropolis was a ramp leading from the marketplace of the Agora up to the iconic site where the Parthenon stood. People of all abilities navigated the sloping route, helping one another or being helped as needed within the collective experience of the ascent. In the 19th century, the path was changed to its current form: a narrow, switchbacking trail in keeping with the times by embracing the romance of the solitary pilgrimage. But lost was the journey's communal aspect, along with the potential for visitors with disabilities to join their peers in the ascent. In an attempt to make the site accessible for the 2004 Olympics, for years an elevator car clung to a vertical rock face—until recently, the sole alternative for those unable to navigate the path, and too small for a companion to join them. In May, an installation opened at the Venice Biennale, the prestigious cultural institution, that explores an experiment: a historic reconstruction of the Acropolis through a lens of disability. 'What might it be like to use languages and structures related to disability today to more deeply understand the structures and experiences of the past?' asked the installation's creators.

From the Archeology of Disability Website:

The accessibility of historic architecture not only determines who can experience the past, but it also informs how we think about disabled people as part of history. This installation presents an experiment in the historic reconstruction of the Acropolis in Athens. Our reconstructions recover ideas about bodies and impairment at one of the most canonical, influential, and notoriously inaccessible architectural sites. We explored what it means to reconstruct lost elements of the Acropolis through the lens of human impairment. Such an approach contrasts to the pursuit of “accessible heritage” — a balance between historic authenticity of architecture and technical modifications made for accessibility. We call our alternative to accessible heritage “an archaeology of disability.”  The elements we reconstructed include an enormous 5th Century BCE ramp that once connected the Acropolis to the Agora; a gallery of paintings at the top of the ramp; and a small stone seat, described by an ancient visitor as a place to rest. The ramp’s form is reconstructed as a tactile, touch-based model that transmits vibrations like those caused by the ancient crowds, animals, and carriages. It is ringed with a frieze of braille. The paintings, known through text, are reconstructed in sign language. This reconstruction, titled “Sēmata” (signs) is performed in a film-work. The stone seat is reconstructed in three different sizes and heights. Each is decorated with braille-like patterns that communicate the optical effect of weathered stone into a tactile form. Collectively, these reconstructions demonstrate another way to consider disability and the historic past — one that moves beyond technological fixes to physical objects. Disability emerges as a form of historical inquiry, archaeology, and reconstruction — one informed by the experience of collective human difference across space and time. 

further reading [dm me for pdf]: disability and preservation (david gissen)

This is a friendly reminder that none disabled people often do benefit from the same accommodations disabled people benefit from.

US people with disabilities in the supplemental security income (SSI) program can't have a penny over $2K in their bank account at any time in order to keep their benefits.

You know this economy. That amount is completely unlivable & makes it hard for people with disability to save for the future or have a safety net for emergencies.

A new bill would raise the max to $10K (or $20K for married couples). It would make a world of difference.

Show support by contacting your reps.

Edit: Had the word petition on the mind, mistakenly called it that.

I fucking hate that the general response to RFK Jr's eugenist take on autistic people is "autistic people do pay taxes, autistic people do work, autistic people do date!"

Some autistic people don't and that shouldn't make them less worthy of life. Some autistic people do need constant help and support and that shouldn't make them less worthy of life.

Once again we're falling in the right wing trap of :

They make a hateful, fascist statement

Instead of focusing on the fact that it is hateful and fascist we try to show them that they are factually wrong

We throw our own allies and the most vulnerable of us under the bus in the process

We legitimise an only slightly less hateful, fascist view as we go

They have completed their goal of making us accept the still hateful, fascist second version, hurrah. What a victory.

Right now what we're getting to with that is that autistic people who can work and pay taxes are okay, and the others aren't. Fuck this shit.

Same thing happens with the people who are being deported ("they have a visa!", "they didn't even have a criminal record!" -> even if they didn't have a visa, even if they did have a criminal record, deporting them and detaining them in what's essentially a concentration camp wouldn't be okay, you absolute tools of fascism.)

I'm sharing a few articles on disability rights. It's the history of forced sterilization in the United States. I think they give good insight and need more circulation.

Independent Lens

Unwanted Sterilization and Eugenics Programs in the United States

A shameful part of America’s history.

American Civil Liberties Union

Immigration Detention and Coerced Sterilization: History Tragically Repeats Itself | ACLU

The ICE detention story reflects a long pattern in the United States of the coerced sterilization of marginalized populations, particularly