man in black sweatshirt and woman with purple jacket sitting in wheelchair talking on a sidewalk
man in black sweatshirt and woman with purple jacket sitting in wheelchair talking on a sidewalk

Mission, Vision, & Values

Rooted in Rights uses accessible digital media to advance the dignity, equality, and self-determination of people with disabilities.

Rooted in Rights is a program of Disability Rights Washington.

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Our Mission

Rooted in Rights tells disability stories by disabled people. Since 2015 we’ve produced short videos, short and long form documentary pieces, blogs, trainings, resources, and events. Our disabled team works to amplify the perspectives of people with disabilities living in the community, as well as those in institutional settings, including prisons and jails, both within Washington State as well as nation wide and internationally. We’ve adapted throughout the years in both the format of our content and our services. All of our content is free to access and we hope you will share our stories and resources. From 2023 through 2025 Rooted in Rights is producing a long form documentary piece on Deinstitutionalization.

Our Values

Accessible Digital Content

We are dedicated to making content accessible and creative at the same time. We include captions, audio description, image descriptions, and transcripts in our video content and on social media to ensure access, and we advocate for other creators and digital platforms to prioritize accessible digital spaces.

Person-Centered Storytelling

In the spirit of the disability community’s motto, “nothing about us without us,” we believe that disabled people should be the ones telling our own stories. We value authentic representation and narratives that highlight the diverse experiences of the disability community.

What We Do

We produce media to amplify perspectives from the disability community.

We produce videos, blog posts, and social media campaigns that center people with disabilities. We strive to include diverse, authentic representation of multiply-marginalized disabled folks, including those that identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and immigrants.

We use accessible digital media to support other advocacy work.

We partner with Disability Rights Washington, Protection and Advocacy agencies, and community-led organizations to produce accessible advocacy content on disability rights issues.

We train people to be agents of change.

We offer presentations and workshops on self advocacy through storytelling and how to create accessible digital media.

Funding Information

Rooted in Rights’ funding comes primarily from private grants with a small portion coming from federal funding grants. We are part of the Protection and Advocacy Network and utilize limited funding from the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities grant (2101WAPDD) and the Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology grant (2101WAPAAT). While the Protection & Advocacy system receives funding from SAMHSA, that grant is not used for Rooted in Rights. The Rooted in Rights blog is not funded by any federal grants and is funded entirely by private grants and your donations. Rooted in Rights content is the sole responsibility of Disability Rights Washington and does not necessarily represent the official views of funding entities. We appreciate the support of our donors! To fund our disabled storytellers, click here to donate to Rooted in Rights.