A BIPOC-inclusive pride flag with a map of the world on top of it.

How LGBTQ+ Disabled People Are Celebrating Virtual Pride

Content note: includes mentions of COVID-19 and police brutality toward Black people Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many in-person Pride events have been postponed or turned virtual. And while I do miss the experience of dressing in an all-rainbow outfit…
Computer keyboard with a big green key that says "accessibility" and has a small access symbol. There's a spotlight shining on the accessibility key.

How to Make Your Virtual Meetings and Events Accessible to the Disability Community

As meetings and events continue to take place in virtual spaces as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, accessibility is too often an afterthought. Even event organizers and activists who normally work to make sure their in-person events are accessible…
Photo of Judy Heumann's memoir cover superimposed over a background of stacks of books

Rooted in Rights Reviews – Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist

The prologue to Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner starts with the words, “I never wished I didn’t have a disability.” It’s a powerful way to begin a memoir, one…
A wooden table filled with Thanksgiving food

Friendsgiving is my Favorite Queer, Disabled Chosen Family Holiday

Our first Friendsgiving was in a dorm apartment on the third floor; we carried my friend, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, up the stairs along with her manual wheelchair. We drank cheap wine and ate home-cooked turkey…
A photo of Haben Girma's book cover positioned over a background of piles of books.

Rooted in Rights Reviews – Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law

In her memoir Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law, Haben Girma welcomes readers into her world. “I like my deafblind world. It’s comfortable, familiar. It doesn’t feel small or limited,” she writes, and the memoir illustrates that.
Photo of Alaina and Macey holding each other in front of tree trunks.

Celebrating My LGBTQ+ Pride Helped Me Find Disability Pride

My first display of public LGBTQ+ pride was the rainbow pin that I attached to my purse in middle school: In the center, a pink triangle with text that read “Out Loud” and rainbow stripes that radiated outward from the
Rainbow infinity symbol of neurodiversity

The Joy of Being Autistic in Spaces Built By and For Autistic People

When Haley Moss, an attorney, visual pop artist, and author from Florida, was 13, she went to the Autism Society of America Conference, a conference dedicated to presentations, discussions, and workshops about autism. It was the first time she’d
Three photos left to right:​ ​Alaina, a thin, young white cane user, standing in the Boston Public Garden with​ her ​lavender cane. ​She is​ wearing a dark blue romper with umbrellas on it and ​she ha​s​ dark brown and purple hair.​ The second is Alaina standing outside with ​her lavender cane. ​She is wearing a colorful Zodiac skirt and a shirt that says "The Future Is Accessible." ​The third is Alaina ​at BookCon with ​her lavender cane. ​She is wearing a rainbow dress with books all over it.

What I Wish People Knew About Being a Young Cane User

Although Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, the genetic connective tissue disorder I have, is lifelong, my symptoms have varied throughout my life. I started using a cane in August or September 2016 to help with balance, stability, stamina, and chronic pain. I don’t
A graduation cap on a pile of American coins.

Here’s Why Student Loan Debt is a Disability Rights Issue

When Cara Liebowitz graduated from the City University of New York School of Professional Studies in 2016 with her MA in Disability Studies, she was already on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) so she found it surprisingly easy to have her