Rooted in Rights Blog

We’re here to challenge the status quo, pushing readers and writers alike to think beyond the tired tropes of disability. The Rooted in Rights Blog publishes pieces that share perspectives on disability, amplify key issues and ideas, and make it known loud and clear that disability rights are human rights.

Photo of Nina G, a white woman with straight shoulder length brown hair, wearing a red dress and speaking into a microphone.

Overcoming the Concept of Overcoming As a Person Who Stutters

It was about two years into my comedy career when I walked into the new swanky comedy club that recently opened near me. It was plush and clean. The green room had not yet been christened by decades of comedians…

A growing strawberry plant with some bright red and white, less ripe berries.

Pushing Back Against Internalized Ableism: The Only Way Out is Through

Content note: includes discussion of eating disorders and treatment experiences, use of ableist slurs Before I had even heard the word “ableism,” I knew what it was. It was that pit in my stomach I got when meeting non-disabled people,…

A group of people marching down a street, holding big purple letters that spell "union."

We Won Our Union: How and Why We Unionized, Despite a Common Rule that Denies Workers with Disabilities Union Rights

I have been a housekeeper at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore for six years, and this year, workers with disabilities finally won our union after a long fight. This victory means a lot because now we actually have someone on our…

Mobile app icons of assorted telehealth providers from the App Store are seen on a smartphone.

As a Disabled Person, Expanded Access to Telehealth is One Result of the Pandemic That I Hope Will Continue

The following post is part of our series on perspectives from disabled and chronically ill people regarding COVID-19. For as awful a toll as the COVID-19 pandemic has exacted on our medical system, telehealth has been a bright spot for…

Photo of the author wearing pink headphones and a hot pink jacket.

Coping with Body Dysmorphia

Finding information that are about body dysmorphia that’s by and for people who experience it can be incredibly challenging. The material is there, but you have to know where to look-it’s buried, mired in a lot of academic language. Let’s…

Part of a check with a fountain pen resting on top.

How Can You Support the Disability Community? Pay Us for Our Work.

We all know the struggle of wanting something and knowing you’re unlikely to get it. But when that extends to employment, and more specifically to the employment of disabled people, it goes beyond wanting the unlikely. It’s a matter of…

Illustration of a pink megaphone with yellow lightning shaped soundwaves coming out of it, on a teal background.

Reflecting on ADA 30 While Reckoning with COVID-19 and Racism

Content note: includes mentions of COVID-19 and police brutality toward Black people 2020 brought us the COVID-19 pandemic and shed a stark light on the pandemic of racism. The impact of both these pandemics continues to grow and serve as…

Decorative text in blue, red, and yellow reads "disability rights are human rights."

As a Uruguayan, the Americans with Disabilities Act Makes Me Believe Change is Possible

Thirty years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it is worth thinking about not only how it affects the United States, but also those who look at it from afar. When I wanted to enroll in…

A greyscale photo of a Black woman's face fades into swirls of pixels.

As a Black Disabled Woman, I’m Tired of Seeing Mental Health Issues in My Community Stigmatized

Growing up, I had always been a nervous child. At a young age, I grew used to that pounding sensation in my chest, that irrational uncertainty of future situations that sometimes rendered me motionless. At that time, I was unaware…