Thread by @rebeccavallas

Hi friends!

Today, as we mark the 28th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (#ADA28), let’s do one better.

Let’s stop relegating people with disabilities to a single day in the calendar.

(THREAD)

1. One in five Americans are people with disabilities. NEWSFLASH: This makes pretty much every issue a disability issue—from health care to the economy to the environment, to criminal justice, and more.

2. But for too long the notion of “disability policy” has lived in a silo—artificially & counterproductively separate from the fight to end poverty & tackle inequality, to curb climate change, to achieve criminal justice reform, and even the fight for universal health care.

3. It’s that kind of siloed thinking that paves the way for well-intentioned but counterproductive & inadvertently ableist policymaking—like straw bans that may make sense from an environmental perspective, but which in practice compromise the accessibility of public places.

4. Like “universal” health care proposals that leave behind people with disabilities because they fail to include long-term services and supports. And blanket restrictions on access to opioids that ignore people who need them to manage chronic pain.

5. Fellow progressives, take note: Fighting for social justice doesn’t automatically make our work inclusive—or even accessible. (Does your video have captions? Does your event have an ASL interpreter? Does your mic come off the podium so a speaker in a wheelchair can use it?)

6. Wonderful as it is to see disability activism finally gain the broad recognition it has so long deserved following the ACA fight, recognition is not enough. PWD must be appreciated not just as part of an outreach strategy, or a compelling protest meme, or sexy talking point.

7. Real talk: Working with the disability community doesn't mean calling up @NationalADAPT and seeing if they’ll get arrested at a particular place & time to help get earned media around a particular cause. It means ensuring people with disabilities are actually at the table.

@NationalADAPT 8. That’s why I’m beyond proud that this week @amprog launched the Disability Justice Initiative (@CAPDisability)—a project dedicated to applying disability as a lens across every issue we work on, in service of building out a truly inclusive policy agenda.

@NationalADAPT @amprog @CAPDisability 9. Importantly, @CAPDisability’s work will intentionally center multiply marginalized voices, such as people of color with disabilities, immigrants with disabilities & LGBTQ disabled folks—and ensure they have a seat at the table.

@NationalADAPT @amprog @CAPDisability 10. As we launch @CAPDisability—led by my incredible sister @rebeccacokley—@amprog is proud to become the first and only progressive think tank with a dedicated disability project.

**Read more about the work in her essay for @TalkPoverty: talkpoverty.org/2018/07/25/tim…

@NationalADAPT @amprog @CAPDisability @RebeccaCokley @TalkPoverty 11. So today, let’s commemorate 28 years of the ADA. But when we wake up tomorrow, and the day after that, let’s recommit daily to the work of building a truly inclusive progressive movement that doesn’t relegate people with disabilities to one day on the calendar. /end

cc: #ADA28 #cripthevote #DisabilityatCAP