Since the news broke about the SCOTUS ruling that all states
must legally recognize same-sex marriages, I have found myself feeling
wonderfully optimistic. And, of course, as I usually do, I also find myself seeking
parallels between this historic moment and the disability inclusion movement.
There has been a steadily growing tide of momentum over the past two years in the world of disability inclusion, with significant progress in the last five. In fact, in presentations on the topic of inclusion, I taken to saying that the disability inclusion movement is where the LGBTQ movement was about five to eight years ago.
And I believe that.
But when I went looking to draw specific parallels between
this ruling and what it might mean for individuals with disabilities, I found
myself struggling to find a concrete link. In other words, I can’t say that
marriage equality for the LGBTQ community is just like “X” in the disability
community. And I think there are more than a few reasons why.
First, I think that the lack of a universal definition of
inclusion is itself a genuine barrier. Without it, each state, each school
district, each organization interprets for itself what it means to be inclusive
and/or offer a least restrictive environment and shapes its practice accordingly.
Next, as much as there are plenty of committed leaders,
advocates, self-advocates and supporters, there doesn’t seem to be quite the
same ability to organize and mobilize this movement, possibly because there may
not yet be an “X” for everyone to rally behind. Or, quite possibly, there are so
many issues to conquer, making overall progress becomes diffuse.
And of course there are the deeper issues of respect and value of humanity at play here. Even as society shifts to recognize and appreciate diversity in some ways, we still associate disability with “broken” and continue to try to “fix” people with disabilities to enable them to conform to accepted notions of normalcy.
And so I took my thoughts to social media and quickly
sparked a meaningful dialogue among colleagues. I quickly realized that this is
a conversation that needs many more voices!
Here was my post: “For a few months now,
when speaking to groups about disability inclusion, I have made reference to
the idea that the disability inclusion movement has come a long way recently,
and seems to be about where the LGBTQ movement was 5-8 or years ago. With the
SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality, I find myself wanting to write about the
parallels, but could really use some concrete notion or research to anchor my
thoughts. What does everyone think? Does it feel like this ruling can also be a
win for disability inclusion? Or is there really nothing similar to hang our
hats on here?”
And some insight from colleagues:
Renee Laporte: “Both [movements] are historically marginalized groups
who experience discrimination and hate crimes. The LGBTQ movement is gaining
such great ground because they have a HUGE support base, allies and fellow
LGBTQ's who work hard at a local community level to educate the masses and gain
acceptance. We in the disability community are also taking those steps but when
a lot of PWD rely on others for their voice it, in my opinion, makes it harder
for them to be heard.”
Torrie Dunlap, CEO of Kids Included Together: “I think the
thing the LGBTQIA community has done is rally around ONE message and
initiative- marriage equality. There are obviously lots of other ways they are
discriminated against, but they chose to focus on one, and get everyone behind
it, unifying their message, storytelling, etc. And it took a long time, but
ultimately was so effective! What a wonderful win! They can now build on this
success to ultimately change public attitudes and opinions. I have often
thought that I wish that the disability inclusion community could have
something as easy to communicate as marriage equality (or perhaps there is and
it hasn't been tried?)”
Brenda Giourmetakis: “If we
want to make a difference, we have to get VERY vocal and VERY in the media. The
only way we will affect change is by speaking up…And the fact that society does
NOT value folks with identified disabilities and is always trying to FIX people
instead of working with them.”
Additional food for thought from Disability Thinking: What’s The Next Big Victory for the Disability Community?
Join the conversation. Comment here or on Facebook. Tweet with the hashtag #BetterTogether. Really. Your voice matters.
I don’t have the answers. But I know that nothing changes if we don’t start the conversations.
Don't miss a post from Removing the Stumbling Block:
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