Invisible Women of the Disability Rights Movement

In continuation of Equity Labs’ Invisible Women series, we bring our focus to the women often left out of the conversation when it comes to the championing of rights of those who are deemed “disabled.” I want to start by stating that though terms such as “disabled” are used, they are less about those who are being described as such, and more of a commentary on who our society did not include in its construction. Before we get into the work of these three incredible women, let us get a clearer picture of the Disability Rights Movement. 

The advocacy and fight for accessibility existed for centuries because of people and their communities who needed greater access than what society provided. The first legislation created in response to such advocacy was in the late 1700s, which granted pensions for soldiers who were injured in battle during the Revolutionary War. Since then, history has seen the passage of both helpful and extremely harmful legislation for those experiencing disabilities. However, the Disability Rights Movement as we see it today kicked off on March 12th, 1990, with one of the most epic and monumental protests in Washington D.C. known as “The Capitol Crawl”. The name reflects the bold and passionate display of the activists who forsook their mobility aids and crawled up the steps of the Capitol building as a physical demonstration of its inaccessibility and cemented the need for legislation demanding their rights to access through these actions. A few months later, the American Disability Act was signed into law. This brings us to our first invincible woman, Anita Cameron.  
 

Anita Cameron 

“Civil rights are not given. You must fight to get them, then, fight to keep them.” - Anita Cameron 

Anita Cameron is a pillar of the disability rights movement for decades. She was arrested over 100 times while protesting, including The Capitol Crawl, and she never allowed that to hinder her commitment to being heard. Cameron is a member of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) and has been for almost 40 years. ADAPT is a national disability rights activist group that organized and led many protests at the nation’s capital including The Capitol Crawl. Currently, Cameron continues her advocacy as the Director of Minority Outreach at a grassroots, disability rights organization known as Not Dead Yet. Their mission is to bring awareness to how assisted suicide and euthanasia would disproportionately impact the disabled community if legalized.  

Alice Wong 

“Disabled people have always existed, whether the word disability is used or not. To me, disability is not a monolith, nor is it a clear-cut binary of disabled and nondisabled.” - from Disability Visibility by Alice Wong 

Image: Eddie Hernandez Photography

Alice Wong is a disability rights activist and prolific writer. Wong is the founder of the Disability Visibility Project an online community committed to the formulation, distribution, and preservation of narratives by people within the disabled community. This was created to ensure that when discussing disability and disability rights, the voices of those who are directly impacted are centered. Prior to the establishment of the Disability Visibility Project, in 2013 Wong was appointed to the National Council on Disability by President Barack Obama, and remained on the council for two years. Then, in 2020 she released a collection of essays and narratives, including some of her own, bound in a book titled Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century that has garnered national attention.  

Jazzie Collins 

"The metaphor of a butterfly is apt," Haaland said. "She really emerged to become a really beautiful person who was much happier with herself, much happier with her life. - a quote to describe Jazzie Collins by a close friend and activist Gabriel Haaland 

Image: Rick Gerharter

Jazzie Collins was a transformative leader, organizer, and activist in the San Francisco area. She was an openly trans woman, who was vocal about her HIV-positive diagnosis - a catalyst for her advocacy. She fought for LGBTQ+ policy and health care rights, as well as the rights of the elderly and disabled. She was a member and organizer of San Francisco’s Trans March, a celebration of trans folx and a show of resilience for a community often held at the margins of society. Collins also served on multiple boards and task forces to ensure that there was someone at the table to advocate for people often left out of these discussions. Jazzie Collins passed in 2013, but her influence is embedded in the heart of the Mission District and beyond. In 2015, Jazzie’s Place, the first shelter for LGBTQ+ adults, was borne in her honor.  

These women, and many other incredible people, have championed the Disability Rights Movement to create a more equitable society. I urge readers, while reflecting on these women’s bodies of work, to consider how their own needs and abilities evolve throughout their lifetime. I call for readers to evaluate their current attunement to this cause. I hope, for myself, readers, and society, that we move forward with inspired vigor and join these women and their colleagues in the fight against inaccessibility.