0:00:01.400,0:00:02.650
So,

0:00:02.760,0:00:04.560
My name is Michelle Nario - Redmond

0:00:04.680,0:00:06.320
I am a social psychologist and

0:00:06.370,0:00:08.380
teach at Hiram College

0:00:08.519,0:00:11.404
in psychology and biomedical[br]humanities program

0:00:11.437,0:00:15.727
and I just wrote a book on Ableism[br]the causes and consequences

0:00:15.727,0:00:18.967
of disability prejudice.[br]My first memory

0:00:18.967,0:00:21.267
and I'll just back up and say in 1990,

0:00:21.267,0:00:23.730
when the ADA passed [br]I was in graduate school,

0:00:25.099,0:00:33.134
in Kansas, and disability prejudice,[br]the ADA or anything

0:00:33.134,0:00:38.954
related to disability issues [br]were completely off my radar,

0:00:40.054,0:00:43.578
and I worked at a place [br]where one of the pioneers

0:00:43.578,0:00:46.756
of disability studies worked, [br]Beatrice Wright,

0:00:46.756,0:00:50.396
and I hadn't yet to have a class with her.

0:00:50.396,0:00:53.876
It really wasn't until 1995,[br]which was five years later,

0:00:53.876,0:00:58.566
when my daughter was born,[br]Sierra, with spina bifida,

0:00:58.566,0:01:03.394
that I became aware [br]of disability and found the work

0:01:03.394,0:01:08.862
of Carol Gill and Simi Litton[br]and began to educate myself

0:01:08.862,0:01:15.348
on disability studies and its scope,[br]and the first memory I have of

0:01:15.348,0:01:22.571
confronting inaccessible spaces[br]was a few years later, when we enrolled

0:01:22.571,0:01:26.520
my daughter Sierra in a preschool,[br]at a catholic preschool,

0:01:26.960,0:01:31.915
right down the road; and it just didn't[br]even dawn on me that we would have to

0:01:31.915,0:01:36.388
work so hard for her to be accommodated[br]as a preschooler,

0:01:36.472,0:01:41.209
and it was really a function of[br]the fact that the building was older,

0:01:41.252,0:01:47.109
there were steps, and they really didn't[br]know, nor did they need to legally know,

0:01:47.142,0:01:52.554
about reasonable accommodations [br]and civil rights of their students,

0:01:52.554,0:02:00.755
because they were a private facility and[br]weren't subject to the ADA's rules.

0:02:00.812,0:02:05.303
So... it became clear to me that [br]we needed to find a new preschool,

0:02:05.303,0:02:09.911
and luckily we found a private,[br]another private place. It wasn't

0:02:09.911,0:02:12.946
a public school, but it [br]was a music school settlement

0:02:12.946,0:02:16.407
and they had resources[br]and they were already operating

0:02:16.407,0:02:21.566
under a sort of set of presumptions[br]about the value of diversity

0:02:21.566,0:02:26.928
and diverse perspectives,[br]and we didn't really have to ask for much,

0:02:26.928,0:02:31.654
because they bent over backwards[br]to include my daughter

0:02:31.654,0:02:37.356
in a typical classroom, with her peers,[br]her preschool peers, music classes,

0:02:37.356,0:02:41.947
there were so many eclectic[br]movement classes,

0:02:41.947,0:02:48.049
and they even purchased[br]equipment for their exercise room

0:02:48.049,0:02:52.868
and movement room[br]that would be useful to her among others,

0:02:52.868,0:02:58.063
and she has since grown up to become[br]this teacher and has applied

0:02:58.063,0:03:01.595
to work there as a preschool teacher.[br]So, I think it would be really

0:03:01.595,0:03:08.320
amazing, if she came full circle. [br]But, I guess, to stance the broader

0:03:08.320,0:03:14.915
question about being frustrated and aware [br]of inaccessibility and lack of inclusion,

0:03:14.915,0:03:21.512
we were in a district that, when she then,[br]was about to move to preschool, I

0:03:21.512,0:03:27.059
knew that she wouldn't probably be able to[br]go to a private school, not only because

0:03:27.059,0:03:31.585
of the financial cost, but because [br]they would not have to think about

0:03:31.585,0:03:35.981
best practices and the law when[br]it came to accommodating

0:03:35.981,0:03:39.133
their students with disabilities,[br]and so I knew we would be

0:03:39.133,0:03:43.971
looking at the public school,and the [br]public school in our neighborhood

0:03:43.971,0:03:49.384
was not accessible. We went to visit it,[br]the playground had a little house

0:03:49.384,0:03:52.254
that she wouldn't have been [br]able to get into,

0:03:52.254,0:03:55.876
and it was really disheartening[br]and so it came at a time

0:03:55.876,0:03:58.393
when we were already looking[br]for other opportunities,

0:03:58.393,0:04:01.573
and my husband got an opportunity[br]to move us as a family

0:04:01.573,0:04:04.079
to the West Coast[br]of Portland of Oregon,

0:04:04.079,0:04:10.507
so the way I...we had to[br]navigate her early educational experiences

0:04:10.574,0:04:17.591
was to only look at spaces and schools[br]that were in districts that were new,

0:04:17.591,0:04:23.109
so that had buildings [br]and had training in terms of

0:04:23.178,0:04:26.369
accommodating their diverse students[br]and their disabled students,

0:04:26.369,0:04:31.262
because just having the brief experiences[br]that I did with the preschool

0:04:31.319,0:04:38.810
and IEP meetings that were going to[br]require me to fight at every juncture

0:04:38.868,0:04:42.941
for her basic rights [br]to show what she knows

0:04:42.976,0:04:47.312
and participate and recognize herself[br]as a valuable contributor

0:04:47.360,0:04:50.910
to the school community.[br]We're not going to be forthcoming

0:04:50.943,0:04:54.411
without a fight, [br]and so we narrowed our search

0:04:54.454,0:04:57.194
to a district,[br]and thank God we had the opportunity

0:04:57.221,0:05:02.445
and the resources to do this,[br]that was pretty known for their

0:05:02.513,0:05:04.012
inclusivity.

0:05:04.095,0:05:07.731
We did that also when we came back [br]to the Cleveland, Ohio area.

0:05:07.806,0:05:12.412
We were able to avoid all districts[br]that weren't at the cutting edge

0:05:12.412,0:05:16.514
of full inclusion and proof of excellence[br]and had newer buildings

0:05:16.514,0:05:19.623
that could accommodate those [br]with disabilities,

0:05:19.623,0:05:25.867
but I guess that that was my earliest[br]memory of how, 'Oh, we have a road

0:05:25.867,0:05:32.468
ahead of us and we have to take it upon[br]ourselves to either continue to fight

0:05:32.468,0:05:40.316
battles that had already been won, [br]legislatively or find spaces, places

0:05:40.379,0:05:42.982
and organizations that were ahead[br]of the curve

0:05:42.982,0:05:50.434
in terms of implementing, monitoring and [br]just execute the basic civil rights

0:05:50.484,0:05:53.618
of their various constituents

0:05:53.736,0:05:58.568
The impact that all of that has had on me [br]is to just be able to communicate

0:05:58.640,0:06:02.284
with other parents and students [br]with disabilities

0:06:02.334,0:06:09.035
about not only knowing their rights but[br]knowing how to get those rights

0:06:09.086,0:06:18.638
how to advocate for ensuring that those [br]rights are addressed, are met.

0:06:18.638,0:06:21.139
I think the ADA has made [br]a huge difference

0:06:21.202,0:06:24.755
and the aha moment was even when I was[br]collating information for this book

0:06:24.807,0:06:28.922
on disability prejudice. I realised that [br]when I was a kid,

0:06:28.956,0:06:33.641
when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s, [br]people with disabilities weren't able to

0:06:33.693,0:06:39.357
do any of the things that we took for [br]granted as kids: go to the movies

0:06:39.432,0:06:44.474
go to restaurants, go to visit a friend,[br]at a friend's house, or invite

0:06:44.546,0:06:47.559
others to your birthday parties.

0:06:47.559,0:06:54.992
And, since the ADA passed in 1990, [br]it wasn't an immediate set of changes,

0:06:55.011,0:07:01.662
as, you know, there has been significant[br]progress made, particularly in public

0:07:01.662,0:07:07.910
spaces and in employment settings, [br]where there are even employers

0:07:07.959,0:07:13.827
who are part of an organization [br]of inclusive excellence, who

0:07:13.876,0:07:18.677
recognize that disabled employees are [br]actually more reliable and

0:07:18.724,0:07:23.145
have less turnover and are worth[br]investing in and promoting.

0:07:23.229,0:07:28.810
But, there are still so many places, [br]small businesses, educational institutions

0:07:28.937,0:07:40.893
that are not carrying out the basic, [br]sort of gains and practices that the ADA

0:07:40.893,0:07:45.131
has made possible .There's just way too [br]much variation, and I think part of that

0:07:45.232,0:07:48.983
is just a lack of education in [br]terms of what

0:07:49.135,0:07:54.635
is reasonable and what is necessary

0:07:54.711,0:07:56.933
in terms of accommodating your citizenry

0:07:57.008,0:08:01.185
and lack of resources in some cases but

0:08:01.260,0:08:03.633
also a lot of misinformation about whether

0:08:03.734,0:08:08.236
or not it's worth it. The ADA is going to

0:08:08.293,0:08:12.462
be 30 here in July. We're celebrating all

0:08:12.544,0:08:15.543
over the country and we are still fighting

0:08:15.638,0:08:19.813
for businesses to do what they should have

0:08:19.914,0:08:22.316
done 30 years ago, those that have been

0:08:22.392,0:08:25.493
around this long. They have not, they have

0:08:25.563,0:08:27.769
have waited for complaints or they have

0:08:27.846,0:08:31.416
failed to do but the bare minimum in

0:08:31.466,0:08:34.871
terms of recruiting the largest minority

0:08:34.922,0:08:37.693
I work in the education sphere and to me,

0:08:37.792,0:08:40.220
we could be doing so much more with

0:08:40.318,0:08:42.820
advertising and recruiting for those kinds

0:08:42.943,0:08:45.621
of students that we tend to really, at

0:08:45.697,0:08:49.244
least my institution, do well to retain

0:08:49.395,0:08:52.944
because we're a small, intimate college,

0:08:53.019,0:08:55.847
Hiram College. And, and for [br]years I've tried to

0:08:55.922,0:08:59.624
encourage us to consider more universally

0:08:59.723,0:09:02.348
designed approaches, but also approaches

0:09:02.451,0:09:06.949
that do more than the bare minimum[br]when it comes to housing and

0:09:07.022,0:09:09.600
extracurricular accommodations for

0:09:09.678,0:09:12.398
students to who use mobility devices. For

0:09:12.525,0:09:15.424
example, my daughter ended up having to be

0:09:15.577,0:09:18.251
carried in her chair, to various club

0:09:18.449,0:09:20.556
meetings while she was on the Hiram

0:09:20.653,0:09:24.503
College campus. She was told that, [br]during the

0:09:24.554,0:09:28.102
winter, when the ice storms came, that

0:09:28.141,0:09:31.767
they couldn't transport her up the long

0:09:31.767,0:09:33.617
hill, while they were[br]telling everyone

0:09:33.617,0:09:37.324
else to walk like a penguin, and we had

0:09:37.324,0:09:41.271
vans to do this. We had to file with the

0:09:41.271,0:09:45.332
Ohio Disability Rights Commission and

0:09:45.408,0:09:48.242
request that the school thinks about other

0:09:48.242,0:09:50.506
ways of accommodating her, should there

0:09:50.506,0:09:52.558
be a storm, an ice storm, and she can't

0:09:52.633,0:09:55.177
get up to campus.[br]And the solution

0:09:55.177,0:09:57.787
was to have her move to a[br]new dorm.

0:09:57.787,0:10:00.012
You can't just do that over night.

0:10:00.012,0:10:01.862
You can't just move all your bedding

0:10:01.862,0:10:04.233
and all your bathroom supplies

0:10:04.233,0:10:06.877
and your whole... you know at the moment's

0:10:06.877,0:10:09.465
notice, when the weather changes

0:10:09.465,0:10:11.445
and so it has been my experience that

0:10:11.445,0:10:15.474
still a lot of places have done[br]the bare minimum approach

0:10:15.364,0:10:17.815
and think that that's all they need to do

0:10:17.822,0:10:22.162
when instead, they could be following more

0:10:22.162,0:10:26.022
of the latest practices and [br]implementation's science

0:10:26.022,0:10:29.142
and making it easier for people to

0:10:29.142,0:10:31.719
register concerns or complaints. And

0:10:31.719,0:10:34.389
they often don't even need to file a

0:10:34.389,0:10:36.930
formal complaint issue, if you [br]approach a business or

0:10:36.930,0:10:39.856
your educational institution [br]with an issue.

0:10:39.856,0:10:45.231
Often times, progressive thinkers that [br]recognize the value of

0:10:45.231,0:10:49.191
customers with disabilities frequenting[br]their businesses or

0:10:49.155,0:10:52.056
diversifying their faculty or their[br]student body

0:10:52.056,0:11:00.839
will simply not be aware that they have[br]failed to accommodate or

0:11:00.839,0:11:05.113
make accessible various programs[br]and spaces.

0:11:05.113,0:11:09.378
And that can be as simple as asking.[br]But a lot of times a lot more

0:11:09.378,0:11:12.150
has to be done, you have to document[br]you have

0:11:12.150,0:11:14.909
to make sure your emails go to[br]multiple people

0:11:14.909,0:11:21.332
and make the business case of why [br]surveying your policies

0:11:21.332,0:11:23.933
to see whether they are biases or whether

0:11:23.933,9:59:59.000
there is discrimination in filing of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
complaints or even you have a title

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of, you know, a (...) officer on campus[br]or (...) cooridnator

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so that you can let students[br]with disabilities know

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
who may have not proper documentation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
how they can go about making sure that

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they get what they need to show

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
what they know, before they fail classes

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because they haven't knocked at the door

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of disability services and provided proof

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that they have a particular condition

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So I know, I am sort of rambling a bit,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but I just, just wasn't aware of how much

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
further we need to go when it comes to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
surveying and making sure that the ADA

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is being implemented and just because

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a law passes doesn't mean again

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that it is just going to happen

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
you have to have allies and acitivists

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and insiders working very hard

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to make sure that people are recognizing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the value of legislation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which I think, still people are under

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the assumption that it applies to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
people who identify with disabilities but

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I don't think that was even neccesserely

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
even the intent of the ADA

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I think it recognizes that people flow

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in and out of abilities and the extent to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which they are excluded or discriminated

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
against, because of their abilities is

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
really what this legislation was about

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
even having a record of having a

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
condition that maybe you no longer have

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or you had it temporarily can mean that

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
you might be excluded. If you applied for

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
jobs recently, you know, many places

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
require a statement. You have to indicate

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
based of strict definitions whether you

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
have limitations in these major life

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
activities that will qualify you as a

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
disabled person and I want to believe that

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they are asking these questions, so that

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they can mindfully recruit people with

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
disabilities joining their ranks, their

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
staffing, but sometimes I think what

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
prevents people from using that

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
information to disqualify candidates

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so there has to be checks and balances

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and accountabilities when it comes to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
making sure your civil rights legislation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
doesn't put all of the owners on the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
group itself to file and follow through

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and figure out which parts of the ADA are

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
being violated. You know that can be

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
really discouraging when all you want to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
do is go out and you know, go to the beach

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and find out which beaches are accessible

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or whether there is, you know, a mobility

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
devices that are availible via the sand or

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
you just want to go camping or you just

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
want to go frequent people who are

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
minorities on businesses or disabilities

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
on businesses and some of this is out

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
there and I tried to promote it through

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
books and activists pages, but there is so

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
much that we can do to leverage more of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
these ways of monitoring and implementing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
taking access to the next level whether

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for the disabled community pro forma or

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
proper or for anyone who uses strollers

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
who might carry a lot of materials in

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
their hands could benefit from a push

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
button. I think we need all to make a

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
better job at making the business and the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
other benefit cases for improving our ADA

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
access. Where my passions lie of late is

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in getting out the votes because we know

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that disabled people have been

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
disenfranchised from the vote and from

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
parenting and from all kind sorts of other

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
basic human rights but this being an election

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
year there is all kinds of folks working

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to crip the vote, #cripthevote Alice Wong

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and others who have been trying to make

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
sure that candidates for president and for

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
congressional offices and even local

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
campaigns are expressing what their stance

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is on the ADA and on disability rights and

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
human rights and hold, for the first

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
time we've seen some traction on that.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But what people don't realize is how many

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
places are not accessible to voters with

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
disabilities either because they use

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
assisted technologies that don't

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
interphase with the electronic equipement

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or they can't get accessible transportation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or the place itself is simply inaccessible

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or they are institutionalized and barred

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
from voting because of that and so the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
center fro American progress has been

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
publishing some of the numbers, like over

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
60% of polling places are considered

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
inaccessible. That's a problem. So voting

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
by mail may benefit a lot of groups if

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
you think of some of that in the future.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And then the second big issue we should

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
follow up on that not many people know

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
about and that I am not even so clear of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
how is the ADA serves the population of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
people who are incarcerated in jails and

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in prisons and in institutions. I know the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
ADA amendments have been 2009 done a

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
better job of successfully helping folks

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
litigate when they are isolated and there

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for not included because of their

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
institutionalized placements, but also

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I am aware that not many people know about

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the number, the sheer number of people

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with disabilities visible and a lot of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
invisible who are incarcerated and who are

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
caught up in that system of jailing and

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
aren't getting what they need inside or

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
should have never been incarcerated to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
begin with bacause mayve they experience

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a condition that was misunderstood from

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the outset and so instead of deescalating

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a situation. Police need more training, we

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
need to make the public more aware of how

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
many people are languishing in the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
institutions where they are not only not

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
productive, but you know what a waste of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
human capital. So, as we think about

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the black lives matter movement and the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
opportunities for intersectionality, I

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
think the opportunities for allies of all

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
kinds of civil rights groups need to come

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
together and really leverage their powers

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to begin to think about not necessarily

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
about defunding police or the incarcerating

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
institutions but recognizing how many

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
people of color have disabilities, how many

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
women are how many are incarcerated with

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
disabilities that may not even belong there

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so there is so much to be done on those

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
two funds alone. And, clearly employment

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
people are still way under employed but I

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
know there are folks working to improve

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that and I am trying to work with those

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
organizations to araise awareness about

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
how they can do better in terms of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
their work force and retaining and

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
retaining and recruiting actively

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
professionals who, you know, they may not

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
consider as a valuable resource but gosh

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
people with disabilities are so of the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
most creative folks because they have to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
figure out how navigate and they do have

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
persepctives that are normally based on

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
maybe their particular[br]impairment experinces

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but having to navigate the world that

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
isn't accessible, how to find the backdoor

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
how to find the policies and so there is a

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
lot of resilience to be found there, too.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We need to be asking community members to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
confront ableism when they see it and part

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of that is educating people on the various

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
forms that disability prejudice[br]and discrimination can take.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There is an interesting moment right now

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with regard to anti-racism frameworks

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that are getting a lot of traction and

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
people are beginning to, at least[br]educational institutions,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
start teaching circles where many of us

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are reading Ibram Kenids book how to be an

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
anit-racist, how to first recognize when

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
prejudice and discrimination exist on the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
bases of race, that we could also be doing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with books related to disability prejudice

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and abilism but I really think the moment

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is now to consider some of the things at

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the same time because I think we may loose

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
nuances of people who are confronting

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
multiple oppressions. Though, I am just

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
bringing that up because I know there is a

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
lot of folks at my school now thinking

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
about that we review policies to find out

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(...) discriminatory

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
our policies for recruitment may have

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
things embedded or cooked into the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
algorithms that are unintentionally

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
excluding or failing to retain or promote

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
those with disabilities at our institutions

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and so, when I think about the next steps

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
what people can do I come back to, you know

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when people say something and they may

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
just not know, they are not familiar

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
perhaps with folks with [br]various disabilities

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and we know that contact with people who

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
experienced disabilities and differences

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is what makes people less prejudice

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because they come much more aware of the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
whole person and our stereotypes are not

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
generalize-able and how if they listened

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to the voices of disabled people they can

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
hear first hand what is problematic and

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we need to be doing by allowing folks with

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
disabilities to speak, to be heard and

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
then to support their agendas and not

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
necessarily just take over. [br]So, the confrontation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
literature is all about not necessarily

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
saying: "Hey, you are a jerk. You just said

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
something racist or ableist" and putting

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
people on their defensive heels. That we

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
can do this in ways that actually open up

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
dialogues and that we should be

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
encouraging difficult dialogues and brave

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
conversations around what we can do

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
locally in our houses, in our communities

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in our schools and organization to make

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
one change, to make one difference: to ask

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
what is our policy,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000


9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000


9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000