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Disability Pride: Nothing About Us Without Us
In honor of last month being Disability Pride Month, the Cincinnati Public Library reached out to Independence Alliance to co-host a celebration and disability advocacy event. Nothing About Us Without Us had a great turnout, allowing community members to make friends and professional connections as they enjoyed presentations, breakout sessions, and an open mic speak out.
Many attendees talked about how they had never had the chance to speak publicly about their experiences as people with disabilities, so it was a privilege to provide a safe and accessible space to do so.
What should we do next year for Disability Pride Month? Send your ideas and suggestions to Dee.
Town Hall Legislative Forum on Disability Issues
Disability Rights Ohio (DRO) and Independence Alliance organized a gathering of policymakers, advocates, and community members to discuss the needs of the disability community in SW Ohio. Three disability advocates spoke on various topics including voting accessibility, the direct-care worker crisis, accessible transportation, and accessible community spaces.
We opened the floor on these issues for all attendees to contribute. Other people brought up the need to make city services more accessible, particularly inclement weather alerts and ensuring they are accessible to the d/Deaf and hard of hearing community. Witnessing the exchanges between community members and policymakers was fantastic, as well as advocates networking with each other for future actions.
One very important point that we kept coming back to is the need to center people with disabilities in all these conversations. Joshua Kayes, Advocacy Chair of the Spina Bifida Coalition put it succinctly, “People centered-language is useless without people-centered action.” We hope to make town halls like this more regularly scheduled to continue the conversation on disability rights.
Please contact Dee Henry to be added to the list to receive updates on any future town halls.
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