A newly formed collective of Black Disabled leaders called the Brad Lomax–Fannie Lou Hamer Disabled Leadership Committee (The NAMED Advocates, National Disability Rights Network, Disability Rights California, and Tameka Citchen-Spruce,) came together with a shared vision — to dream, to build, and to conspire in the name and legacy of our ancestors. When a few are gathered, power shows up. Out of that gathering, we created a space to center the brilliance, the struggle, and the leadership of Black Disabled people — a space where we remind the world that our issues matter, our lives matter, and our community matters.
In October, we officially launched the Ableism & Democracy Speaker Series, a new platform exploring the intersections of race, disability, and justice. In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (#NDEAM), our first event — “The Price of Democracy: Black Disabled Futures and Economic Justice” — dug deep into how racism, ableism, and economic inequity collide to shape our democracy.
The numbers tell the story: as of August 2025, the unemployment rate for Black Americans climbed to 7.5%, and nearly 300,000 Black women were pushed out of the workforce this year. These aren’t random statistics — they reflect deliberate choices that continue to devalue our labor, leadership, and lives.
“What is history? Tell us so I can use that history as a way to catapult our way forward.” – Keris Myrick
We came together to ask the real questions:
- What does democracy mean if Black disabled people are locked out of stable work and economic mobility?
- What does freedom look like when policy erases the very workers who have held up our communities for generations?
- How do we reclaim our power, build solidarity, and demand a democracy that invests in us?
During the event, we also highlighted the intersection of the cross-disability community and movement with other multicultural and multi-faceted communities.
It felt amazing getting to have such an important conversation with leaders and community members.
You can watch the entire event at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Eo99C6tWgU
Be sure follow us and our committee partners – National Disability Rights Network, Disability Rights California, and Tameka Citchen-Spruce, on our socials to stay up to date on the next event in the series!
