'Suppressed by both ableism and racism, Black disabled people are among the most susceptible to grotesque treatment in this country.' BlackDisabledLivesMatter
Knowing she had to call attention to disabled people in the Black Lives Matter Movement but feeling unsafe protesting in the street, Shorter called Keri Gray, and the two joined forces to gather disability activists across the nation to amplify and reiterate the disability narratives of Black victims of police brutality.
Gray is the senior director of stakeholder engagement and strategic communications at the American Association of People with Disabilities, and Shorter serves as the international advisor for disability-inclusive humanitarian and disaster assistance at the National Disability Rights Network. Both women are Black and live with physical disabilities.
In fact, the pair knew they didn’t need to ask permission because disabled people were included in the original Black Lives Matter movement. The three founders of BLM—Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi—were, from the very beginning, specifically mindful of including disabilities in theirBlack lives. Still, Shorter and Gray wanted to remind the general public of the intersection of ableism and racism.
From the beginning, Gray, who has a prosthetic leg and hearing loss, knew that this event would attract many other people with disabilities to take part: “I think we knew in our hearts that the moment that we put out the call, like folks would show up. Most of the people, at least that I know, are aware of the significance of the Black Lives Matter movement, and particularly what’s been happening over the last few weeks. I’m happy to say that the disability community did not disappoint us.
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