Celebration + Contemplation: DCL Makes Forbes Accessibility 100
We’re excited to announce that Disability Culture Lab is featured on Forbes’ first-ever Accessibility 100 list!
These 100 organizations and individuals were chosen to highlight “the biggest innovators and impact-makers in the field of accessibility for people with disabilities.” We are honored to see our work recognized—possibly as the only trans-led org on the list—and look forward to seeing more disability justice projects uplifted in the future. Especially those led by folks too often pushed to the margins like people of color, Indigenous people, and queer and trans people.
At this moment, between last weekend’s nationwide No Kings protests and this week’s Juneteenth celebrations, the power of joy and collective action is all around us. We’re attempting to soak up this moment of energy and solidarity as we face the important fights that lie ahead.
Below you will find timely, necessary thought pieces and calls to action that illustrate the breadth of our community and our justice work. We encourage you to put your energy back into your communities, and use this momentum to move us forward, together.
What We’re Reading This Week
Marsha P. Johnson’s Biography Is Finally Here
by Oluwatayo Adewole
On the occasion of Tourmaline’s new book, Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson, the author discusses queer lineages and radical remembrance, noting that “Leah Lakshmi wrote an essay about Marsha, and Stonewall not being a neurotypical event or a sane event. It was a neuroqueer event.” (H/T Dazed)
Deaf President Now! Traces The Powerful Uprising That Led to Deaf Rights in the US—Now Again Under Threat
by Gemma King, Samuel Martin and Sofya Gollan
“In March 1988, students of the world’s only Deaf university started a revolution that made national news. Now, the first film to document this historic uprising is screening on Apple TV+.” This review of Deaf President Now makes it clear that not much has changed in the years since the Gallaudet University protest. “This production context reminds us true representation extends beyond what appears onscreen, to who controls the storytelling process—a revolution unfinished in Deaf cinema.” (H/T The Conversation)
There Is No Disability Justice Without A Free Palestine
by Dom Kelly
Dom Kelly, president and CEO of New Disabled South, affirms that our commitment to disability justice must include a commitment to Palestinian liberation. “We have to stop treating solidarity like it’s optional,” he writes. (H/T Mondoweiss)
Disability Activists Bring Wisdom From the Pandemic to New Struggles Under Trump
by Mara Mills, Harris Kornstein, Faye Ginsburg and Rayna Rapp
Building on the lessons from the new anthology How to Be Disabled in a Pandemic, this excerpt shares how we can tap the disabled wisdom that got us through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to inform our strategies for surviving the current political climate. (H/T Truthout)
Churches Are Ignoring the Long COVID Crisis. Some Say It’s At Odds With Christian Values
by Céire Kealty
This piece investigates the complicated relationship between churches and the people they serve, highlighting a widespread lack of COVID mitigation practices that often leaves them parishioners estranged from their faith-based communities. As government recommendations have evolved, many churches have followed suit, and “removed mitigation requirements for services and projects for vulnerable community members, like food distributions and food assistance sign-up events.” (H/T The Sick Times)
Find Some Joy and Community
Disabled Women Make History (and Art)
To commemorate the 26th anniversary of the Olmstead decision and celebrate the work Lois Curtis and Elaine Wilson did to make it happen, the Disability EmpowHer Network is collaborating with the Toledo Museum of Art to hold a virtual art show titled “Disabled Women Make History (and Art).”
Friday, June 20, 2025
7:00 p.m. ET | ASL | CART | Virtual | RSVP
Three people of color smile at the camera. One person with long hair and red lipstick wears a gray t-shirt that reads, “Protect Trans Disabled Youth” in hand drawn letters in the trans pride flag colors (light pink, sky blue, and white). Second person with short dark hair wears a black muscle tee that reads, with retro lettering that reads: "Disabled, Queer, and Proud AF" in the colors of the disability pride flag (gray, green, red, yellow, white). Third person wears a white shirt that reads, “Cure Ableism” written five times in rainbow pride colors.
Shop the DCL Store!
Our store has been updated with new designs for Pride Month! Shop our newest collection of t-shirts, tank tops, bags, and more, all created by a team of incredible disabled artists: Jen D. Rafanan, Jen White-Johnson, and Bob Bland. All of our products are sensory friendly, USA-made, and union-made because worker justice is disability justice.
Plug In and Take Action
Disability Community for Democracy’s “Bed-In: STOP RFK Jr.’s Autism Registry Rally”
The free virtual rally will be held on Zoom, and is meant to symbolize the org’s “dedication to promoting liberal democracy and civil rights through peaceful activism and advocacy.” Speakers will include “PA Representative Abigail Salisbury, Timotheus ‘TJ’ Gordon Jr., an Autistic self-advocate and the creator of the Black Autist blog, Cat Contillo, who is an accessibility consultant as well as an Advocate for Inclusion and Belonging, and Jesenia M., the founder of NeuroSpicy Networking and One Free Community.”
Saturday, July 12, 2025
1:00 p.m. – 4 p.m. ET | ASL | Virtual | >> Register for the Virtual Rally
The National Disability Rights Network wants community members to email Congress to oppose budget cuts that would shut down multiple organizations and positions that currently support and defend disabled and aging communities. It’s easy; just click below to access a form with a customizable pre-written message.
Help a Member of the DisCo Relocate
From Anise Davis: “Since losing my job due to the denial of my ADA accommodation requests, I have been navigating housing insecurity and underemployment. I believe I can work smarter, not harder, in Chicago. Compared to where I live (Atlanta), Chicago’s public transportation is more reliable. This and other logistical advantages are crucial to my survival due to my disabilities. It’s bittersweet to leave Atlanta now: I created a community, met my first love, and discovered myself as a Black lesbian and an activist. However, after 2.5 years here, I decided that enough is enough. Please consider helping me move to Chicago.”
Cancel Medical Debt
From Undue Medical Debt: “The President & Co. just rammed their Big Beautiful Bill through the House, slashing $723 billion from Medicaid. That's healthcare for 13.7 million Americans—seniors, people with disabilities, kids, and working families. Their message to us? — #GoFundYourself!
“So here we are. Literally crowdfunding our own healthcare. Because in the richest country in the world, survival now depends on clicks, luck, and making your cancer diagnosis go viral…every dollar donated on this page will go directly to Undue Medical Debt—an organization that buys and cancels people’s medical debt for pennies on the dollar.”
Have news, tips, joy, or actions to share? Drop us a line at Hello@DisabilityCultureLab.org. We’d love to hear from you!
Want to support DCL’s work to shift the narrative on disability from fear and pity to solidarity and liberation? Donate here!
