by Co Clark
There’s a lot to fight for right now.
People around the world are hitting the streets for justice in Palestine, gender equality in Iceland, higher wages for auto and film workers, Stop Cop City, the list is never ending. While these actions are vitally important, it’s important to note that many calls for “[hitting] the streets,” “[joining] a protest near you” and such, leave out the disabled community inherently and explicitly. Organizers will do almost anything to make an event successful, but will often usher people to the streets without a second consideration of uneven sidewalks, rest stations, interpreters, gender neutral restrooms and more. But why?
No organizer wants to admit to themselves that they are not regarding disabled lives, not giving disabled people the space to protest or perpetuating the infantilization and disregard of autonomy that society already pushes onto disabled people regularly. However, many able-bodied organizers just want a quick fix to the problem: ramps, interpreters and we’re good, right? Wrong. There really is no, “Do this and you’re accessible! Yippee!” It’s a long-haul process of inviting disabled people to learn from and share space with, learning disabled theory, letting disabled people lead and planning with accessibility in mind, instead of leaving it as a last minute afterthought. So, in my attempt to help both organizers and disabled people learn how to promote and protect accessibility during times of social unrest, here are some considerations directed at organizers for making an event both successful and accessible.
(1) Have ASL interpreters that stand next to whoever is speaking at all times! Make sure they are visible and, if possible, pay them for their time and energy. (2) Make the march route public! Post on social media the exact route people will be walking/marching. This is helpful for autistic people if they want to walk the route beforehand, and for mobility aid users to check the smooth/bumpiness of the sidewalks/roads. (3) Mandate masks and have some extra to hand out! This is good for crack-downs on surveillance as well as COVID safety. This will add a level of safety for immunocompromised people who cannot afford getting COVID. (4) Ensure that your protest has medics, or “care bears” if it is smaller scale. A protest care bear essentially has water and snacks, stim toys, etc., but is not necessarily prepared to handle tear gas or major wounds. (5) Make sure organizers know and inform people of where restrooms are, and whether or not there are gender neutral bathrooms around. (6) Remind people to bring earplugs, stim toys and comfort items in addition to the usual necessities such as signs, water and masks. (7) Give people who cannot show up alternate actions. Recommend them books, movies, articles and podcasts to digest and share, tell them where to get reliable info on the topic, how to contact their reps, how to be an emergency contact and more.
Most importantly, encourage radical rest! People cannot give to a cause if they are not first giving to themselves and their community, and letting their community give to them. Remember that we keep each other safe and disabled people deserve a seat at the table.
