Disability justice is a movement that explores how disability and ableism connect with other forms of oppression, like racism, classism, and sexism. According to the Sins Invalid website, the term was initially conceived by queer, disabled women of color, Patty Berne, Mia Mingus, and Stacey Milbern, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Disability justice was built in reaction to their exclusion from mainstream disability rights mainstream and disability studies discourse and activism, as well as the ableism in activist spaces.
Pictured to the left is Michael Hickson and his 5 kids. Michael Hickson was a Black disabled man who died in 2020 after being denied medical treatment for COVID-19. He was a quadriplegic following a brain injury and required significant care. Doctors at a Texas hospital decided he had a “poor quality of life” and withheld treatment, leading to his death. His case sparked outrage and highlighted the discrimination disabled people—especially Black disabled people—face in healthcare. His wife, Melissa Hickson, has been a strong advocate, bringing attention to medical bias and the devaluation of disabled lives.
The 10 Principals of Disability Justice: (Sins Invalid, 2015)
■ Collective liberation
■ Intersectionality
■ Leadership of those most impacted
■ Anti-capitalism
■ Cross-movement solidarity
■ Wholeness
■ Sustainability
■ Cross-disability solidarity
■ Interdependence
■ Collective access
