We need RIGHTS—not just kindness. Because while kindness is beautiful, it is not dependable policy. And when it comes to protecting your children,
We need RIGHTS—not just kindness.
Because while kindness is beautiful, it is not dependable policy.
And when it comes to protecting your children, your family, and your future—you need guarantees, not handshakes. Laws. Policies. Rights.
So ask yourself this:
What exactly are the men leading the charge to take away rights offering you in return?
A “promise” for a better tomorrow?
Empty applause? A head pat?Meanwhile, your rights—the ones that exist today—were fought for, bled for, and in some cases, died for.
You hold onto those rights. And you fight for more.
✳️ DEI Is Not a Trend. It’s Protection.
As someone who worked as an Independent Living Coordinator, I’ve stood beside people with disabilities as they tried to navigate a world that too often pushes them to the margins.
And let me tell you—DEI protects people in very real, practical, everyday ways.
Sometimes that meant advocating for:
A ramp to be installed
A communication device to be provided
A flexible work or school scheduleTransportation support or housing accommodations
Assistive tech devices or pain management tools
Compassionate personal care services
DEI is not a luxury. It’s about dignity, safety, and inclusion—for all of us.
🧩 DEI + ADA = Real-World Power
Let’s break this down:
1. What is DEI?
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion means creating fair opportunities, removing barriers, and building spaces where everyone is valued.
Diversity = representation (race, gender, disability, LGBTQ+, age, etc.)
Equity = fairness, support, and access that accounts for individual needs
Inclusion = belonging and participation for everyone
DEI includes disability rights. It requires us to see people as whole and worthy—even when they move, think, or communicate differently.
2. What is the ADA?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990, is civil rights legislation.
It protects people with disabilities in:
Employment
Public services and transportation
Public and commercial spaces
Telecommunications
Housing and education
The ADA came directly out of the Black American Civil Rights movement. Many who fought for the ADA used tactics rooted in those justice campaigns.
The ADA is not charity. It’s civil rights law.
3. How Are DEI and ADA Connected?
They’re deeply linked:
1964 Civil Rights Act – Set the foundation for all anti-discrimination protections.
1973 Rehab Act (Section 504) – First federal law prohibiting disability discrimination.
1990 ADA – Expanded protections into private life, business, and digital spaces.
2008 ADAAA – Broadened disability definitions and access.
Modern DEI policies – Continue pushing organizations to go beyond minimum compliance toward full inclusion.
DEI puts the values of ADA into action.
4. Why This Connection Matters
Because…
DEI helps us live out ADA values in real life, not just on paper.
ADA gives legal teeth to DEI efforts.
Together, they challenge bias in schools, jobs, housing, health care, and beyond.
They protect your child. Your mother. Your neighbor. Your future self.
Someone said: “DEI is about your background“✘
Having worked as an Independent Living Coordinator for people with disabilities I can tell you that is a lie. I directly advocated for inclusion, equity, and diversity on behalf of people with disabilities from various backgrounds.
Sometimes it was about structural changes like ramps, other times it was about changes in employer/landlord/org/govt:
- communication,
- schedule adjustments,
- transportation, etc
- housing
- training
- employment
- assistive technology devices
- humane and compassionate personal care services
It is simply acknowledging differences and making accommodations for human beings without compromising the safety of others.
💥 This Is Personal
I’m more passionate about this than ever—because I’ve walked with Survivors whose lives were changed by violence.
The woman thrown from a moving car, paralyzed from the neck down.
The woman whose brain injury from domestic violence slowly took her away from us.
The mother and toddler with a disability I placed into a safe, accessible home.
The countless women and girls living with trauma, chronic pain, and disability—often quietly, often alone.
If it weren’t for DEI, civil rights, and the ADA—I couldn’t have done my job.
I didn’t just bring compassion. I brought legal backing, policy frameworks, and a nation’s commitment to equity with me. That’s how real change happened.
💡 Final Word
Don’t let the haves talk you out of having rights.
When DEI is attacked, so are the tools we use to create a more humane and accessible world.
This isn’t about politics. This is about your child’s future, your aging parent’s dignity, and your own ability to live with freedom and autonomy.
Rights are not gifts. They are promises codified into law.
We don’t need praise from powerful men.
We need protection from systems that ignore the vulnerable.
We need expansion of rights, not erasure.
If someone tells you “DEI is unnecessary,” ask them:
“So what are you replacing it with that protects my child with a disability? What are you offering women? Working-class families? Elders? Rural communities? Immigrants?”
If they don’t have an answer, you already have your answer..png)
🛑 Protect What’s Yours
DEI isn’t perfect. But without it, many of us don’t get in the room at all.
So don’t let anyone trick you out of your right to access, fairness, inclusion, and safety.
And if you’re unsure—do your own research. Ask questions. Read up. Listen to those of us who’ve worked in the trenches.
Because one day—maybe even tomorrow—you or someone you love may need the very rights others are trying to erase.
And when that moment comes, you’ll be glad you didn’t let go
Who benefits from the erosion of rights?
The understanding of DEI policies has long been propagandized for political purposes. That’s not new. And, because some people have come to hate all things DEI they are choosing to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Caution.
As women, we must stop letting people trick us out of rights that have been hard fought, bled, and died for. We do not need head pats and applause from any of these men. Men on the left, men on the right, and all the men in between.
If I come off as a bit more passionate than usual, it is because I am fueled by the women I met along the way who had an acquired disability via male violence.
- The beautiful woman thrown from a moving vehicle on the highway who survived but never had use of her extremities from the neck down again…
- The other beautiful woman who suffered from years of beatings about the head. I lost her. At least, I feel like I did. ……
- The exhausted woman who came to us because she was sleeping in her car with all her belongings in the department store parking lot after a recent divorce. I was able to secure an affordable home for her in a retirement community with all the accessible amenities that her chronic condition required (step-in shower, lowered cabinets, a van that came to the community a few times a week to take the residents shopping)…
- The beautiful young woman in her 20s that I helped secure affordable housing for. It was her daughter who had a disability. I got the opportunity to sit on their living room floor and play with the toddler. She was adorable. Precious.
- The countless beautiful people of all ages and backgrounds suffering from and overcoming mental illness, chronic pain, chronic migraines, and female-related health issues after child abuse……
I carry stories that could fill reels of film—every frame filled with humanity, courage, and hard-won resilience.
But without the work of those who came before me—without civil rights legislation, DEI policies, and the ADA—none of those stories would have had a hopeful next chapter.
Yes, I’m an empathetic and compassionate person.
But compassion alone wasn’t enough.
It was the law—written, signed, and enforced—that allowed me to take action.
To fight for homes. Secure jobs. Dignity. Access. Safety.
Through that work, I became a vessel for the “thoughts and prayers” of millions of people who truly care about their neighbors. People whose voices may not have been in the room—but whose values shaped the laws that were.
We, the American people, did that.
And I’ll tell you this:
Helping those who are limited in function, even temporarily, will humble you.
Because we are all one accident, one diagnosis, one act of violence away from needing those same rights ourselves.
So don’t let the privileged few convince you that rights don’t matter.
Don’t let them talk you out of protections they’ll never need but you might.
Rights aren’t just for emergencies.
They’re the foundation we stand on—before the storm comes.
Hold that ground. And don’t let it be taken from you.
I strongly urge you to do your own research.
To deepen your understanding of the intersection between Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), especially from Black academic perspectives, consider the following resources:
1. Scholarly Articles and Journals:
- “Race, Ethnicity, and Disability: Veterans and Benefits in Post–Civil War America” by Larry M. Logue and Peter Blanck. This book examines the intersection of race, disability, and veterans’ benefits, providing historical context relevant to DEI and ADA discussions.
- “Blackness and Disability: Critical Examinations and Cultural Interventions” edited by Christopher M. Bell. This collection challenges the marginalization of Black experiences in disability studies and emphasizes the importance of intersectionality.
2. Academic Institutions and Resource Centers:
- Howard University Research and Training Center (HURTC): Under the leadership of Sylvia Walker, HURTC has been pivotal in researching the unique challenges faced by disabled minorities, particularly Black Americans. Their work has significantly influenced disability legislation and DEI initiatives.
3. Books and Anthologies:
- “All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism” edited by Lydia X. Z. Brown, E. Ashkenazy, and Morénike Giwa Onaiwu. This anthology provides insights into the experiences of autistic people of color, highlighting the intersections of race and disability.
- “Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race, and Gender in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction” by Sami Schalk. This work explores how Black women writers address themes of disability, race, and gender in speculative fiction.
4. Online Resource Guides:
- University of North Texas Health Science Center’s DEI Guide: This guide offers a curated list of books, databases, journals, and web resources related to African American and Black experiences within the context of DEI.
- Atlantic Cape Community College’s DEI Toolkit: This toolkit provides a variety of resources, including books and internet links, focusing on Black and African American perspectives in DEI.
