The best way to learn about a marginalized community is to listen to and engage with the diverse voices of that community. There's a saying: "If you know one person with a disability, you know one person with a disability." The disability community is diverse - thus both their access needs and the forms of discrimination they have witnessed vary by their disability, but the discrimination faced is similar in the fact that it is all created by the current societal views of disability as either something to be pitied and not talked about or as inspirational and something to overcome. Here are a few voices in the community that have sought to change society's views through documentaries, talks, books, podcasts, and more. Access community-specific voices through the community links at the bottom of this page.

Spotlighted Videos

Samuel Habib, an olive skinned young man wears a winter jacket with the hood over his head as he rides down a sidewalk in his motorized wheelchair.

My Disability Roadmap

Samuel Habib, 21, wants to date, leave home, go to college. But he drives a 350-pound wheelchair, uses a communication device, and can have a seizure at any moment. Determined to find his path forward, he seeks out guidance from America’s most rebellious disability activists. 

Pearl Pearson, Jr., a dark-skinned man sits in a chair signing with the American flag on a wall behind him.

Untold Stories: What It's Like To Be Deaf

In this video, the Deaf community addresses several questions about what it's like to be Deaf. 

Stella Young, a light-skinned woman sits in a motorized wheelchair presenting on a stage.

I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much

Stella Young is a comedian and journalist who happens to go about her day in a wheelchair — a fact that doesn't, she'd like to make clear, automatically turn her into a noble inspiration to all humanity.

Harben Girma, a black woman with long black hair, speaks.

Ableism hurts disabled people. Translate this powerful word for all Languages

In this video, Haben Girma discusses ableism. The word ableism expresses the systemic oppression of disabled people around the world. Words have power. Translating ableism to all the world’s languages would help people advocating for disability justice.

Rebecca, a young white woman and Judy, an older white woman sit in a room talking to Lachi, a young black woman, in a split video screen.

"Distinguished and Disabled" with Lachi and Rebecca Howell: A Conversation about Disclosure

Judy Heumann, Lachi, and Rebecca Howell talk about the importance of disclosure and having agency over your own story. Lachi also talks about how important it is for society to reframe the word disability as a positive word. 

Mik Scarlet, a light-skinned man, sits with a table behind him displaying photos of planets and a woman.

Mik Scarlet's Beginners Guide To The Social Model of Disability

Mik explains the Medical & Social Model of Disability & what they mean for you if you are Disabled. He chats in his own inimitable style about why the Social Model is a tool of liberation & uses easy to understand analogies to turn you in to a fan of Social Model thinking.

Featured Non-Fiction Books

Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice book cover with a person grabbing hold of an uprooted tree.

Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice

In this collection of essays, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha explores the politics and realities of disability justice, a movement that centers the lives and leadership of sick and disabled queer, trans, Black, and brown people, with knowledge and gifts for all.

The book cover of Demystifying Disability with graphics of people with various disabilities.

Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say and How to be an Ally

Demystifying Disability, by Emily Ladau, is a friendly handbook on the important disability issues you need to know about, including how to appropriately think, talk, and ask about disability; recognizing and avoiding ableism; and ensuring accessibility becomes your standard practice.

Book cover of Disability Visibility with abstract colorful triangles.

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century

This anthology compiled by Alice Wong gives a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own understandings. It looks to the future and the past with hope and love.

Podcasts

All podcasts below include both audio recordings and text-based transcripts. 

  • #A11y Rules Podcast: Hear it in their own words – people with disabilities talking about the barriers they encounter on the web.
  • Disability Visibility Project Podcast: This is life from a disabled lens. Disability Visibility is a podcast hosted by San Francisco night owl Alice Wong featuring conversations on politics, culture, and media with disabled people. If you’re interested in disability rights, social justice, and intersectionality, this show is for you. 
  • Docs with Disabilities Podcast: This podcast aims to highlight disability stories and research while providing valuable education for Disability Resource Professionals, Faculty, Administrators and Students in Health Professions Education. 
  • Down to the Struts: Down to the Struts is a podcast about disability, design, and intersectionality, where host Qudsiya Naqui uncovers the building blocks for a more accessible, inclusive, and equitable world for all disabled people.

Access Additional Resources by Community

Visit our community-based pages to access additional resources about each community. And remember - a disabled person can have more than one disability and thus can be part of multiple disability communities.