We all need to defend the rights of autistic people, because a threat to anyone’s rights is a threat to everyone’s. Learn more in @sesmith.lol's full blog: disabilityphilanthropy.org/resource/a-c... (🧵 6/6)

5. Autistic people are often left out of advocacy work. Now is a moment for philanthropy to actively and expressly follow autistic leadership — and for funders to clearly forefront autistic leaders and organizers in funding priorities. (🧵 5/6)

4. Grantmaking in the disability space must consider not only the systemic barriers that disabled people face in society, but the way those barriers show up in philanthropy through things like overly complex grant applications and strict reporting requirements. (🧵 4/6)

3. We don’t need to seek “cures” for autism – we need research that explores how to dismantle systemic barriers to housing, healthcare, education, and employment for autistic people, rooted in a belief in autistic people’s fundamental humanity and right to exist in the world. (🧵 3/6)

2. The administration’s proposal to create an “autism registry” would also threaten autistic people’s data privacy, and lay potential groundwork for future discriminatory policies and practices. (🧵 2/6)

We are especially grateful to our panelists @jimlebrecht.bsky.social, @kdc.bsky.social ( @disabilitylab.bsky.social), Candace Coleman (Access Living), and Chana Gazit (American Experience). And thank you to @palfrey.org for opening the event for us! Photo credit: Amy Bissonette. (🧵 3/3)

The film touched upon many themes that resonate in this moment. Given the recent rescission of federal funding to public media, this film also demonstrated the powerful storytelling that is possible when public media organizations have adequate funding. (🧵 2/3)

In light of these rollbacks, we urge our colleagues in philanthropy to fund Black- and disabled-led voting access initiatives. Learn more about how you can support voting access for disabled people: disabilityphilanthropy.org/resource/fac... (🧵 4/4)

Today, numerous Supreme Court actions and proposed acts threaten the equity and access to voting that the Voting Rights Act is supposed to provide. And voting access for disabled people, especially disabled Black, Indigenous, Latine, and Asian people, is continually waning. (🧵 3/4)

This was directly tied to increased voting access for Black people: by the end of 1965, 250,000 new Black voters had been registered to vote. Many Black disabled ancestors, including Fannie Lou Hamer, were pivotal to fighting for the passage of the Voting Rights Act. (🧵 2/4)

Thank you for your solidarity 🌻

Connie Panzarino, a lesbian author and activist for disability rights & LGBTQIA+ rights. Connie lived with muscular dystrophy, used a wheelchair, and along with other disabled organizers, successfully lobbied for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1963. Photo Credit: JEB (Joan E. Biren). 10/10

Jazzie Collins, a Black trans woman activist & community organizer who lived with HIV. Jazzie’s activism included serving as the vice chair of the Lesbian Gay Transgender Senior Disabled Housing Task Force & successfully raising the minimum wage in San Francisco as part of the Prop L Committee. 9/10

Pat Parker, a Black lesbian feminist poet and activist who lived with breast cancer. Her activism included involvement in the Black Panther Party and the Black Women's Revolutionary Council, and her poetry addressed her lived experience with poverty, sexual violence, and domestic violence. 8/9

Barbara Jordan, the first southern Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first LGBTQIA+ woman in Congress. Barbara lived with multiple sclerosis beginning in her first year in Congress, and used mobility aids toward the end of her life. 7/9

Audre Lorde, a self-described "Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, poet" who lived with cancer and low vision. Her intersectional and influential writings on gender, sexuality, race, and class include the essay collection “Sister Outsider.” 6/9

Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter who loved men and women, and whose self-portraits depicted her experience living with lifelong chronic pain and illness. Frida participated in activist circles and spoke out against colonialism, imperialism, and machismo. 5/9

Frances Thompson, a formerly enslaved trans woman and the earliest documented trans woman to testify before the United States Congress. She lived with cancer in her foot and used mobility aids and crutches throughout her life. 4/9