Disability Activists

The feature film directed by CODA’s Sian Heder streams on Apple starting November 13th "This important book will help ensure that every person gets a chance to live up to their full potential and will always have a place at the table.”—Hillary Clinton "Her life story as an activist will...

From a very young age, Judy Heumann heard the word NO. When she wanted to attend public school, the principal said NO. When she wanted her teaching license, the New York Board of Education said NO. Judy and people with disabilities everywhere were tired of hearing “NO”. In the 1970s, an important disability rights law, Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, was waiting to be signed. Judy and other disability rights activists held a sit-in until Section 504 was signed into law, laying the foundation for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings...

The long-awaited essay collection from one of the most influential voices in disability activism that detonates a bomb in our collective understanding of care and illness, showing us that sickness is a fact of life. In the wake of the 2014 Ferguson riots, and sick with a chronic condition that...

An approachable guide to being a thoughtful, informed ally to disabled people, with actionable steps for what to say and do (and what not to do) and how you can help make the world a more inclusive place ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, Booklist “A candid, accessible cheat sheet for...

The first book to cover the entirety of disability history, from pre-1492 to the present Disability is not only the story of someone we love or the story of whom we may become; rather it is undoubtedly the story of our nation. Covering the entirety of US history from pre-1492 to the present, A...

Disability activist and social media influencer Melissa Blake offers a frank, illuminating memoir and a call to action for disabled people and allies. In the summer of 2019, journalist Melissa Blake penned an op-ed for CNN Opinion. A conservative pundit caught wind of it, mentioning Blake’s...

This groundbreaking memoir offers a glimpse into an activist's journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice, from the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project In Chinese culture, the tiger is deeply revered for its confidence...

With style and straight talk, musician and changemaker Lachi flips disability and neurodivergence into an empowering identity, a cultural movement, and an innovation engine What if the most taboo parts of our identity—the parts we’re taught to mask—are exactly the ones that hold our...

If I Were You, I’d Kill Myself is an unapologetic, hilarious, and triumphant memoir that revolutionizes what it means to be disabled. Imani Barbarin was two years old when she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a congenital motor disability that affects her ability to walk without crutches...

“An uplifting demonstration of how astonishingly intelligent guide dogs are and the life-changing bond they create.”—Brian Hare, author of Puppy Kindergarten "Readers will fall in love with this heartwarming story of human-animal connection and resilience.”—Shelf Awareness One woman's...

Founder and CEO of consulting firm Change Cadet Dr. Akilah Cadet shares a powerful, incisive look at where we are in the fight to dismantle white supremacy—and what we urgently need to do next. White Supremacy Is All Around arrived as America's racial reckoning had left readers searching for...

From America’s most beloved foursome—the TikTok sensation @theoldgays—a book of unexpected aspirational advice and inspirational stories drawn from their decades of living, from pre-Stonewall to the rise of the LGBTQ+ movement to gay marriage and beyond. Ranging in age from 67 to 80, Mick...

A deafblind writer and professor explores how the misrepresentation of disability in books, movies, and TV harms both the disabled community and everyone else. As a deafblind woman with partial vision in one eye and bilateral hearing aids, Elsa Sjunneson lives at the crossroads of blindness and...

The vividly told, gloriously illustrated memoir of an artist born with disabilities who searches for freedom and connection in a society afraid of strange bodies “Golem Girl is luminous; a profound portrait of the artist as a young—and mature—woman; an unflinching social history of...

After 30 years of a healthy, rewarding, and exciting life, I wake up in a hospital bed unable to move. The neurosurgeon leans down and breaks the news: You won't regain any function in your body and you will never walk again. My medical insurance sends me home, discontinues my care, and tells me to "adapt to my new life". Little Big Steps is the story of the pivotal moments, interactions, and breakthroughs following the injury that turned my life upside down.

From a very young age, Judy Heumann heard the word NO. When she wanted to attend public school, the principal said NO. When she wanted her teaching license, the New York Board of Education said NO. Judy and people with disabilities everywhere were tired of hearing “NO.”

A “raw, vulnerable, and utterly hilarious” (Harper’s Bazaar) memoir about one woman’s experience living with a deformity, and her quest to find freedom and joy in her body “Sosenko’s experience with body shame and judgment, from herself and others, is universal. She shows us her...

A memoir penned with one good finger, Ndopu writes about being profoundly disabled and profoundly successful Global humanitarian Eddie Ndopu was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare degenerative motor neuron disease affecting his mobility. He was told that he wouldn’t live beyond age five...

Prize-winning journalist and the co-author of smash New York Times bestseller I Am Malala, Christina Lamb, now tells the inspiring true story of another remarkable young hero: Nujeen Mustafa, a teenager born with cerebral palsy, whose harrowing journey from war-ravaged Syria to Germany in a...