The Voiceless Minority

Image description: Voting stations against a wall. On March 25th, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) titled "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections." This EO proposes many changes to how our elections work, including voter eligibility, maintaining voter registration lists, vote-by-mail processes, which voting machines can be used, and who is responsible for managing elections. American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is highly concerned that if any aspects of this EO go into effect, voters with disabilities and other marginalized communities will be disproportionately harmed. Already, disabled voters face increased challenges in accessing their right to vote because of policies and practices that make voting difficult. The policies in the Executive Order are voter suppression tactics – policies that make it harder for many Americans to vote. This order comes at a time when Congress is actively considering similar voter sup...

D Above is a picture of a brown pen poised over a blank piece of paper, held by a hand.  Dear Mr. Zuckerberg, and other executives at Meta Platforms, Inc. My name is Jason Hahr. I am a 38-year-old disabled male who lives in Ocala, Florida. I have been active on Facebook since the early 2000s, yes, I am old. I’m writing to you today because, while I enjoy Facebook, there is one aspect of the platform that I think needs to be updated—and I’m not talking about the technology. Your platform is very intuitive and easy to use, even for someone as physically limited as me.  I have Cerebral Palsy, and I use a power wheelchair along with other assistive devices to function daily. Because of the nature of my disability, I use personal care services to perform everyday tasks that others can do for themselves, such as toileting, showering, eating, and running errands, to name a few. Because I require personal care assistance, I am not legally allowed to get married to my girlfriend, who a...

Image description: Above is a poster for Patrice, The Movie. It shows two people holding hands, a man in a wheelchair and a woman standing beside him. Patrice, The Movie is written in yellow above the picture.    Happy Tuesday, everyone. I hope your week started on a good note. Today’s article will be brief. The last several posts have dealt with the topic of disability and marriage. Apparently, our advocacy is getting some attention throughout the nation. On January 13, 2025, Congressman David Valadao of California and Congresswoman Susie Lee of Nevada reintroduced a bipartisan bill that would eliminate the “marriage penalty” for people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income. I will link an article that outlines the proposed legislation at the bottom of this blog. The bill was initially introduced in January of last year. However, it has been reintroduced because of shows like Love on the Spectrum and Patrice: The Movie . The fascination with attention...

   I hope you are having a satisfying Saturday. Although we have made great strides, significant work remains to be done. Yesterday, I posted a blog about Patrice: The Movie . If you haven’t had the chance to read it yet, be sure to click the link at the bottom of this post. On the surface, one may think the movie is just about one disabled couple’s journey to get married, but it is about much more than that. While telling the story of Patrice and Gary, it also highlights the transportation crisis that disabled people face. For most people who have a disability, the inability to access affordable and reliable transportation is a barrier they have to overcome daily. I am lucky to have a support system that can provide me with my vehicle. While I do have to keep up with regular maintenance, I am very lucky because I didn’t have to buy it myself. I am eternally grateful to my parents for their generosity, but I also know what it is like to rely on the paratransit system becau...

Above is an image of a logo from a movie titled Patrice: The Movie. It is yellow and in large print.  Happy, fabulous Friday. Before I get into today’s post, I want to thank everyone for their support and amplification of my articles and the entire Voiceless Minority community recently. Your support and encouragement inspires me and all the other writers who have helped amplify the voice of the voiceless. Several years ago, I wrote a blog, which I will link at the end of this article. It is entitled I Can Write, But It Is Time for You to React. I am happy to report you have taken up that call to action in more ways than I could have imagined, and I am eternally grateful for your support. Okay, enough with inflating your head as you are reading this. Now, down to the fun stuff. Last September, Patrice: The Movie premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Shortly after, in October, it premiered on HULU. I will link an article written by Amy Kuperinsky for Disability Scoop that outlin...

Above is an image of President Trump signing a bill into law. He is wearing a black suit with a red necktie and is surrounded by people on either side. His pen is poised over legislation, which is on a wooden desk.  What a worrisome Wednesday it is for the disability community. Steps are being taken to erase the work of great disability champions such as Judy Heumann and Ed Roberts, to name a few. As a relative of mine put it a couple of days ago, laws are made, then they are repealed, so advocates must never stop fighting. Although my relative and I sometimes disagree politically, I could not agree more with her words. Indeed, it looks like it is happening yet again. This past January, Donald Trump became the 47 th President of the United States after a four-year hiatus between his first and second term. While I am registered as a Republican, and I agree with most of his platform, I question what he's doing regarding the voiceless minority. Before his election, he stated that h...

Above is a black and white photo of the 504 sit-in from 1977.  Okay, so maybe I’m late to the party. Still, I was recently made aware of a disturbing lawsuit taking place that will effectively erase the strides we have made as disabled people in America over the last several decades. The lawsuit that is slowly gaining traction, Texas vs. Becerra, is an attempt by 17 states to overturn the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protections for people with disabilities, explicitly aiming to overturn the 504 provision. I will list the 17 states that I believe are harming not only the disability community in America but America as a whole. However, before I do so, I will highlight that my home state of Florida is one of the offenders. The lawsuit is an attempt to not make America great again by using a slogan from our newly elected President. Still, in my opinion, instead, it is an attempt to return to the dark ages of disability in America. Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana...

  Image of Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement, By: Ashley Shew Standing Up On Bookshelf. The Voiceless Minority has gained tremendous traction over the last several months, and it will always be my primary outlet for my advocacy work. We have grown tremendously and had the opportunity to incorporate guest writers, including a permanent contributor, Michelle Zeman. We have also been given an excellent opportunity to present at the largest Disability Expo in the nation this upcoming June. The Expo is known as The Family Café, and we are honored to have the chance to be among some great self-advocates and allies over the three-day event. While all that is something to be celebrated, this blog will discuss my next advocacy adventure and a book that I have recently read. I finished my fellowship with Florida Sands late last year and was unsure what to do next. Luckily, the universe presented my next opportunity rather quickly. I was selected as a 2025 IEEE Spectru...

                                              Above is a photo of Marissa Bode from Getty Images Anyone who follows this blog or knows me knows I love theater and film. I even went so far as to get a degree in drama at college. While I love “straight plays,” which are plays without musical numbers, I am obsessed with musicals. I love all the standard ones such as “Rent,” “Avenue Q,” and “Les Mis.” However, I only knew part of the story because I listened to the soundtrack.  That changed this past November when Wicked, the motion picture, hit theaters. I went to see the movie with my girlfriend, Samantha LeBron, who is not as big a musical fan as I am. Because I didn’t know the story well, I was unaware that a character was in a wheelchair. Universe, please forgive me for being late to the party. The movie was great, and the character in a wheelchair was portrayed extr...