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Building on Momentum as Capacity Grows, New Hires Pave the Way for Greater Societal Impact

Los Angeles, April 3 – RespectAbility, a diverse, disability-led nonprofit that works to create systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities and that advances policies and practices that empower people with disabilities to have a better future, continues to expand its scope with five new hires across the entire organization.

The new team members – who collectively bring more than 50 years of experience in fields such as adult education, the entertainment industry, and corporate fundraising – include:

Jacquill Moss, Entertainment Media Program Coordinator; Graciano Petersen, Senior Director for Training, Culture, and Leadership Development; Theresa Soares, Media Business Development Associate; Joy St. Juste, Director of Marketing and Communications; and Wally Tablit, Director of State Policy.

These new hires will ensure RespectAbility is able to continue its mission of fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community. [continue reading…]

Setting the theme of ‘Connection,’ RespectAbility and more than 1400 companies and organizations will drive calls to action to address the surge of loneliness and isolation felt by millions as a result of the pandemic

Learn more at www.MentalHealthActionDay.org 

Mental Health Action Day logo. Text: Get ready for Mental Health Action Day on Thursday, May 19Los Angeles, April 1 – RespectAbility announces today its participation in the second-annual Mental Health Action Day held on Thursday, May 19 with more than 1,400 other leading companies, brands, nonprofits and cultural leaders globally.

As the global conversation around mental health continues – including the White House’s new unity agenda strategy to address mental health in the United States – finding effective resources and knowing how to get help remains a challenge. Convened by MTV Entertainment Group, Mental Health Action Day was created with an open-source model that has effectively united and galvanized brands, organizational leaders, and cultural leaders to seamlessly integrate the message and spirit into their existing branding and voice. [continue reading…]

An open book containing Hebrew textRespectAbility’s message testing shows us that, in general, people prefer a message that says that we are a stronger community when we are welcoming, diverse, and respect one another, and that everyone should have an equal opportunity to fully participate in our community. 87 percent of respondents in our 2021 survey of the Jewish community felt that this message was highly persuasive, while only 27 percent felt that a message that promoted inclusion because it was commanded by the Jewish tradition was most powerful.

However, one of the great things about Jewish law is that, with the possible exception of the Holiness code, our laws make sense. After almost 25 years of learning the Jewish teachings on disability, I can safely say that the Rabbinic approach is premised on the notion that everyone should have an equal opportunity to participate. Therefore, these are not actually 2 separate messages, but the same message.

For me, this highlights one of the challenges that I’ve noted throughout my decades of Jewish inclusion work. Because people don’t always know what Judaism has to say about disability, many think that disability inclusion is a topic separate from, if not foreign to, a Jewish worldview. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. [continue reading…]

Survey of 222 Jews in the NYC community shows progress, while identifying areas in need of continued improvement

Download Topline Data (Excel)

New York City skylineNew York, NY, April 1 – In a recently released major survey of 2,321 Jewish individuals nationwide, RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities so people with disabilities can participate fully in all aspects of community, in partnership with UJA Federation of New York, surveyed 222 members of the New York City Jewish community. This allowed a deep look into disability inclusion in NYC, as well as a strong and meaningful comparison to the national numbers. Of the 222 respondents from New York City, 171 either personally have a disability or have a close disability connection. The survey demonstrates that Jewish communal organizations are making strong progress toward building a more inclusive community for people with physical, sensory, mental health and other disabilities.

The data showed that 66 percent of NYC area Jewish respondents felt the Jewish community was “better” at “including people with disabilities” compared to five years ago. Only one percent felt that the community was doing “somewhat worse.” [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, March 31 – As a Black girl, you are often made to feel small, and the moment you feel emotions you are seen as too emotional, confrontational, and other not so pleasant adjectives that are far too often used to describe Black women. There is this stereotype that we must be strong, and we can handle whatever life throws at us. Now, in some ways that may be true, but it’s a part of our heritage that was perpetuated on us since the beginning of slavery. I can tell you firsthand Black women are tired of the idea that we must be strong all the time. Sometimes we want to be vulnerable, experience joy, and feel like we can ask for help and support. But it’s sometimes even hard for us to ask for that support.

Headshot of one of the subjects of the documentary film "My Girl Story"I had all these thoughts while watching “My Girl Story,” the insightful documentary produced by filmmaker and 2021 RespectAbility Entertainment Lab Alumna Tameka Citchen-Spruce. It tells the story of two young Black women who struggled with bullying and subsequent fighting in school. As Executive Producer on the film, Citchen-Spruce explains, “Growing up I never saw media representation that resembles my story. So it’s an honor to produce a story of the next generation of Black disabled girls.” [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, March 31

My Dear Younger Self,

Courtney Munnings smiling headshot wearing a black suit jacket and pink shirtI’m sorry to tell you, you’ll always be different. You won’t always see it, but you’ll feel it. And others will too. The problem is, there are more of them than there are you. So, you will feel wrong. And you won’t fit in. But it won’t be for lack of trying.

For many more years, you will feel desperate to belong. Because belonging means safety, so your mind will make it happen. You will do subtle things to mimic your peers in the same way that you breathe –automatically. You mostly won’t know that you’re speaking or looking or moving like the Others; you will only know that they like you. A lot. But you won’t take it for granted. In fact, you will be hyper-vigilant about people-pleasing. All of your interests and personal goals will relate to being good, looking good, and doing good for others. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, March 30 – An authentic story with a universal theme can connect with anyone on a global scale. Any true creative strives to tell such a story in their career, and the band Delta Spirit successfully achieved this in their latest music video for their single “What’s Done is Done.” Directed by Michael Parks Randa and starring Zack Gottsagen (The Peanut Butter Falcon) and Jamie Brewer (American Horror Story), the music video recently premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and was released online on March 21st for World Down Syndrome Day. This is the first music video starring two individuals with Down syndrome.

The music video chronicles a love story of two individuals with Down syndrome. What makes the video high impact is its subtext: love is universal. Rarely is romance accurately explored within the disability community, especially in commercial filmmaking. This music video shows that people with Down syndrome explore romance and have romantic issues the same as everyone else. The stigma that romance does not apply for people with disabilities is so wrong. Not only is Zack and Jamie’s chemistry onscreen enigmatic but it had me as an audience viewer envious that love so beautiful exists. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, March 28 – “This is dedicated to the Deaf community, the CODA community, the disabled community. This is our moment,” Troy Kotsur said when making history after winning the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for CODA.

Indeed, it was Kotsur’s – and the deaf and disability community’s – moment during the 94th Academy Awards, as CODA won all three awards it was nominated for, including Best Picture.

CODA first made news when it sold for a record-breaking $25 million during the 2021 Sundance Film Festival to Apple TV+. Kotsur then broke several records throughout this year’s awards season, and on Sunday evening, he became the first deaf male actor to win an Oscar. He is the second deaf person to win an Oscar after Marlee Matlin (CODA costar) won best actress in 1987 for Children of a Lesser God. [continue reading…]

Abigail Shaw smiling seated on a bench outside

Photo courtesy of Rick Guidotti, Positive Exposure 109

New York City, March 25 – A couple of weeks ago I received a larger-sized envelope on my doorstep. Initially I thought it was something for my partner. I’m blind, and I use a lot of different techniques or apps to adjust to a predominately sighted world. For this task, I scanned the mailing label with an app on my phone that converts text to speech to uncover who the sender was. In the end, it was indeed addressed to me, and it was my master’s in social work degree diploma.

For a moment, I caught myself reflecting on the care-free, and seemingly invincible version of myself from 12 years ago. I had been focused on getting a college degree, moving to a big city, and recording and producing stellar music. In contrast, the somewhat wiser, still witty as ever, and more cautious 30-year-old iteration of me is not meeting the expectations of my youth. It’s taken some time to embrace and love all the facets of what has made and continues to make me Abigail.

The me back in the early days of undergrad had envisioned the “grown up” me being Miss Independent. She’d have this super satisfying job that paid well and was, most likely, in the music industry. All of the stereotypes she tried to run away from about disabled people and traditional roles for women would magically dissolve if she lived in a big progressive city. From the outside looking in, you could have said I was well on my way toward accomplishing [most] of these things. [continue reading…]

Ketrina Hazell seated in her wheelchair, smiling

Ketrina Hazell
Photo courtesy of Rick Guidotti, Positive Exposure 109

New York City, March 25 – Professionals always have tried to frame the expectations of my life, whether they were an educator, service provider, or medical professional. Doctors told my parents I would never be able to see, hear, walk, talk, or live a “normal” life. What is normal? Despite my parents being given low expectations of me, I am no less of a human in their eyes.

I asked my parents one day why I can’t walk or do certain things. At that moment I learned what my story is. We all have a story. What’s your story?

I was born premature weighing only two and a half pounds, so doctors said that I needed to stay in the hospital for weight gain. While there I received a lack of oxygen to my brain, and as a result my motor skills were impacted. At nine months old, my parents expressed concerns about my lack of progress in my milestones, and this early intervention is when my parents learned the name of my disability. Cerebral Palsy is a part of me. [continue reading…]

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Respect Ability - Fighting Stigmas. Advancing Opportunities.

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