Los Angeles, Feb. 25 – A prolific musician, actor, and writer, James Ian feels boundless when it comes to disability representation in the arts. Ian considers himself a “truth-seeker” in all his work, looking for authenticity when it comes to expressing himself and his reality.

Ian has been honing his craft since he was a child, when his parents saw the immense joy that music brought into his life: “They enrolled me in piano lessons at the age of five, and from there I have just gone on to cultivate that.”

At the same time, Ian also was working on his acting career. His mother got him his first agent at the age of eight. His performance skills naturally bled into his writing potential.

“Once I started really doing music, I started to write my own songs, short stories, and other things that really got me on that path” Ian said. I’m working on a script right now. I’ve been involved in this since childhood and these things have just grown with love over time.” [continue reading…]

Teren’e Chambers

Los Angeles, CA, February 21 – Teren’e Chambers is a Black Disabled content creator with autism who has a passion for visual storytelling. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Chambers graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2020 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Film, Cinema, and Video Studies. Chambers aspires to one day become a director, focusing on pre-production, and own a production studio that will open the door to anyone interested, and be inclusive to everyone regardless of background or status. She plans to turn this passion of hers into a career to uplift others with disabilities and people of color. Everyone’s stories matter!

“Being a filmmaker to me means that I have a vision, a different view of the world, and a creative side,” Chambers said. “I enjoy what I do! I took my hobby to a professional level.” [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, February 18 – RespectAbility is proud to announce that our first Philanthropy Apprentices in the National Leadership Program have completed their training and been directly placed with partner organizations. Thanks to the generous support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Ari Katz, Georgia Carr and Alejandra Tristan have brought disability visibility to the philanthropic sector. The National Leadership Program allowed Apprentices to “earn while they learned,” then transition into new jobs. Each apprentice found employment that supported a cause unique to their interests.

“It is vital for diversity programs to include people with disabilities,” said Hon. Steve Bartlett, Chair Emeritus of RespectAbility. Bartlett was lead co-author the Americans with Disabilities Act when he served in Congress. “We have come a long way on disability rights, but we need to ensure that people with disabilities are at all decision-making tables – and that includes in philanthropy. We are grateful to MacArthur for recognizing the importance of full inclusion and access for people with disabilities.” [continue reading…]

Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) is in full swing, and we have been partnering on some very exciting events. Keep reading for more information on three of them! [continue reading…]

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s mission is “to inspire, build, and sustain vibrant Jewish life in a changing world by mobilizing our community in common purpose, intentional innovation, and effective action.”

Monica Herman

“As a Jewish organization, we’re driven by Jewish values,” said Monica Herman, the Federation’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Everybody has inherent value, and everyone should feel like they belong and are welcome in the Jewish community.”

“The message of disability inclusion is something that we promote all year,” said Rinat Kisin, the Federation’s Inclusion & Belonging specialist. “We acknowledge the importance of JDAIM, but disability inclusion and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging work is embedded in our efforts year-round.” [continue reading…]

Harold Foxx

Los Angeles, CA, February 17 – Originally from Memphis, Tennessee and now training in Los Angeles at the esteemed comedy theater The Groundlings, Harold Foxx is certain that comedy has been in his blood since day one. Foxx remembers hosting stand-up routines on the school bus every day to a loyal base of fans.

“All of my classmates laughed so hard on the bus to the point where the driver moved all of us to the back because we were too loud…The driver laughed too, yet we also needed her to keep her eyes on the road.”

When his mother would go to work, Foxx would stay at his grandma’s house where he would be absorbed by legendary comedians on “Sanford and Son,” “The Jeffersons,” and “The Three Stooges.”

“Growing up watching those shows, I realized laughing is everything that will light up everybody’s day,” Foxx said, citing his early inspirations to be the likes of Richard Pryor, Sherman Hemsley, and Jamie Foxx. He constantly is learning from the best and continually is adding craft and tools from his Groundlings training into his stand-up routines. These comedic inspirations led to the genius behind Foxx’s web show, “The Harold Foxx Show,” which originally started out as short form skits on Vine where Foxx gained about 50,000 followers. [continue reading…]

Read the report

Los Angeles, Feb. 17 – A new report by GLAAD found that the number of series regular characters with disabilities counted on primetime broadcast TV decreased, down to 2.8% (22 of 775) from a record high of 3.5% last year and 3.1% the year before. The number of characters counted also fell, from 27 to 22. Since Variety VIP+ reports that Americans spent 4.6 hours a day watching video on streaming services and traditional TV in 2021, this representation is vitally important to how people see – or do not see – disabled individuals in society.

“Including a disabled character does not happen by accident,” said Lauren Appelbaum, RespectAbility’s VP of Communications and Entertainment & News Media. “Inclusion of disabled people must be an intentional effort. What we see on screen influences how we act in real life. Thus, when studios make the decision to include individuals with disabilities, they are helping to remove the stigmas that currently exist about interacting with us.”

As stated in the report, “this number falls far below the actual number of those with disabilities in the United States,” as more than twenty percent of people in the U.S. have a disability.

While the numbers in this report are abysmally low, it is important to note that the GLAAD report is based on self-reporting by the networks and content providers. “While the reported numbers have gone down, it also is likely these numbers are underreported, possibly because the industry is not tracking disability internally as much as other demographics,” added Appelbaum. “Even so, the representation of disabled characters on our screens is nowhere near representative of disabled individuals in society today.” [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., Feb. 16 – Commercials play a major role in how people with disabilities are portrayed in the mass media. Including disabled people in commercials can remove the stigma and stereotypes that surround people with disabilities. While 26% of adults in the U.S. have a disability, advertising featuring people with disabilities lags is practically absent. As a Nielsen study reflects, “with a $21 billion market potential, advertisers cannot afford to miss the opportunity to engage with the disabled community and their allies.” The Super Bowl commercials, among the most watched of any commercials in the country, provide a platform to examine the representation of disabled people.

A recent Nielsen study examined nearly 450,000 primetime ads on broadcast and cable TV in February 2021. Of those ads, 6,000 (just 1%) included representation of disability-related themes, visuals, or topics. The Nielsen analysis also found that just 3% of ad spend in primetime went to ads featuring disabled people or were inclusive of disability themes in the creative. And this year’s Super Bowl commercials appeared to follow this trend.

“Including an individual with a visible disability in a commercial does not happen by accident,” said Lauren Appelbaum, RespectAbility’s VP of Communications and Entertainment & News Media. “Inclusion of disabled people must be an intentional effort. What we see on screen influences how we act in real life. Thus, when companies make the decision to include individuals with visible disabilities, they are helping to remove the stigmas that currently exist about interacting with us.” [continue reading…]

Dr. Deborah Fisher

We are happy to welcome Dr. Deborah Fisher as Interim CEO to assist with RespectAbility’s transition. Dr. Fisher is well known and respected in the disability and nonprofit community. She has been working with multiple members of RespectAbility’s leadership team for several years as an executive coach. She will report to RespectAbility’s Board of Directors through the Chairman of the Board, Ollie Cantos.

“I am delighted to join RespectAbility during this important transition period,” said Dr. Fisher, who has worked with numerous nonprofits during their periods of change. “In my experience, having a transition CEO is a valuable opportunity for organizations to prepare themselves for a new leader, particularly as the next person will be the first successor to the founder. I look forward to assisting the staff in continuing its good work.”

The search for the new CEO will continue as planned. RespectAbility is committed to an inclusive process and will continue to work with David Hinsley Cheng and DHC Search to identify our new CEO.