2018 Annual Letter

We are Not Powerless

Over the last week, our communities have been shaken by the violence hatred breeds. We have witnessed (the experience of recognizing things that happen to ourselves and others) the right to engage in open political dialogue, threatened, by intolerance of people with different opinions. We have witnessed the deeply problematic history of racial violence in this country put on display as two black Kentuckians were murdered while attempting to shop at Kroger by a white supremacist (a person who believes that white people are superior to other races). We have witnessed the religious intolerance that murders eleven Pittsburgh residents in their Synagogue (the place of worship Jewish people attend). We are witnesses to an age where policy proposals like Public Charge threaten the rights and safety of immigrants in addition to the endless amount of hate-filled policy changes that seek to isolate people seeking a better life. We are witnesses to various efforts to cause harm to transgender and intersex individuals through limiting the ways in which people identify themselves and how the government recognizes them.

We are witnesses to violence - but we are not powerless.

The disability activist, Mia Mingus, once said, “I don’t know how you have survived, but I am grateful you are here,” and at Michigan Disability Rights Coalition (MDRC) we could not agree more. It is painful to watch the suffering around us, and it is tempting to refuse to be a witness, but this does not lead to progress. We must use our experiences as fuel for the work we have committed to do in taking apart all forms of oppression.

We cannot develop or strengthen disability pride without also recognizing that we are constantly in community with people working to survive efforts to harm their lives. People with disabilities are religious minorities, people of color, from various social and economic statuses, immigrants, refugees, activists, LGBTQ+, and so much more. Our community has the power to join in solidarity against hatred and intolerance that harms us all.

If you share our values that people with disabilities should be able to live full lives within the community with equal rights, equity and opportunities, be valued as essential and vital members of the community, be their whole selves, in all their identities, in all aspects of their lives and have space for self-discovery, to cultivate community, and to develop pride - then we encourage you to join us in using our power.  

We are powerful when we communicate against hate. We are powerful when we vote against hate. We are powerful when we organize against hate. Most importantly we are powerful when we speak out against hate at our kitchen tables (your family, friends) in our places of worship, in our various spaces of influence.

The Affordable Care Act and the Health Michigan Plan (expanded Medicaid) have not been repealed! MDRC can still help you find affordable health care. Contact our Navigator, Kathleen at 517-333- 2477 x 313.