Racial justice, disability rights, neurodiversity and cross-movement solidarity

How might greater social justice for those who have unjustly been marginalized best be achieved? Perhaps cross-movement solidarity is the answer to this question. And perhaps now is the opportune time to make it happen.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought into particularly sharp focus the inequities that exist in society. Racial justice has seen renewed prominence in the national conversation in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the recent passing of two civil rights icons in John Lewis and C.T. Vivian. The Americans with Disabilities Act recently turned 30 years old, and the neurodiversity movement has been picking up steam in recent years due largely to increases in awareness and in the rate of diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders.

So, why do we need cross-movement solidarity with respect to racial justice, disability rights and neurodiversity? Because all three movements share many commonalities. There are a good number of people to whom all three movements are relevant. All three are civil rights movements that strive for greater freedom and equality for folks who undeservedly play according to a...