Guest: Sandy Ho, Disability Activist, Community Organizer, Policy Researcher, and Director of the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy
Host: Peter Blanck, Ph.D., J.D., Chairman, Burton Blatt Institute, University Professor, Syracuse University
Recording Date: August 5, 2022
Archive: A Conversation with Sandy Ho
Contents
About the 504@50 Podcast Series
504@50 is a special interview series created in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In the series, we speak with leaders of the disability rights movement who advance the cause of equal rights through their tireless work.
The 504@50 Series is produced by the Southeast ADA Center, the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and in collaboration with the Disability Inclusive Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center. Check out the Section 504@50 website at section504at50.org
About This Episode
In this interview Sandy Ho, community organizer, director of the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy, and former White House Champion of Change, speaks with Dr. Peter Blanck about how younger people with disabilities, often called the ADA Generation, view the modern disability rights movement. They discuss the need for disabled leaders to take advantage of the opportunity to come together and find the next steps for advancing disability rights.
Ms. Ho discusses the importance of thinking more about intersectionality and how all people with disabilities occupy different positions on the power scale. Intersectionality allows people to understand where power is concentrated and how to address the problems different people with disabilities face due to race, gender, disability type, education level or other identity markers. Moving forward, the disability community needs to work for change by listening to experienced activists and by focusing on the most ignored or marginalized people.
Learn More about Sandy Ho and Her Work
- Disability Inclusion Fund
Using principles and practices drawn from the disability justice movement, the fund supports U.S. groups run by and for people with disabilities working for transformational change.
Source: Borealis Philanthropy
Link: borealisphilanthropy.org/disability-inclusion-fund - Sandy Ho Blog Post: Release the Red Panda
Source: Disability Visibility Project (September 11, 2022)
Link: disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2022/08/21/release-the-red-panda - Podcast: Disability Solidarity| Transcript
Interview with Sandy Ho. “Down to the Struts” is a podcast series about disability, design, and intersectionality, where they uncover the building blocks for a more accessible, inclusive, and equitable world for all disabled people.
Source: Down to the Struts [29 minutes, no date]
Podcast: downtothestruts.com/episodes/season-4-episode-3-sandy-ho
Transcript [MS Word file]: downtothestruts.com/s/DTTS-S4-E2-Transcript.docx - Article: 11 Disability Rights Activists on Where the Fight for Justice Stands
Interviews with Sandy Ho and other disability rights activists.
Source: Teen Vogue (September 19, 2022)
Link: Link: teenvogue.com/story/what-disability-justice-means - Disability (In)Justice
A series of articles exploring where the fight for disability justice stands.
Source: Teen Vogue
Link: teenvogue.com/tag/disability-injustice - Disability and Intersectionality Summit (DIS)
Sandy Ho is one of the organizers of the Summit, which is a biennial national conference centered on the multiple oppressions that shape the life experiences of individuals with disabilities, as told by and in a setting organized by people with disabilities.
Link: disabilityintersectionalitysummit.com - Access Is Love
Created by disability activists Sandy Ho, Alice Wong and Mia Mingus, this initiative works to raise awareness about accessibility and to encourage people to incorporate access in their everyday practices and lives. #AccessIsLove
Link: disabilityintersectionalitysummit.com/access-is-love - Article: Activist Alice Wong Reflects on ‘The Year of the Tiger’ and Her Hopes for 2023
Source: National Public Radio (NPR) (February 4, 2023)
Link: npr.org/2023/02/04/1153937530/activist-alice-wong-lunar-new-year-year-of-the-tiger-rabbit - Book: Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life
The new memoir written by disability rights activist Alice Wong. See links for a plain language summary and where you can buy the book. A Discussion Guide for the book was written by Sandy Ho.
Source: Disability Visibility Project (2022)
Book: disabilityvisibilityproject.com/book/tiger
Discussion Guide [PDF]: disabilityvisibilityproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Discussion-Guide_YOTT_Ho-Remediated-1.pdf - Blog: Year of the Tiger: Debut Memoir by Alice Wong
Source: Disability Visibility Project (2022)
Link: disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2022/09/06/year-of-the-tiger-debut-memoir-by-alice-wong - The Disability Visibility Project
Founded by Alice Wong, this online community is dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture.
Link: disabilityvisibilityproject.com - Disability Visibility Project Oral History Interviews
In 2017 the Disability Visibility Project® (DVP) began gradually adding posts of oral histories recorded at StoryCorps for this project. DVP is not allowed to post the entire recordings from the participants. Instead, the posts for each interview will feature an edited audio clip, image description, and text transcript produced by the DVP team.
Link: disabilityvisibilityproject.com/dvp-interviews
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Visit the Section 504@50 website at: section504at50.org
The 504@50 Series is produced by the Southeast ADA Center, the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, and in collaboration with the Disability Inclusive Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center.