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The Mutual Aid Manifesto: Disability Activism Support in America · Living Loud and Proud: Disability Conversations

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Welcome to the Living Loud and Proud podcast,
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brought to you by Disability Pride Pennsylvania.
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If you need a link to the transcript for this
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episode, please visit our accessible website
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at www .disabilitypridepa .org slash podcast.
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And now, here is your host. Hey folks. Welcome
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to the Living Loud and Proud podcast. It's season
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three already. I can't believe it. It's been
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three years. I'm your host, Phil Rosen. Today's
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episode is the Mutual Aid Manifesto, Disability
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Activism Support in America. I was thinking about
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this from the beginning of this year, given...
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You know, just a lot of things that have been
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going on lately and just how important it is
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for us to be supporting the most vulnerable communities
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in our country and state to be able to help them
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thrive. And mutual aid is part of that puzzle.
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So I wanted to talk about it, talk about what
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it means for the disability community, both in
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history and currently. And what we can do to
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help support each other and help lift each other
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up. So you might ask, hey, Phil, what is mutual
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aid? Well, according to Victoria Mendez, mutual
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aid is about cooperating to serve community members.
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Mutual aid creates networks of care and generosity
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to meet the immediate needs of our neighbors.
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It also addresses the root causes of challenges
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we face and demands transformative change. That
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is just such a powerful quote. So what does that
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really mean? Well, it means that mutual aid helps
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to deliver the resources and help to communities
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and individuals who are traditionally underserved
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by current supply chains that we have in place.
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It partially challenges the systemic inequalities
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present in our society and provides a community
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that wouldn't be served in our current economic
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model with necessary resources to have a thriving,
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productive life. These communities are overlooked
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by business leaders due to a lack of ability
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to profit from serving them. You know, when you
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think about it, mutual aid organizations are
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there to help try and remove a profit motive
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to help people who may not be able to afford
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it if they were left to their own devices. And
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just generally speaking, help to bridge the gap
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where it would otherwise be unprofitable. Mutual
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aid has been getting a lot more attention recently
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because... Just economic conditions are getting
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really, really difficult for so many people to
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keep up. You know, high inflation, wages are
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not keeping up. Everything's just getting much,
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much more difficult for individuals to be able
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to keep their head above water. But I want to
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take a step back and say that there are so many
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things that... you know, we pay attention to
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because they become such big things in the moment,
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but they've often been around for a long time,
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and collective self -reliance is no different.
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It's been central to communities of color since
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at least the late 18th century, and you might
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be wondering why. Well, Phil, what was going
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on? Why was this happening? Well, I want to take
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you back to the late 1700s, 1780s, and 90s. And
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what was going on? Well, America declared independence
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and fought the Revolutionary War, won it, and
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got its independence from Britain as a result.
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In conjunction with this, especially in the North,
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many African Americans were being freed. And
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this created a situation where a lot of people
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who had up until now been denied access to wealth
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creation and banks and social safety nets were
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still being denied these critical resources to
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be able to survive on their own in this country,
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this fledgling country. And in response to this
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adversity, Money was pooled amongst the community
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members to buy farms and land to care for children
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and the sick and disability community and just
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the entire community as a whole. And, you know,
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much like, you know, what you might see with
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a collective bargaining agreement with like a
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union, there was a lot of power amongst the community
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in pooling the resources so that everyone could
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get a little bit. of a piece of this newfound
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freedom and wealth that they were being given
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access to. Let's fast forward a little bit to
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the late 19th century. And at this time, what
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was happening was many anti -immigration laws,
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specifically targeting Asian immigrants, were
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being lifted. And this change in legislation
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created a wave of Chinese immigration to America.
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Mutual aid societies called Huiguan were formed
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to represent and protect people from many different
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regions and dialects in China. Huiguan provided
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temporary housing, financial assistance, and
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support to find employment, and also provided
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a group that was heavily discriminated against
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in this country a means to combat anti -Chinese
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sentiment. in their communities that they were
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moving to here in America. And if we fast forward
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a little bit more to the 1950s, Native Americans
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created community centers to advocate for Indigenous
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rights and protect Native resources after the
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government terminated the recognition of more
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than 100 tribes. Ten years or so later, in the
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1960s, organizations such as the Black Panther
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Party and the Young Lords exposed racial inequities
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by building care and resource distribution centers.
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How did they do this? Well, the Black Panther
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Party, for instance, created free health clinics
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and provided community survival through other
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programs as well, such as free breakfast programs
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and the like. And this was to try and help uplift
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these communities that were getting another lift
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up because, well, what happened in the 1960s,
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the Civil Rights Act was passed and signed into
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law. And there were so many different things
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that were moving forward socially in this country
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as a result of that. Unfortunately, you know.
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Racism is one of those things that, you know,
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the is very hard to kind of break the cycle of
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societally. So this became a very necessary thing
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to help uplift people who, you know, still were
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being denied access, you know, to property ownership
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and wealth and all that kind of stuff through
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all sorts of different government programs. And
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you might be asking, so great, there's all these
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different things that happened here in America.
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What are some of the advantages? Well, if it
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wasn't already apparent through what we just
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talked about, some of the advantages to mutual
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aid networks, probably the biggest advantage
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is the removal of a profit motive to provide
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goods and services to... entire communities this
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can make organizations and individuals providing
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mutual aid much more nimble than a large business
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that has a desire or need to review profit margins
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and make sure that there will not be a loss of
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profits to provide the same level of resources
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or services to a community one example of an
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organization That I came across while I was doing
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research is Imagine Waterworks. It is a mutual
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aid organization focused on climate and social
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justice based in Louisiana. They launched the
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Trans Clippers Project after requests for haircuts
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were made by trans and non -binary individuals
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in their community. And the reason why they were
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able to do this so quickly was because they didn't
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have to go through like, you know. creating a
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study and all those things. And they were just
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like, yeah, of course, we want to make people's
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lives a little bit better. And these people needed
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these things to feel better and feel good about
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themselves. Another big advantage to a mutual
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aid network is the building of solidarity and
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community amongst people who would otherwise
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be left to their own means to provide for themselves
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and their families. It allows individuals who
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would otherwise be left to their own devices
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to advocate for change on a larger scale than
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just within their familial and friend networks.
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They can give a mouthpiece for their needs. And
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a lot of people who are more impoverished or
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more vulnerable. in society don't really necessarily
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have the time to advocate for themselves anyways.
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I mean, they have multiple jobs to work, right?
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To just pay the bills, get food on the table,
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whatever. There are some drawbacks as well to
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mutual aid networks. Probably the biggest one
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is it can take a while for a mutual aid network
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to form. just because many organizations rely
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on the generosity of individual donors to fund
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the providing of services and goods to the community
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at large. Also, just kind of reaching out and
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finding people who will help provide these services
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either at a cost or, you know, being able to
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provide it at a scale that you know, would be
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fully needed within the community can also be
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a little bit challenging because resources are
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limited, just limited funding and whatnot. So
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you're probably listening to all of these examples
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that I've been putting together and you're like,
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so mutual aid has been integral to helping advance
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racial equality and trans rights in this country.
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uh at large what about the disability community
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and and that's a fair question i haven't really
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talked about that too much yet but uh i want
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to kind of touch on that right now so within
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the disability community uh in history one of
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the maybe biggest examples that i could find
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was the 504 sit -in um don't worry we will talk
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about this uh in a future episode of the podcast
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probably maybe next year since it will be the
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50th anniversary next year. But so what was the
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504 sit in? It was a disability rights protest
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beginning in April 5th, 1977. The disability
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community occupied federal buildings in the U
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.S. to push the issuance of regulations regarding
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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. of 1973,
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which at that time had been the most important
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disability rights and broadest, really, disability
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rights legislation in U .S. history. The two
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most noteworthy protests occurred in Washington,
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D .C. and San Francisco, although, like I said,
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they happened in cities all over the country.
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And what were some of the examples of mutual
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aid within the protests? Well, Let me touch upon
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that now. So Kitty Cone and Judy Heumann built
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networks among activists for other causes and
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organizations. Some of the organizations that
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they had cultivated relationships with included
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the Black Panther Party, Glide Memorial Church,
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the Gay Men's Butterfly Brigade, Delancey Street,
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United Farm Workers, and the Gray Panthers. The
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Black Panther Party especially was integral to
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the protests that were being held inside the
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federal building at 50 United Nations Plaza.
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They provided hot meals daily in support of fellow
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Panther Bradley Lomax and his assistant Chuck
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Jackson. Corbett O'Toole wrote about this in
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her book, Fading Scars, My Queer Disability History,
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writing, Without the presence of Brad Lomax and
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Chuck Jackson, the Black Panthers would not have
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fed the 504 participants occupying the HEW building.
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Without that food, the sit -in would have collapsed.
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There also were daily vigils that were being
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held outside the building, helping to keep public
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visibility of the protests that were occurring
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inside the building, and to keep up morale for
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those inside the building. Massively important
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thing when you're taking... a stand for something
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through civil disobedience is that morale needs
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to stay up. The occupation of the building lasted
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26 days and in no small part, these hot meals
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definitely helped to provide that boost for people
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to end up continuing on with it. Something else
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that happened during those 26 days was, well,
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With the disability community, many individuals
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have medical needs that require special attention,
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right? And so many of these individuals who participated
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packed only a toothbrush and their necessary
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medications for the time that they were going
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to be in there. With an occupation that lasts
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26 days, there's a lot of complications when
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it comes to the disability community when it
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comes to their medical needs, right? Many people
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have specialized needs that require attention,
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such as eating and taking medications at regular
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hours and being turned at regular intervals to
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avoid pressure sores. Most had entered without
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their caretakers, so they had to turn to their
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fellow occupiers to assist in these tasks of
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daily living. For instance, one example of this
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would be blind individuals becoming attendants
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to quadriplegics to help avoid pressure sores.
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They would turn them or reorient them in their
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chairs. And the quadriplegics would read printed
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information in turn to the blind individuals
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that were protesting. This created this sort
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of self -reinforcing loop. And many individuals
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end up learning a lot about other disabilities
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through this. Very important for solidarity within
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the disability community because every disabled
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individual has their own story, has their own
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experiences. And sure, you know, any condition,
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there's a lot of things that are similar, but
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it can help individuals who... don't experience
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that disability to learn a little bit more about
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a different disability and understand a little
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bit better about what their needs are. So, you
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know, great. This happened like 50 years ago.
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What are some, you know, more recent examples
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of organizations and more recent sorts of mutual
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aid that you might find, you know, here today,
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say in Pennsylvania? One example of this would
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be the Rev Up Coalition. And the coalition is
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a national organization in the U .S. providing
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support and education to disabled individuals
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about their voting rights. This organization
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helps individuals register to vote and gives
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meaningful up -to -date information on the rights
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of every individual voter to vote in the U .S.
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with whatever their needs may be. They help to
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educate the disability community on if you, say,
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need someone to help you fill out your ballot,
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what does that look like? Or do you need someone
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to drop off your mail -in ballot somewhere? There's
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also rules for that, and they can give you all
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of the information that you might need if you
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are interested in voting. You really should vote
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anyways. Issues that we vote on affect us all.
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Another organization that's more local to Philadelphia
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is the Arc of Philadelphia and Spark Philly.
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The Arc of Philadelphia is one of several arcs
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across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These
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organizations provide resources and education
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to people with disabilities and their families.
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to help individuals live independent full lives
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through employment training and job placement
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assistance, home and community -based services,
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and cultural arts programs. So they can help
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the disability community and individuals within
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the community to get a job if they need help
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with finding a job. an apartment or a house to
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live in, they can help with that. If you need
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like a home care attendant, they can help you
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connect with those resources. And they also allow
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individuals who want to express themselves in
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a more creative way, access to the arts, you
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know, visual media, you know, painting. writing,
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music, whatever you might want. And, you know,
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another organization that is here in Philly is
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Liberty Resources Incorporated. And Liberty Resources
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is a center for independent living in Philadelphia,
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one of many throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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And it provides home and community -based services
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for individuals with disabilities in the Philadelphia
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region. Again, similar to ARCA Philadelphia,
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this includes assistance with housing, home care
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services, and they also put on accessible events
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for members of the community that they serve.
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So, you know, that's great. And maybe it's obvious
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to many of you why mutual aid is needed for the
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disability community at large. But for those
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who might not really understand it, one of the
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big reasons why this is so important is many
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people within the disability community are experiencing
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different things. The disability community cuts
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through basically every other demographic of
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marginalized person. In the world, many disabled
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individuals in the U .S. often don't have a lot
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of access to financial resources, so they end
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up relying on government programs to be able
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to survive. Things like housing benefits or SNAP
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benefits for food, SSDI for income, LIHEAP, which
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I believe is for like... heating and electricity
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assistance. So we end up providing a lot of these
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services through mutual aid so that people can
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have healthier, happier lives along with the
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government services. Also, being on these government
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services is a full -time job unto itself, and
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it can be helpful to have someone else to help
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guide you through the process. This is really
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important to keep people from being institutionalized,
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which historically has not been great for the
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disability community. And so you're probably
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hearing all this and you're thinking, well, what
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can I do to help? What can I do, Phil? Well,
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mutual aid networks, you know, take many individuals
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and organizations working collectively to support
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individuals from vulnerable groups. vulnerable
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groups excuse me by providing access to resources
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and services for low or no cost so you can get
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involved and there's a lot of ways for you to
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get involved too um you can help your community
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members independently or with an you know other
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individuals and or within an organization. So
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what would that look like? Well, maybe you have
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a little bit of money and time and you have a
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disabled friend or neighbor who maybe needs a
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little bit of help getting groceries. Go get
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them some groceries. Or you can assist someone
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to vote. You can also cook meals or otherwise
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help a disabled friend or neighbor with chores
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around their home. You can also volunteer with
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a mutual aid organization. And many charities
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and aid organizations are in constant need of
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people willing to give their time to help support
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the population they serve. So, you know, if you
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have the time and the resources to be able to
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help, you know, whether it's a soup kitchen or
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with an organization that's helping registered
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people to vote or whatever it may be. You should
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get involved if you want. And if you have the
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resources to be able to do so, making a donation
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to an organization is a good way to help support
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individuals as well. Nearly all mutual aid organizations
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are nonprofits and many are 501c3s, which in
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America means that the donations can be tax deductible
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100%. The only thing that I would caution you
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is to make sure that you do your homework on
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the organizations that you're looking to donate
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to. Some organizations don't provide the help
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that fosters. true independence for the community
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that they serve. And sometimes they don't necessarily
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use the resources in a very efficient manner
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to help those that need it the most. One thing
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you can do to try and figure this out is by looking
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at their financial statements. And, you know,
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you just got to look at like, you know, where's
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the money going to? What are they using it for?
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How much of it is going where? That kind of stuff.
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You should also look at their website and other
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promotional materials to help get a better sense
25:28
of what your money might really be getting put
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towards. And like I said, there are several organizations
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that use emotional appeals to try and get donations
25:43
from people. Remember, they may not truly have
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the community's best interests in mind. So that's
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a little bit about mutual aid organizations.
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And I find it really important to be talking
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about this, especially right now, given everything
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that's been happening recently, the way the economy
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has been going, some of the other things that
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have been happening as well. I just want to encourage
26:16
people to get out and do what they can to help
26:24
others in this time. We really have some difficulty
26:30
with creating community in this country as a
26:34
whole. And I think that's one of the most important
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things that we can do right now is when everyone's
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kind of going through it. supporting each other
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because at the end of the day that helps to strengthen
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our bonds and it helps to you know make people
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a little bit more uh friendly towards each other
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as a whole so again uh this was our podcast all
27:06
about mutual aid um thanks for listening to the
27:10
living loud and proud podcast again i'm your
27:12
host Phil Rosen. I will see you here next time.
27:19
Please visit our accessible website at www .disabilitypridepa
27:26
.org. You can find us on social media at Disability
27:30
Pride PA on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.