Why Advocating Like a Mother Matters More Than Ever
Photo Credit: Semi House Society
We are living through unprecedented times. I know you feel it, too, Mamas. In addition to the day-to-day challenges you and I navigate supporting our kids, we now hold our collective breath as the Trump administration, and states across the country (including Maryland where we are based) plan cuts to programs and services (Maryland’s proposed 2026 budget would eliminate $200 million from the Developmental Disabilities Association) which drastically impact families like ours who are raising children with disabilities.
Will Medicaid continue being funded? What about Title 1 that supports schools in low income neighborhoods where students of color are overwhelmingly represented? As I type these words, heart leaping with concerns in a sea of uncertainty, I am reminding all of us that advocating like a mother, not just for your kids, but the disability community as whole, is essential. Our concern cannot stop with our lived experiences.
Earlier this week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum mandating all federal departments and agencies stop
financial assistance programs and supporting activities, effective January 28, 2025, at 5 p.m. EST. Disability advocates and activists, parents and families quickly mobilized to stop this over reach of authority.
The White House Clarification Memo says: “The pause does not apply across-the-board. It is expressly limited to programs, projects, and activities implicated by the President’s Executive Orders, such as ending DEI, the green new deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations that undermine the national interest.”
But Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) (both in the form of programs and an overall societal value system) directly benefits people with disabilities and other marginalized communities. Despite MAGA Republicans using DEI as a slur, a world devoid of humanity’s full expression (neurodivergence, disability, race /ethnicity, gender, etc.), is an empty place.
And although “a federal district judge on Tuesday granted an administrative stay in a case challenging the Trump administration’s planned freeze of federal aid, pausing the plan for a week,” according to NBC News, our continued advocacy is critical. Because, “the order applies only to the pause of disbursements in open grants, Judge Loren AliKhan said. And it doesn't get into the legality of the freeze,” but does give Judge AliKhan “time to hear more fleshed-out arguments from a coalition of nonprofit groups about why she should issue a temporary restraining order that could block the freeze for an additional two weeks. The hearing will take place at 11 a.m. Monday [Feb. 3]. ”
Disability Rights is Political
After wrapping up our Mindful Mama IG Live chat on Wednesday, I hopped onto our Instagram feed, and came across several posts from advocates and organizations reacting to all that is unfolding. Some folks said they usually “do not get political,” but felt compelled to speak up. And I could not help but think — the work of disability rights and advocacy is absolutely political.
Brad Lomax, Disability Rights Activist and Black Panther Party - his advocacy (along with many other led to the passage of section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act
The Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA) did not pass because politicians arbitrarily decided disabled people should have rights and inclusion; it was (and continues to be) the arduous work of disability rights activists and advocates that make progress possible. Within her memoir, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, Judy Heumann wrote: “Our anger was a fury sparked by profound injustices. Wrongs that deserved ire. And with that rage we ripped a hole in the status quo.”
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act (paved the way for the ADA passage in 1990) was finally enforced in the late 1970s because disability rights activists demanded this legislation move from words to action:
“No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States… will be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance…” was also the result of organizing and sustained action from the disabled community.”
In 1977, the Black Panther Party supported a 25 day sit-in of a federal building in San Francisco (there were also protests across the country) — supplying food and water to disabled activists, and uplifting the cause in numerous BPP newspaper articles and a press release (April 8, 1977) which asserted: “The issue here is human rights – rights of meaningful employment, of education, of basic human survival – of an oppressed minority, the disabled and handicapped. Further, we deplore the treatment accorded to the occupants of the fourth floor and join with them in full solidarity.” Brad Lomax, a member of BPP and disability rights activist, was instrumental in leading the direct action in San Francisco. “He was also integral in starting the Washington D.C. Black Panther Party Free Health Clinic.”
It’s 2025, and the issue is still human rights, a steadfast resistance of the many ways people with disabilities and their caregivers continue to face discrimination. Nicole Bohn, Executive Director of Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) said of the proposed freeze: “It jeopardizes critical Medicaid-funded services, educational supports, and housing assistance that enable people with disabilities to live independently and avoid institutionalization. This decision threatens the safety, dignity, and future of people with disabilities, particularly disabled people who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color.”
What Can We Do?
Sustained action and consistent organizing is key. Here are some ways we can make our voices heard:
Even though there is a temporary block on the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze, it’s not defeated. Use 5 Calls (which you can also download as an app) to continue calling and emailing your representatives; all you have to do is put in your zip, and it pulls up your Congress members along with contact info.
Call Script (provided by 5 Calls):
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY, ZIP].
I'm calling to urge [REP/SEN NAME] immediately support a resolution opposing Trump's freeze on congressionally-approved federal funding. Even though the OMB has rescinded their federal funding freeze memo, the Trump White House states that this order is still in effect. Executive branch interference with this funding not only creates massive economic harms but also directly violates the Constitution. Congress must be united in opposing this blatantly unconstitutional action.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Call Script from 5 Calls.
IF LEAVING VOICEMAIL: Please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied.
Stop Freeze of Federal Funds | National Low Income Housing Coalition
Protect Independent Living Funding | National Council on Independent Living
School House Connection | Tell Your Member of Congress to Unfreeze Federal Funding NOW
Tell Congress Medicaid is a Lifeline for Families Like Ours! Sign this petition from The Arc.
Maryland Families:📧 Sign up for our Virtual Advocacy Training with PennMar on February 6, 2025 at 12pm.
Email: tinachansweenie@penn-mar.org📢 Attend DD Day at the Legislature virtually on February 13, 2025
Learn more: https://thearcmd.org/dd-day/ and register: tinachansweenie@penn-mar.org.Check out the LISS Tool Kit from Penn-Mar Human Services which you can use to advocate that this grant program funding which helps so many families not be cut!
