2/10/26 - Black disabled leaders, the "R-Word," and bone health
Good afternoon!
It looks like another variety day. Here are your three disability-related links for this Tuesday ...
Have a comment ... something to add? Send me an email: apulrang@icloud.com
17 Black Disability Activists and Advocates
Disability Rights Florida - February 3, 2022
"February is Black History Month! We will be highlighting impactful Black disability activists and advocates throughout the month."
This is a series of profiles from 2022. So, it might be a little out of date. But then it's about history, so it's bound to be fairly relevant four years after its original publication. It's also probably not the most complete or deep article available on Black disabled leaders. But as an introduction to the topic – for readers who may have never really thought about it – I think a more superficial overview of several people can be better than an in-depth profile of only one or two. This is a decent start.
The ‘R-Word’ Returns, Dismaying Those Who Fought to Oust It
Dan Barry and Sonia A. Rao, New York Times - January 26, 2026
"For decades now, the “R-word” has been regarded as a slur against people with intellectual disabilities — a word to be avoided. Yet it has had a striking resurgence, in part because people in high-profile positions of power and influence have chosen to resurrect it, often with an air of defiance."
Proponents of making the "R-Word" acceptable again insist that their use of the word isn't meant to be an insult to people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. They argue it's supposed to refer to a more ordinary form of everyday stupidity, incompetence, or dullness. This argument is just solid enough to be somewhat plausible. But it's clearly also an excuse for a petty kind of adolescent rebellion and cruelty. And it doesn't take into account that the "R-Word" actually hurts intellectually disabled people in a unique and often very intense and personal way. When intellectually disabled people hear the word, whether it's directed at them or not, it recalls the real anguish of being taunted in school – and for some, well into adulthood – by people who absolutely do mean to hurt them. I don't know if people should be "cancelled" for using it – whatever "cancelled" even means at this point. But it's hard to imagine there's any real loss of linguistic expression if we just stop saying the "R-Word." And when powerful officials and thought leaders use it with glee, it's impossible not to interpret it as deliberate offense of one kind or another. And what the hell can possibly be the compensating value in that?
Searching for Osteoporosis Solutions as a Wheelchair User
Cheryl Angelelli, New Mobility - January 14, 2026
"Rather than wait for what often feels like an inevitable injury, I decided to take proactive steps to improve my bone health."
I'm thinking a lot more about bone health and resilience these days, as I fall and break them., age, and become a part-time wheelchair user.
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