5/22 #DisabilityCivics Twitter Chat

You are invited to participate in the #DisabilityCivics Twitter chat co-hosted by Sandy Ho of the Lurie Institute and Alice Wong of the Disability Visibility Project on May 22, 2019, 7 pm Eastern. We will have a conversation about civic participation of disabled people in the United States. We want to hear from you on how to improve access and opportunities for disabled people to be involved in their local communities. Why should people care about how decisions are made? Why should people connect with larger networks in their area? Join us on May 22nd and let us know what you think!

The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy in partnership with the Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy, with support from the Ford Foundation will bolster cross-movement efforts among the disability rights and civic engagement fields to work toward a more equitable society. We believe that the stories of civic engagement by disabled people should be told by people with disabilities. To better understand and learn how to create meaningful cross-engagement between disability rights and civic engagement communities, we are working on a project that includes gathering information from this twitter chat.

Please note: As participants in this twitter chat, it is important that you are aware your responses may be included in conjunction with recommendations to inform our learning. Twitter is a public social media platform and we are unable to protect your anonymity if you choose to participate in this twitter chat. At any point you are able to leave the twitter chat, recuse your responses, take a break from participating, and choose to not answer any question(s). This twitter chat will be archived using Wakelet to help us document the learnings that you share.

Alice Wong, of Disability Visibility Project, is a paid consultant for this project.

About

 

The Lurie Institute conducts cross-disciplinary research on disability policy in the United States with a special emphasis on autism, focusing on the lifespan of persons with disabilities and their families, and analyzing policy options for achieving the broadest integration of persons with disabilities into the mainstream of U.S. society, including their own voices in such analyses.

Website: http://lurie.brandeis.edu/

Twitter: @LurieInstitute

 

The Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy draws upon scholarship and practitioner experience to inform philanthropy that moves social justice work forward. We engage emerging and established members of the philanthropic community via publications and programming and through coursework and fellowships that provide real-world experience in social justice grantmaking.

Website: http://sillermancenter.brandeis.edu

Twitter: @SillermanCenter

Additional Links

Civic Engagement Toolbox For Self-Advocates, Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

Civic Engagement, Youth.gov

Civic Engagement: It’s for the Long Haul, Jennifer Bradley, April 10, 2018, The Aspen Institute

Civic Engagement Matters, National Civic League

We the People: Preparing Students with Disabilities for Civic Engagement, Fall 2016, New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities.

The State of Civics Education, Sarah Shapiro and Catherine Brown, April 21, 2018, Center for American Progress

“Let’s Go There: Making a Case for Race, Ethnicity, and a Lived Civics Approach to Civics Education,” Cathy Cohen, Joseph Kahne, and Jessica Marshall, November 14, 2018, Civic Engagement Research Group

How to Participate

 

Follow @DisVisibility @IntersectedCrip and @LurieInstitute on Twitter for updates.

When it’s time, search #DisabilityCivics on Twitter for the series of live tweets under the ‘Latest’ tab for the full conversation.

If you find yourself overwhelmed by the volume of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @DisVisibility’s account. Each question will be tweeted 6-7 minutes apart.

Another way to participate in the chat is to use this app that allows you to pause the chat if the Tweets are coming at you too fast: http://www.tchat.io/  

Here is a link for people who are new to Twitter on starting an account and how to use it: https://help.twitter.com/en/new-user-faq

Here’s an article about how to participate in a Twitter chat: https://www.adweek.com/digital/how-to-join-a-twitter-hashtag-chat/

Check out this captioned explanation in ASL (American Sign Language) of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc

https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/

Introductory Tweets and Questions for Chat

 

Welcome to the #DisabilityCivics chat on civic participation and the disability community! This chat is co-hosted by @IntersectedCrip, Research Associate @LurieInstitute & @DisVisibility. For more about the Lurie Institute: http://lurie.brandeis.edu

Full disclosure: @DisVisibility is a paid consultant for this chat.

FYI: This twitter chat is part of a larger project that you can learn more about here: [link to blog post]. Your Tweets may be included along with other recommendations and findings by @LurieInstute on #DisabilityCivics. You are welcome to delete your responses, take a break, or choose to not participate at any time.

Remember to use the hashtag when you tweet. If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #DisabilityCivics”

Q1 What does civic participation (or engagement) mean to you? What are some examples from your own life in your local community? #DisabilityCivics

Civic participation is about people making a change or influencing decision-making in their community. It doesn’t have to be political in nature but that’s one type. 

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/college/collegespecial2/coll_aascu_defi.html?pagewanted=all #DisabilityCivics

Some examples of civic participation can involve volunteering, voting, serving on boards or committees, and joining different informal and formal groups. #DisabilityCivics

Q2 Why is it important that disabled people have a voice in how projects, policies, or activities are shaped in the community where they live? #DisabilityCivics

Q3 Tell us about your own experiences with civic engagement at the local, state, or national level. If you faced barriers or challenges, please describe them and how you responded to them #DisabilityCivics

Q4 For multiple marginalized disabled people, how are barriers to civic participation amplified by other forms of discrimination and systemic oppression such as racism, ageism, and sexism (among others)? #DisabilityCivics

Q5 Historically, disabled people have been segregated and not allowed to participate in society. What can governments, public institutions and civic engagement organizations do to improve access to meaningful engagement with disabled people across all communities? #DisabilityCivics

Q6 Beyond access, what does meaningful and authentic civic participation with the disability community look like to you? How can civic engagement stakeholders facilitate this process? Please describe. #DisabilityCivics

Q7 If you could create a Civics 101 for the disability community, what kinds of information, skills, and tools would be helpful for you to get involved with civic life? #DisabilityCivics

Q8 What is valuable about the insight and expertise of disabled people for society as a whole? How does this contribute to a healthy, diverse, and vibrant democracy? #DisabilityCivics

Thank you for joining our #DisabilityCivics chat. Please continue the convo! An additional way to participate in this project and provide comments is by completing this anonymous survey.

Many thanks to @IntersectedCrip of the @LurieInstitute for co-hosting with us today. A recap of today’s chat will be up tomorrow. Check the #DisabilityCivics hashtag.