San Rafael, CA – The COVID-19 pandemic and the urgent need for life-saving health services unveiled systemic racism and ableism in every institution across the nation. To address the troubling topic head-on, the Marin County Office of Equity is inviting residents to participate in its next installment of the Community at the Table: Leading with Anti-Racism Speaker Series.
Alice Wong (left) and Yomi Sachiko Wrong will speak about disability justice during the online Community at the Table public forum on December 17.On Friday, December 17, a provocative online conversation about Disability and Racial Justice will be led by two disabled activists, both women of color based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The speaker series, free to the public, is in partnership with Book Passage , Institute for Leadership Studies and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Dominican University of California.
Yomi Sachiko Wrong and Alice Wong will lead the discussion. They will be joined by Eli Gelardin of the Marin Center for Independent Living and Abby Yim of Integrated Community Services, two Marin community disability rights leaders.
Join this forum as the panelists discuss: As communities adjust to uncertainty and the push for normalcy, how do residents ground themselves in justice and equity? What will it take to create a new normal with what has been learned and experienced? Session participants will examine the pandemic through the lens of people who are sick and/or disabled and, using disability justice as a framework, chart a new path forward.
Yomi Sachiko Wrong is an Oakland-based disability rights leader and self-described disability justice dreamer who works at the intersection of disability, race and health access. She is also a writer, facilitator and trainer committed to helping movements and organizations disrupt ableism.
Alice Wong is a disabled activist, media maker, and consultant based in San Francisco. She is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing and amplifying disability media and culture.
Eli Gelardin has been with the Marin Center for Independent Living since 2003 and has been its CEO since 2008.
“Disability rights are human rights,” he said. “For over 40 years we, as disabled advocates, have embraced this mantra to advance accessibility and public policy in almost every facet of life. However, the lived experience of our BIPOC community dictates more thoughtful and coordinated action. This community conversation is a critical first step toward the more equitable Marin we are entitled to.”
Abby Yim is a Marin native who has worked at Integrated Community Services since 2010.
“As our County continues to evolve and grow in our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” she said, “it brings me great joy to have the opportunity to learn from the expertise and perspective of Alice Wong and Yomi Sachiko Wrong, who are critical thinkers in asking questions of systemic access for all. These questions are urgent for us to center ourselves around as our county includes a growing number of people with disabilities and older adults, who deserve to thrive in our community.”
Register for this free event that is set for 5-6:30 p.m. December 17.
Equity is one of the Marin County Board of Supervisors’ top priorities. The Office of Equity has a vision of dismantling inequities and transforming systems that we have inherited through centuries of racial, social, and political injustices. Learn more online about equity measures at the County of Marin.
For disability accommodations, please phone (415) 473-7546, CA Relay 711, or contact by email at least five business days in advance of the event. The County will do its best to fulfill requests received with less than five business days’ notice. Copies of documents are available in an alternative format on request.