Celebrating How Brad Lomax and the Black Panther Party Paved the Way for Disability Justice
Prior to disability rights, if people with disabilities were mistreated, there were no legal repercussions. Most public places weren’t accessible and it was expected disabled people would not participate in society. There was phenomenal and historic work done by disabled people and allies to develop disability rights in the U.S., and it had many successes in advancing a philosophy of independent living and opening possibilities for people with disabilities."
And the Black Panther Party was there every day, bringing us really good food...But what I noticed there was that there was one time the McDonald's Corporation brought us junk food and they were mentioned in the newspaper reports every single time. They hardly ever mentioned the fact that it was the Black Panther Party feeding us most of the time."
In addition to feeding the protesters in San Francisco, the Black Panther Party brought in mobile showers, and covered the 504 sit-in with their national Black Panther newspaper, as discussed in Chapter 1 of Black Disability Politics below:
I argue that the Panthers’ revolutionary ideology understood the relationship of racism, classism, and ableism, but their approach to disability politics did not always align with the language and tactics of the white mainstream disability rights movement. As a result, their work has been overlooked and underappreciated in disability studies, while the importance of disability and health to the Panthers...and the revolutionary nature of their work...have been similarly overlooked and underappreciated in Black studies."
Especially when the Trump 2.0 regime has had devastating impacts on Black communities in particular, highlighting the work of Brad Lomax and the Black Panther Party during this month of Disability Pride felt like a necessity in 2026.
Although Brad Lomax and the Black Panther Party are unlikely to have called their efforts, "Disability Justice," it is undeniable that their contributions to the 504 sit-ins paved the way for what we now call the Disability Justice framework."
As mentioned in last week's newsletter, I am facilitating a virtual Pay-What-You-Can Taking Alice Wong's Advice for Disability Pride workshop at 7-9pm EST on Saturday, July 25, 2026, so I hope that you will consider joining us then:
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