2026 Session #5: Rooted in the South: Expanding Disability Justice Through Community, Faith, Storytelling, and Rural Engagement
Presenter:
Shannon Stubblefield, New Disabled South- Black Disability Institute; Shun Tucker-Allen, Director of Faith Community Engagement, New Disabled South; Kiana Jackson, Chief Research Officer, New Disabled South
Synopsis:
This session highlights New Disabled South’s Faith Organizing work and the Black Disability Institute (BDI), examining how Disability Justice in the U.S. South can shape movements nationwide. Centering on the realities that over half of Black Americans live in the South, one in four Black people has a disability, and nearly one in five Black Americans lives in rural communities, the session emphasizes why rural Black disabled people must be at the core of justice efforts. Participants will learn about how community-driven research, storytelling, and advocacy counter erasure and advance meaningful policy and cultural change.
