Presidential Address, 2022-Dismantling Systemic Barriers: Re-Envisioning Equity and Inclusion.

Abstract

It is my privilege to deliver this presidential address and to learn and grow with you during the 146 American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Annual Meeting and Conference. I am particularly grateful to have the opportunity to connect through our two conference venues—in-person and virtual. Each of us has been impacted in profound ways by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impacts of the pandemic continue to reverberate throughout society. There is no question that the impacts of the pandemic have differentially impacted marginalized communities (Magesh et al., 2021), including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (Gleason et al., 2021; Landes, Turk, Formica, et al., 2020; Landes, Turk, & Wong, 2020; Lunsky et al., 2022), exacerbating existing disparities and pushing to the forefront the need to address issues of equity and inclusion (Sabatello et al., 2020). Hosting our conference in two venues represents one small step and a recognition, I hope, of the need to respect, value, and promote access and inclusion in ways that recognize different needs related to health and wellness and to build systems of supports that start from a position of centering the voices and needs of those that are marginalized in our existing systems. Alongside the pandemic, we have as a society been further confronted by the pervasive and ongoing impacts of intersecting systems of oppression rooted in ableism, racism, and sexism, that create barriers to equity and inclusion and cause substantial harm to marginalized, particularly multiply marginalized, communities that experience intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989, 2017). We have witnessed systemic police brutality and the deep rooting and impacts of the carceral state. We have witnessed regressive policies advancing misogyny and misogynoir and devaluing basic human rights. We have seen certain social identities privileged over others. These intersecting systems of oppression limit equity and inclusion for all, but particularly impact efforts to advance disability, racial, and cultural justice as they sustain the deeply rooted biases in our systems, policies, and practices. Further, they fail to recognize, celebrate, and elevate the contributions of all members of our society, including disabled leaders that are multiply marginalized. Dismantling systemic barriers is critical to advancing equity and inclusion. As a field and organization of leaders in intellectual and developmental disabilities, I believe we are at a critical juncture. I believe we must begin to take steps to interrogate power and privilege and think and act with a critical lens to center the voices and experiences of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are multiply marginalized. Naming systemic barriers is only a first step in interrogating the role they play in the longstanding and pervasive inequities experienced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, particularly people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are multiply marginalized—a term I will use throughout this presentation to refer to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities impacted by intersecting systems of oppression; that is, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are Black, indigenous, and people of color; people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning; people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are immigrants; and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who speak multiple languages and communicate in diverse ways. Naming must be followed with actions that break down systems of oppression and advance equity and justice. The importance of naming systems of oppression and centering the voices of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in re-envisioning equity and inclusion is what led me to choose the theme for our conference this year. I want to use this space to issue a call for all of us, particularly those of us that have privilege and power in current societal and professional structures, to take steps to re-envision