Michigan Disability Rights Coalition

12/19/2025

The LFI team is planning something big for 2026! In January, we are kicking off our first-ever Alumni All-Star Cohort! Past ambassadors will come together to learn advanced advocacy skills and advocate together for issues important to the disability community.

Image description: A group of LFI Ambassadors and staff pose for a group picture. They are wearing dark blue shirts with the word LFI on them, along with a logo, and pose in front of a large screen. End of Image Description.

12/16/2025

The survey closes on Saturday, and only takes a few minutes to fill out! Thank you for your support!

Are you a person with disabilities who uses Assistive Technology (AT) tools in your daily life? Take our survey to share how you use AT and challenges you have experienced. We want to hear from you to learn how to make it easier to get AT tools to individuals with disabilities across Michigan.

This survey will remain open until December 19th! Take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PF2QJVR

[ID: A tablet and a phone on a table. They have a voice assistant on their screen, text on screen: Hi! How can I help you? Text: Do you use assistive technology (AT) Tools? Take our survey!]

12/11/2025

Snow-Covered Sidewalks Can Leave East Lansing Residents With Disabilities Facing Barriers and Fines

MDRC's program director Laura Hall and community partners Disability Network Capital Area and Disability Rights Michigan discuss the impact of snow covered sidewalks on people with disabilities.

Image description. A tree lined snow covered street with only part of the sidewalks cleared. End Image description.

With a snow storm last night large enough to cancel school for East Lansing Public School students, remember to shovel the sidewalks near your home.

12/10/2025

Today is Human Rights Day.
MDRC will continue fighting for the rights of every person—in collaboration with our communities, coalitions, and movement partners across Michigan and beyond.

Let Human Rights Day 2026 shine brighter than today. May we all commit to making it so. 💜



Image description: Illustration on a light blue background showing eight hands of diverse skin tones—ranging from light to dark brown and Black—coming together to form a heart shape. The hands wear colorful sleeves in pink, beige, teal, green, magenta, red, and yellow, and are adorned with various accessories including bracelets, rings, and painted nails. In the center of the heart, orange text reads "HUMAN RIGHTS DAY!" The Michigan Disability Rights Coalition logo appears in the bottom right corner—white text on an orange square.

12/05/2025

Statement from Michigan Disability Rights Coalition

On Thanksgiving, the President of the United States called Governor Tim Walz "seriously re****ed."

When asked days later if he stood by it, he said: "Yeah. I think there's something wrong with him. Absolutely. Sure."

To my disability community: I know you felt that. We ourselves, or the people we love, have been called this hateful word. A word with a history of institutionalization, sterilization, and at its core, treating us as less than human. The disability community spent decades fighting to get this word removed from federal law.

Words matter. We know that. We also know that when a word starts to be used in our media discourse, and by those with public platforms like our President, it can become part of our public discourse again. Tim Walz has stated that people are now driving by his house yelling the word at his family.

We at MDRC echo the calls of the disability community: the use of this word is not acceptable. It is not okay.

But we cannot talk about this slur without talking about the context in which it was used.

The President didn't use the R-word in isolation. It was part of a Thanksgiving tirade attacking Somali immigrants, calling them criminals, claiming they were "roving the streets looking for prey," demanding they "go back to where they came from."

Days later he went further. He called Somali immigrants "garbage." He said Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is "garbage." He said her community "contributes nothing" and that "we don't want them in our country." It's worth noting: the majority of Somali Americans in Minnesota are U.S. citizens, many born here. They are Americans. But the President's language treats them as perpetual outsiders based on their ethnicity.

As a disability justice organization, we have to name what this is: ableism, racism, and xenophobia deployed together, in the same breath, against people the President wanted to dehumanize.
This is not a coincidence. These systems of oppression are connected. They share the same root: the belief that some people are worth less than others. The same thinking that uses the R-word as a weapon calls an entire community "garbage."

When the President uses an ableist slur to insult someone's intelligence, he's telling people with intellectual disabilities that their existence is an insult. When he calls an immigrant community "garbage," he's saying they are disposable. Both statements deny humanity. Both cause harm. Both are unacceptable.

MDRC condemns the ableist language and the hatred rooted in xenophobia and racism. We reject all of it.

And to members of our community targeted by this rhetoric, including those in the disability community who are immigrants, refugees, Somali, or who have ever been told you don't belong here: you do belong. You are not outsiders. You are our neighbors, and you are us. We are sorry for the hateful rhetoric directed at you and your families. You deserve to live without fear, without being called "garbage," without being told to "go back."

May our community rise together and continue to challenge hate in all its forms.

Theresa M., Executive Director

MDRC cultivates disability pride and strengthens the disability movement by recognizing disability as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity while collaborating to dismantle all forms of oppression.

[Image Description: Quote graphic with text: "The same thinking that uses the R-Word as a weapon calls an entire community garbage." Below: "A Statement on Ableism, Racism, and Xenophobia from MDRC" with Michigan Disability Rights Coalition logo. End Image Descripion.]

12/04/2025

Are you a person with disabilities who uses Assistive Technology (AT) tools in your daily life? Take our survey to share how you use AT and challenges you have experienced. We want to hear from you to learn how to make it easier to get AT tools to individuals with disabilities across Michigan.

This survey will remain open until December 19th! Take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PF2QJVR

[ID: A tablet and a phone on a table. They have a voice assistant on their screen, text on screen: Hi! How can I help you? Text: Do you use assistive technology (AT) Tools? Take our survey!]

12/03/2025

Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities

This year's UN theme—"Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress"—calls us to dismantle the systemic barriers that exclude disabled people from full participation in society.

We're proud to share that MDRC Executive Director Theresa Metzmaker recently joined an international panel for "Disability Advocacy in a Changing Environment," co-sponsored by MDRC and hosted by the GLC Alumni Network on November 4th.

The virtual gathering brought together disability justice advocates from the U.S., Hungary, Romania, Albania, and Bulgaria to confront shared challenges: shrinking democratic space, threatened funding, and policy shifts that threaten the justice, safety, and personal autonomy of disabled people on both sides of the Atlantic.

As a granddaughter of immigrants and former Professional Fellows Mentor for the Disability Activism Shaping Participatory Democracy program, Theresa understands that disability justice is inseparable from community justice, economic justice, and the broader fight for liberation. She shared insights on the current U.S. landscape and why building power across borders and learning from each other is essential to our collective movement.
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Disability justice teaches us that none of us are free until all of us are free. On this , we recommit to collective action, mutual support, and protecting the justice, safety, and personal autonomy of disabled people everywhere.

Image Description. A bright yellow event flyer titled "DISABILITY ADVOCACY IN CHANGING ENVIRONMENT" in bold black and purple capital letters at the top. Below the title is a black banner showing the date and time: "TUE, NOV 4 2025 | 11 AM EST | 5 PM CET." To the right of the banner is a small seedling plant icon with the text "challenges, victories and support."
The main section features a grid of nine headshot photos of panelists, each with their name in bold black text and their country displayed vertically in teal text beside their photo. The panelists are: Elizabeth Sammons (The US), Isabel Hodge (The US), Theresa Metzmaker (The US), Zora Molnar (Hungary), Petra Pintelei (Romania), Andreia Bruckner (Romania), Enron Seiti (Albania), Ashod Derandonyan (Bulgaria), and Amber Smock (The US).
Below the panelist grid are two additional photos: Anca Vasile labeled "VIDEO ADDRESS BY" and Vladislav Petkov labeled "MODERATED BY."
Green four-pointed star shapes are scattered decoratively throughout the flyer.
At the bottom are four organizational logos: a purple circular logo, the GLC Alumni Network logo with the tagline "CONNECTED FOR CHANGE," the World Affairs Council of Northwest Ohio logo featuring a blue bird design, and the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition logo in green with the tagline "With liberty and access for all." End Image Description.

12/02/2025

🎉 This year, the Leaders for inclusion team proudly trained over 1,000 individuals across Michigan! We’re grateful to everyone who joined us in building more inclusive communities. Here’s to continued growth and impact! 🌟

Image 1 description: Two people sit at a round conference table in a meeting room, facing each other and talking. Papers, folders, and glasses of water and lemonade are on the white tablecloth, and a blank projection screen hangs on the wall behind them.

12/02/2025

Please consider supporting the work of MDRC by donating this Giving Tuesday. https://www.networkforgood.org/donation/MakeDonation.aspx?ORGID2=382435517&vlrStratCode=S98spDohCyhKGTKKTqEsc9j8I9jNFoDq%2b%2fhrbcJ%2bqNxc%2f0ryaEJvQFEFlbmcbmu1

Image Description: A photo of Leandra at the LEAD Creating Change event. She is smiling while accepting her LEAD graduation certificate. She uses forearm crutches and is wearing a tan blazer and a black top. The text says, "Thank you for advocating! Together, we are raising awareness of what matters most. Giving Tuesday."

12/01/2025

This month we are highlighting Leaders for Inclusion Ambassador, Hailey. Hailey is a part of our most recent cohort. She is employed and is passionate about changing SSI (Supplemental Security Income) rules that limit how much people with disabilities can earn while on benefits. She has begun her campaign by creating a petition and currently has over 500 signatures! Image description A person is taking a close-up selfie while sitting on what looks like a bus seat. They are wearing large black glasses and a colorful floral jacket, and a seatbelt is fastened across their chest. Their hair is pulled back, and they have a big, cheerful smile.

11/24/2025

The leadership team would like to take the time to honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Alice Wong—a powerful disability advocate, visionary storyteller, and community builder—who passed away early last week. As an Asian woman with a disability, Alice reshaped what disability justice looks like by making space for voices too often pushed to the margins.
Through the Disability Visibility Project, her writing, and her relentless activism, Alice reminded us that our stories matter, our leadership matters, and our futures are worth fighting for. Her work has been especially meaningful for programs like LEAD, that celebrate advocates and communities living at the intersections of race and disability. As a program, we use her work often in our trainings to educate and build power. Her work amplified the voices of people of color with disabilities, and helped build a world where disabled people—especially disabled people of color—are seen, heard, and valued.
Alice Wong’s impact will continue to ripple through our communities for generations. May we carry her brilliance, her courage, and her belief in collective liberation forward.
Rest in power, Alice. Thank you for everything you gave us. 💛✨

Image Description: Alice Wong in a red blouse sits in a power wheelchair. She is looking directly at the camera against a gray concrete background. White text at the bottom reads: “Rest In Power — March 27, 1974 – November 14, 2025.”End Image Description.

11/21/2025

🚨 Attention Parents of kids with disabilities! 🚨
The LEAD Parent Program is here!
💛 Build advocacy skills
🤝 Connect with other parents
📢 Amplify your voice & make change
📅 Starts: March 2026
👉 Apply now: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJrBz2VJygRBotGnp1Os8_lpfjAUMuFJKdxjbE305-VtggGQ/viewform


Image Description: A flyer with images: The Michigan Disability Rights Coalition logo, the LEAD logo with an accessibility symbol inside the letter D. With two photos showing a group of people wearing matching LEAD shirts and the MiDDC Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council logo. Includes text: “LEAD PARENT PROGRAM. Michigan Disability Rights Coalition is accepting applications for their Parent Program. LEAD is a leadership and advocacy development program with a goal to build power within the disability community. This program is for parents that identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Color). The parent cohort begins with a 2 day retreat, Saturday, March 21st- Sunday, March 22nd, 2026 Meals and Lodging will be provided. A $175 stipend will be provided to those that attend the one month program. Childcare and transportation assistance is available upon request. Parents will learn about: • Disability pride, history, culture, & inclusion • Supporting their child with disabilities • Navigating the special education system • Self-advocacy & advocating for their child For more information: Web: MyMdrc.org Email: LEAD@MyMDRC.org Ph: 517-333-2477 The LEAD Program is funded by the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council” “APPLY NOW” above a QR code, with the text “Scan QR CODE for access to the application, or go to https://tinyurl.com/LEADPARENT26” end text.