Advocacy
It was this eye-opening experience of exclusion as much as it was the convergence of dynamic communities that fueled Sasha ’ s activism . Today he ’ s a father of two working as the Google Maps Disability Inclusion Lead . He and I spoke in 2022 and then again last February about what it means for him to advocate .
SASHA : “ Finding my voice as an activist is a process and one that certainly continues . I would say that I became disabled very suddenly . It will be 15 years this July . But after , that singular inflection point of a moment has taken me to this day . I continue to become active and recognize that you can make change , and that raising your voice is not only effective for yourself and in your community . This community always existed but , as I ' ve said , wasn ' t one that I was very much aware of . I feel so grateful for it accepting me .
Crip Camp : People fought for it .
SASHA : “ That is really humbling . You recognize that you ' re so glad for all the people who have fought for it until now . For instance , in the documentary Crip Camp … It was framed around this small group of people that went to a summer camp for kids with disabilities . How that was this seed , the kernel , from which grew a lot of the disability rights work of the 70s and 80s .
“ I suppose that my voice kind of grew , and that I found it in the same way ; by being welcomed to that community and starting to meet other disabled people and our allies and learning this is something we can do together . And I ' m so grateful that , for instance , there are some elevators down to the subway , because people fought for it . Now that I ' m in a position where it ’ s , directly , extremely , relevant in my life , I want there to be more . I started to learn the history : ‘ How did this happen ? Oh , people fought for it .’ There were some battles , and there were settlements , and let ’ s demand more . So that ' s happened over the years . Still is .”
Accessibility : We ’ re leading it , but it ’ s for you .
SASHA : “ You never know what kind of arguments are going to land , with what kind of audiences . I feel like I ' m — on an almost daily basis — trying to remind myself , convince myself , and then convince others what kinds of changes are worth pursuing or make sense .
“ When I was at a Google Maps , larger , team meeting , I was telling people , here ' s some features we ' ve added in Maps to make finding wheelchair accessible transit routes easier ; or to be able to search for a bar which has a wheelchair accessible restroom . I phrased that as , ‘ I ' m so grateful ,’ because I truly am , ‘ to be able to use this feature now , and I know you know people with disabilities like me . Also , for families . If my mom was looking for a place to throw a party , she knows I ' m going to be there .’
“ I just want people to understand . You might think , ‘ Oh , that ' s nice for Sasha . That ' s nice for those people .’ Yeah , we ' re leading it because we see it , and we live it , and we need it , but it ' s for you . It ' s not just for us . … And it ' s not just theoretical . I had never imagined that this would be part of my life either , but it is . And once you ' re in it , you realize : Of course , this comes into everyone ' s life .”
Crip Camp ( 2020 ) is the Oscar-nominated documentary by filmmaker James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham that chronicles the happenings of Camp Jened , a summer camp for disabled teenagers . Their stories helped fuel a social justice movement for civil rights in the 1960s and 1970s , blazing a path for the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA ) in 1990 . Produced by Sara Bolder and former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle , Crip Camp aired on Netflix as one of the first films the
Obamas produced .
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