“Nothing About Us Without Us” and the Disability Rights Movement

The phrase “Nothing About Us Without Us” originated in political movements among people experiencing poverty and systemic exclusion, including in South Africa and Eastern Europe, before being adopted powerfully by the disability rights movement in the 1990s. It became a rallying cry for self-determination, signaling that policies, decisions, and programs affecting Disabled people must be made with their leadership—not on their behalf.

The phrase gained widespread recognition through the book Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment (2000) by James I. Charlton, a landmark text in disability studies. Charlton explores the global history of disability activism and the ways Disabled* people have fought for autonomy, access, and collective power in the face of systemic exclusion.

While “Nothing About Us Without Us” remains central to the disability rights movement, disability justice—led by queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and people of color with disabilities—has expanded the vision. Rather than focus solely on individual rights or legal inclusion, disability justice emphasizes interdependence, intersectionality, healing, and shared liberation.

At Nothing Without Us Collective, we draw inspiration from this rich history and carry it forward through a disability justice lens. “Nothing Without Us” speaks to a deep truth:

Disabled people are not only essential to social justice movements—they are architects of equity, access, and collective liberation.

When Disabled people lead, communities become more inclusive, creative, and connected for everyone.

References & Acknowledgements

This name, and the values it holds, would not exist without the teachings, writings, organizing, and love of many leaders, past and present. We offer deep respect and gratitude to those whose work grounds us, including:

• Judy Heumann (1947–2023), lifelong disability rights activist, co-founder of the World Institute on Disability, and architect of key U.S. disability legislation including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Judy’s leadership in the 504 sit-ins and global advocacy efforts fundamentally shifted what access, autonomy, and civil rights mean for Disabled people.
• James I. Charlton, author of Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment, whose writing helped popularize the demand for self-determination in disability rights globally
• Mia Mingus, founder of the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective and originator of pod mapping—a transformative tool for building relationships of care and accountability. Mia’s work on transformative justice, access intimacy, and access-centered movement building provides a critical foundation for navigating what she names as “the equity apocalypse” and imagining futures rooted in interdependence.
• Patty Berne, Stacey Park Milbern, and the collective of Sins Invalid, originators of the 10 Principles of Disability Justice, who helped shift the movement from access-as-compliance to access-as-love, culture, and collective liberation
• Ly Xīnzhèn M. Zhǎngsūn Brown, J.D. |長孫驪新鎮, whose intersectional policy advocacy and writing on language, identity, and neurodivergence continue to shape our understanding of inclusive and just practices
• Imani Barbarin, also known as Crutches and Spice, whose media work and public commentary challenge ableism and uplift Disabled voices in powerful, accessible ways
• Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project, whose curation and amplification of Disabled voices is a form of community archiving and political action
• Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, whose work on care webs, trauma, and survivorship has reshaped how we understand disability, healing, and support

And to every Disabled artist, organizer, survivor, elder, and youth whose wisdom lives in the movement:

We are because you are.

* A note on language. We use capital D Disability and lower case d disability to honor the multiple ways people with disabilities and Disabled people identify. Language is complicated, and we want to be as inclusive as possible.

Cierra Olivia Thomas Williams, M.A.
Founder
Nothing Without Us Collective