ABSTRACT
This special issue advances a Second Wave of Disability Activism in higher education by centering Disability Justice principles and the wisdom of disabled and Deaf BIPOC communities. Nearly 35 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, legal protections have expanded access but fallen short in transforming attitudes, equity, and institutional culture. Grounded in the 10 Principles of Disability Justice, this collection bridges grassroots activism and academia to reimagine higher education beyond compliance toward collective liberation. Contributors critically examine intersections of ableism, racism, audism, and capitalism, offering case studies, reflection questions, and praxis-oriented insights. Through collaborative writing practices, interdependent editing, and honoring non-normative scholarly forms, this special issue embodies the values it advocates. Dedicated to the legacy of the late Patty Berne, a co-creator of the Disability Justice movement , it calls faculty, leaders, students, and communities to embrace disability justice as love, accountability, and liberation—an urgent transformation benefitting all.
Practical Take Aways
While the ADA and Section 504 expanded access and legal protections, they have not produced equitable outcomes—especially for BIPOC disabled students—because compliance does not equal cultural awareness, understanding, or transformation.
Disability Justice offers a framework that shifts higher education beyond individual accommodations toward collective liberation, interdependence, and community care.
Disability cannot be understood apart from race, gender, class, deaf identity, and other intersecting identities. Disabled BIPOC students and faculty experience unique forms of oppression that must be addressed explicitly.
Faculty, leaders, students, and communities must operationalize Disability Justice principles to create sustainable, inclusive practices that affirm disabled lives and foster systemic change.
We can disrupt the toxic and competitive nature of traditional academic publishing by embracing Disability Justice through fostering collaborative and interdependent approaches that value collective knowledge, community feedback, and honoring the wholeness of each scholar’s bodymind.