Back to Program: April 25 | April 26 | April 27 | Pre-recorded Sessions

Interdependence Is The Key To Liberation and Justice For Disabled People

Dom Kelly

Date: April 26, 2023

Lecture: 12:30pm-12:45pm 

Q&A: 12:45pm-12:55pm

Abstract

Disabled people face the disproportionate impact of policy choices that have kept our community in poverty, struggling for access to health care, and trying to survive without basic support systems in place. Further, there is a care crisis in the United States, with more than 650,000 people on waiting lists for home and community-based services, many of them forced into nursing homes and institutions while they wait. There is hope though, and the path to liberation for disabled people comes from being unapologetically interdependent. This presentation will demonstrate how interdependence is the path forward – that when we focus more on how we help each other rather than rely on systems that keep us oppressed, liberation and justice for our community is within reach. This is supported by data and research that demonstrates the greater social impact of interdependence when compared to reliance on government, policy, etc. The call to action for attendees will be to focus on community solutions to our greatest problems, like building coalitions, forming mutual aid groups, and more, and they will leave with a clear direction for constructing a better future for disabled people.

About the Speaker

Dom Kelly

Dom Kelly is the Founder, President & CEO of New Disabled South, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and New Disabled South Rising, its 501(c)(4) arm. He previously served as founding staff on Stacey Abrams’ campaign for governor of Georgia, both as Georgia Fundraising Director and the Senior Advisor for Disability. Prior to that, he was Senior Fundraising Manager and a Strategic Advisor for Disability at Fair Fight Action, the voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams. He received a Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice where he also received the Excellence in Social Impact award. Additionally, he holds a bachelor’s degree in music production, a master’s degree in journalism, an executive certificate in social impact strategy, and a graduate certificate in interdisciplinary disability studies. He was a 2021 New Leaders Council fellow, serves as a board member for The Kelsey, Society for Disability Studies, Neighborhood Access, and University of Pennsylvania’s Nonprofit Leadership Alumni Association, and is a member of the NationSwell Council.

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Sponsored By:
  • The President’s Commission on Disability Issues (PCDI), University of Maryland
  • Maryland Developmental Disability Council (MDDC)
    Disclaimer: This Summit was supported, in part by grant number CFDA 93.630, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.
  • The Graduate School’s Office of Graduate Diversity and Inclusion (OGDI), University of Maryland