Disability justice advocates Shain Neumeier and Lydia X.Z.Brown discuss their activism to end institutional abuse of disabled people.
About this Event
The Wild Ivy Social Justice Network presents: A virtual panel with renowned disability justice advocates Shain Neumeier and Lydia X.Z. Brown as they share their wisdom and experiences organizing to end institutional violence against disabled people at the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC). Located in Canton, Massachusetts, the JRC has been widely condemned as the only institution in the US to use torture, such as electric shocks against their disabled residents. The panel will discuss the long, ongoing history of activism from JRC survivors and other organizers to close the Center and the broader consequences for disability justice and decarceration.
Speaker Bios:
Shain Neumeier is a lawyer, activist, and community organizer, as well as an out and proud member of the disabled, trans, queer, and asexual communities. Their passion on the issue of ending abuse and neglect of youth with disabilities in schools and treatment facilities stems from their own experiences with involuntary medical treatment and bullying, and led them to go to law school. They have pursued their goal of using legal advocacy to address these problems ever since. Shain's work appears in Autistic Activism and the Neurodiversity Movement: Stories from the Frontlines, Resistance and Hope: Crip Wisdom for the People, Rewire News, and Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking.
Among other honors, they were named the Massachusetts Bar Association's Outstanding Young Lawyer in 2018, the Self Advocacy Association of New York State's Self Advocate of the Year in 2017, and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities' Leadership in Advocacy Awardee in 2015. Shain has previously worked with the Intersex and Genderqueer Recognition Project, the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network, and the Community Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Youth. When not working, they're probably crafting, playing Dungeons & Dragons, listening to history podcasts, or watching Netflix with their partner and three feline roommates.
Lydia X. Z. Brown is a disability justice advocate, organizer, educator, attorney, strategist, and writer whose work has largely focused on interpersonal and state violence against multiply-marginalized disabled people living at the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, nation, and language. They are Policy Counsel for the Privacy and Data Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology; Adjunct Lecturer in Disability Studies for Georgetown University's Department of English; and Director of Policy, Advocacy, & External Affairs at the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network. They are also founder and volunteer director of the Fund for Community Reparations for Autistic People of Color's Interdependence, Survival, and Empowerment. Currently, they serve as a founding board member of the Alliance for Citizen Directed Supports, presidential appointee to the American Bar Association's Commission on Disability Rights, and chair of the American Bar Association's Section on Civil Rights & Social Justice, Disability Rights Committee.
Previously, Lydia worked on disability rights and algorithmic fairness at Georgetown Law's Institute for Tech Law and Policy, served as Justice Catalyst Legal Fellow for the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and worked at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network as a member of the national policy team. They are former Chairperson of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, Visiting Lecturer at Tufts University, Holley Law Fellow at the National LGBTQ Task Force, and Patricia Morrissey Disability Policy Fellow at the Institute for Educational Leadership.
In 2015, Lydia was named to Pacific Standard's 30 Top Thinkers Under 30 list, and to Mic's list of 50 impactful leaders, cultural influencers, and breakthrough innovators. In 2018, NBC featured them as one of 26 Asian Pacific American breakthrough leaders for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and Amplifier featured them as part of the We The Future campaign for youth activism. Most recently, Lydia was named to Gold House Foundation's A100 list of the most impactful Asians in America for 2020. Their work appears in numerous scholarly and community publications, and they have received many awards for their work, including from the Obama White House, the Society for Disability Studies, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the Washington Peace Center, the Disability Policy Consortium, and the National Council on Independent Living.