The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is pleased to announce that its Executive Director, Reyma McCoy McDeid, has been selected to serve as a Fellow for Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s Antibigotry Convening. Dr. Kendi, author of the best-selling book, How to be an Antiracist, is the founder of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, which is home to the Antibigotry Convening, a program that “aims to define bigotry in structural terms, examine the ways that structural bigotry harms diverse communities, generate an antibigotry policy report, and motivate an antibigotry movement. The project will involve a series of virtual workshops in the Fall of 2021, and will culminate in a virtual symposium in January of 2022.”
As the sole representative of a disability organization to participate in the Antibigotry Convening, Reyma further positions NCIL as a wayshower at the intersection of race and disability. From Reyma: “This is an incredible opportunity- not only for NCIL, or the disability community, but for society at-large because we are finally starting to see that not meeting the needs of racially marginalized disabled people- either unintentionally or intentionally- is a form of ableism, as discussed by Dr. Kendi and Rebecca Cokley earlier this summer. For many in IL, this is a way of looking at ableism that might feel unfamiliar. But, if you’ve ever wondered why your CIL has struggled to engage with racially marginalized consumers, then not understanding how the disability experience for racially marginalized consumers- including how ableism manifests in their lives- may be a part of the issue. I look forward to taking what I learn during my time as a Fellow with the Antibigotry Convening to further support NCIL’s member network in providing the Core Services to racially marginalized consumers in ways that are transformative- both for consumers, but for IL, as a movement.”
More information on the Antibigotry Convening can be found by visiting the website.
