As a disability rights organization, ASAN continually affirms both that people with disabilities are members of every marginalized group and that disability rights are civil rights. In doing so, we must also affirm that working within the disability rights movement requires us to join forces with our peers who are also members of other marginalized groups in the fight for justice for all. When oppression affects one of us, it affects us all. Disability rights are civil rights, and civil rights are disability rights.
Therefore, ASAN recognizes that all forms of systemic oppression and structural violence, including but not limited to: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, classism, ageism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-immigrant bias and white supremacy cause harm to personally impacted members of the autistic community. As we work to advance our mission, we will strive to do so in a way that takes all forms of systemic oppression into account. ASAN is invested in working towards racial and economic justice, advancing the rights of women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, ensuring the freedom to practice all religions without fear, and achieving equity for our collective communities.
The disability rights movement has a lot of work to do in order to live up to these ideals. ASAN is committed to learning and doing right by our entire community–including those whose intersections include, but extend beyond, autism. In order to truly embody the lessons of the disability rights and self-advocacy movements, we must continually find and address the places where our advocacy falls short. We believe in a future where all people can live free of oppression and where all our voices can be heard. We won’t stop until that world is real.