Ricardo Aranda lives in Georgia, a state in the south of the United States. He was born with cerebral palsy and a visual impairment, and he has a desire to make an impact. In this article, Ricardo speaks about the history of the disability rights movement in the US, his role as an advocate, and the importance of having your voice heard. 

“I do advocacy because I know that there is a need for voices like mine to speak out about the issues that affect our lives.” 

I grew up in the medical world, surrounded by lots of neurodiverse people and people with disabilities. I was always curious and asking questions, and this led me to get involved with advocacy. I first got involved with L’Arche in 2020 and now I am a member of my local community council. The L’Arche Atlanta Community Council is a sort of advisory board that helps make decisions about our outreach efforts.

I love to learn and listen to audiobooks. When I am not doing that or working on advocacy projects, I am very passionate about adaptive wheelchair racing. I’ve been competing since I was in college, about ten years ago. Push Assist Racing features a duo team racing where one athlete is in a specially designed racing wheelchair and the volunteer runner who guides the wheelchair to the finish line. 

I see my racing as a different form of advocacy because it promotes inclusion. Sometimes when we participate in the races, the athletes get stopped by people in the crowd who tell us they are interested in running and volunteering with us. Every time we run we don’t know exactly what kind of impact we’re making on our local community.

I do advocacy because I know that there is a need for voices like mine to speak out about the issues that affect our lives. Our collective voice needs to be heard and taken seriously. But, throughout history, that hasn’t been the case and the disability community has always been overlooked.

Last year, I was invited to be part of L’Arche International’s delegation to COSP17. COSP stands for Conference of State Parties to the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and it was the 17th time this conference took place. People with disabilities from across the world came together for this conference to discuss equality and inclusion of people with disabilities. 

By working with L’Arche, I feel like I can be a part of that collective voice to advocate and show the world that we’re here, we’re active and we know what’s going on. We’re never going to stop fighting for the things that we believe in. 

“We still have to advocate for our rights. Even with the laws here in the US, there are places and things that people with disabilities don’t have access to.” 

Having a disability in the US has its advantages and disadvantages but my personal experience has been positive. I am lucky to feel included and encouraged to be part of my local community. There are organizations that support us and there are also laws here that mandate the equal treatment of American citizens with disabilities. The most well known of these is called the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This law was signed into federal law on July 26, 1990. It was a big momentous occasion for us as a country. 

One of the most famous events in the history of the disability rights movement in the United States was something known as the Capitol Crawl. In March 1990, before the ADA was written into law, disabled people gathered and their allied groups abandoned their wheelchairs and other mobility aids and they literally crawled up the steps of the Capitol to show the inaccessibility in the United States. 

The US has a history of having incredible civil rights activists. I have been fortunate enough to be encouraged by others and to be included in the community. I am particularly inspired by John Lewis and his work in the civil rights movement. He had a famous saying: “Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” I use that quote as a personal motto.   

It is important that the disability community is involved in the changes that impact our lives. Because if we don’t make the change, who will? We want to be part of the decision making process. Judy Heumann, who participated in the Capitol Crawl, was another one of the US’s big disability advocates. Without her work, we wouldn’t have the ADA. Heumann famously used the phrase “Nothing about us without us”. 

We still have to advocate for our rights. Even with laws here in the US, there are places and things that people with disabilities don’t have access to. 

“I want to empower people to speak for themselves, no matter how they communicate.” 

I have been doing public speaking as a form of advocacy for as long as I can remember. I have spoken to many different organizations and groups. I like to think I am helping to carry across the voice of people who aren’t listened to. I want to empower people to speak for themselves, no matter how they communicate. 

I have spoken on behalf of my local wheelchair racing organization on many occasions. I believe it’s important to give these presentations to raise awareness about our organization and educate people about disability. 

It is a skill to be able to speak in front of people in public situations, and it is a valuable form of advocacy. Public speaking is not for everybody but it certainly is for me. 

I recently spoke to a group of middle school students about advocacy and my experience as an endurance wheelchair athlete. It is crucial to make these presentations because our version of the sport isn’t well known, even locally in Atlanta. Many people are unaware of what we do, so raising awareness is important for our community. 

By participating in races, we are also showing people that individuals with disabilities can be athletes too. Whether through public speaking or competing, it is really important to me that I spread this message.