Empowerment to the People! What You Need to Know about Black People, Disability, and Accessibility

A presentation at Juneteenth Conference by Angela Hooker

About one fifth (20%) of the global population lives with disabilities.​ According to the 2017 American Community Survey, 13.6 percent of Black and African Americans have a disability. Further, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is almost double of other people, and the people with disabilities who are employed have lower earnings, in general.

This means we have an opportunity and a duty to empower Black people with technology. One of the most powerful ways we can do this is to make our messaging accessible—no matter the platform or media.

While many of us have heard that accessibility is important, we seldom hear about how to implement it in our everyday work. Angela will discuss how people in every discipline—including PMs, content writers, designers, engineers, and more—can do so and further amplify the voices of Black people.