Goodell Building, room 331
The Disability Day of Mourning website identifies more than 2000 people worldwide with disabilities who have been killed or murdered by their parents, relatives, or caregivers since the organization began keeping records in 1978.
https://disability-memorial.org/
Every year on March 1st, the disability community gathers across the nation to remember disabled victims of filicide–disabled people murdered by their family members or caregivers.
We see the same pattern repeating over and over again. A parent kills their disabled child. The media portrays these murders as justifiable and inevitable due to the “burden” of having a disabled person in the family. If the parent stands trial, they are given sympathy and comparatively lighter sentences, if they are sentenced at all. The victims are disregarded, blamed for their own murder at the hands of the person they should have been able to trust the most, and ultimately forgotten. And then the cycle repeats.
Since 2012, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and other disability rights organizations have come together at local vigils across the country to mourn those losses, bring awareness to these tragedies, and demand justice and equal protection under the law for all people with disabilities. On March 1st, we will come together again, and we ask you to join us.
The Alliance Against Ableism (AAA), Stavros Center for Independent Living, and UMass Allies for Illness and Disability Access (UMAIDA), are hosting a local Community Gathering in observance of the Disability Day of Mourning. The event will be held both in-person and on-line.
The names of people recently added to the list will be read aloud and honored in a candlelit ceremony. There will be space and emotional support for processing this tragic and painful history.
Besides remembering those who have died, we need to unite to defend and protect those living with disabilities. There will be time for building community and networking to provide mutual aid and support in a time when the safety and hard won rights of people with disabilities are under attack.
Mourn the dead, and fight like hell for the living!
Registration is not required for in person event, but helps with planning. Please register for Zoom if planning to attend online.