News Items - May 9, 2026
Editor's Note: The disability community is increasingly preferring to use identity-first language (disabled person) in place of person-first language (person with a disability). This is because many in the community view disability as being a core component of identity, much like race and gender. Some members of the community, such as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, still prefer person-first language. Both should be considered valid. Articles shared in this newsletter may contain one or the other (or both) depending on the author's preference, and if they themselves have a disability.
This is still ongoing though on May 1, Indiana dropped out. If you know someone in any of the remaining states it's important to ask them to send letters or call as the the State AG and Governors only want to hear from residents of those states: Texas v. Kennedy (formerly Texas v. Becerra): What it is and How You Can Help Stop the Attack on Section 504 by the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
"On January 25, 2026, nine states – Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, South Dakota, and Texas – renewed their attack on Section 504 and the right to live in the community. On May 1, 2026, Indiana dropped out of the Texas v. Becerra case, demonstrating the power of the disability community. Now is the time for people who live in the eight remaining states to call their state AG and Governor to tell them to drop out, too!"
Another ongoing issue... Massachusetts’ Judge Rotenberg Educational Center continues to shock children and adults with autism into compliance: FDA May Finally Make It Illegal to Shock Autistic Kids as Punishment by Julia Métraux on April 27, 2026 at Mother Jones
"In March 2024, the Food and Drug Administration under President Joe Biden introduced a new rule that would have banned, after decades, the use of electric shocks on disabled children as a form of punishment. A ban on forcibly shocking kids—which the American Academy of Pediatrics says causes “long-lasting adverse physical and psychological impacts,” was set to come into force last year—but the Trump FDA kicked the can down the road, giving itself more time to decide whether its new leadership was on board."
Black Disenfranchisement Has Not Been This Intense Since Jim Crow by Austin C. McCoy on May 8, 2026 at Truthout
"SCOTUS’s decision is the latest in a series of rollbacks in civil rights not seen since the post-Reconstruction era. Since Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration has sought to eliminate any policy associated with addressing historical instances of racism. The administration’s attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies has led to historic job losses for Black women. According to economist Katica Roy, more than 319,000 Black women lost their jobs in three months in 2025."
Department of Education opens investigation into Smith College for admitting trans women by Zoe Sottile on May 4, 2026 at CNN
"In the Trump administration’s latest move to limit trans rights, the Department of Education has launched a Title IX investigation into Smith College, an all-women’s college in western Massachusetts, for admitting trans women."
When immigration detention becomes a system of concentration: Lessons from research on 150 historical cases by Alex Braithwaite and Rachel D. Van Nostrand on May 1, 2026 at The Conversation
"In recent peer-reviewed research, we identified four characteristics that define what qualifies as a concentration camp system: targeting groups of civilians for imprisonment; enclosed spaces where the state controls who enters and exits; departure from standard detention practices; and abuse and neglect. We then created a dataset detailing 150 systems of camps used globally since 1896 that fit this criteria. This includes the U.S. internment of more than 125,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese American citizens during World War II, the Argentine military junta’s use of camps in their mid-1970s campaign to reorganize society, and Vladimir Putin’s use of so-called filtration camps in Russia’s war against Ukraine."
Other Newsletters I follow:
Organizations