POC

Two blue text bubbles; the one on the right states, "Public Comment."

Let’s hope they don’t kick me off: these IACC public comments though…

#actuallyautistic, #autismacceptance, #autismawareness, AAC, ableism, acceptance, advocacy, anti-stigma, autism, autism acceptance, autism awareness, autism parent, autistic, balance, civil rights, communication, community, disability, disability rights, diversity, ethics, families, functioning labels, IDD, inclusion, intellectual disability, intersectionality, Just Being Me...Who Needs 'Normalcy" Anyway? (my blog), Morénike, neurodiversity, open letter, POC, presume competence, representation, respectful parenting, self-advocacy, solidarity, stigma, tolerance, writing / By

So…I was recently appointed to the IACC, which is the federal advisory board that handles important autism-related matters at the national level. There were ~40-ish? people appointed in total, including 23 public members…and a full EIGHT of us public members are autistic! I am beyond grateful to have an opportunity to serve my community in …

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Matrix corridor scene (three figures standing at the end of a long hallway; everything in sight is black with green binary code like the "view" of a computer)

Leaving the Matrix

#actuallyautistic, autistic, burnout, defeat, discrimination, ethics, hurt, hypocrisy, integrity, intersectionality, Just Being Me...Who Needs 'Normalcy" Anyway? (my blog), Morénike, open letter, owning your mistakes, pain, POC, race, representation, scars from the past, scars from the present, survival, tokenism, toxic relationships, White Fragility, White Privilege, White Tears, writing / By

I was recently part of a coalition that issued an Open Letter (penned by Cal Montgomery and I) and a follow up Memo (which had several co-authors, including many who opted to remain anonymous). The purpose of the Open Letter and the Memo was to make positive changes within the autistic community (and in this …

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Until we are all free, we are none of us free.

Hear Our Cry: Call for Solidarity with Autistic BIPoC and Autistic People with Intellectual Disabilities: Demands presented to the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) for their June 20th Board Meeting

1 Comment / #actuallyautistic, #autismacceptance, #autismawareness, advocacy, allies, anti-racism, anti-stigma, autism, autism acceptance, autistic, balance, cultural sensitivity, diversity, human rights, IDD, intellectual disability, intersectionality, neurodiversity, open letter, POC, race, solidarity / By

To: Meg Evans, Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) Board of Trustees Secretary   Cc:  Current ASAN Board of Trustees; Julia Bascom, ASAN Executive Director  From: A collective of former ASAN Board and staff, which includes: Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, former ASAN Board of Trustees Vice Chair Cal Montgomery, former ASAN Board of Trustees Chair  Oswin Latimer, former …

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"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." -MLK

The “silence of our ‘friends’” hurts my ears

#BlackLivesMatter, African American, allies, anti-racism, bias, bigotry, black, Black Lives Matter, death, discrimination, hate crime, hurt, hypocrisy, injustice, intersectionality, Just Being Me...Who Needs 'Normalcy" Anyway? (my blog), law enforcement, Morénike, murder, parenting while black, POC, police, police brutality, police violence, racial profiling, racism, scars from the past, scars from the present, trauma, violence, White Privilege, writing / By

What did MLK say exactly? Something like, “…in the end, what hurts the most is not the harmful words spoken by our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” I’m sure I completely botched the quote and truthfully right now Idgaf; this isn’t speech and rhetoric class. This is “real” “life” in 2020 America for …

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All I Have, All I Am

4 Comments / ableism, autism acceptance, autism awareness, autism positivity, classism, inclusion, misogyny, POC, racism, resilience, scars from the past, shake them haters off / By

“Don’t tell me that this isn’t real. Don’t tell me this ain’t how I feel. This is all I have. All I have…” –NF “All I Have”(video) This is my first blog post of 2017. And I’m writing it out of…I’m not sure which emotion, truthfully. I guess a mix of them. Frustration. Sadness. Anger. …

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Pantsuit Nation & White Feminism: This WOC Shoulda Known Better

13 Comments / allies, anti-racism, feminism, hypocrisy, inclusion, intersectionality, Pantsuit Nation, POC, racism, White Fragility, White Privilege, White Tears / By

(Image is of a map of the 2016 US Presidential Election results displaying D. Trump winning more Electoral College votes and H. Clinton winning more of the popular vote. Photo credit: CNN) A month ago on Election Day, my country, the United States of America, broke my heart. Actually, that’s not true. It more than …

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I’m Nobody’s Token

1 Comment / activism, advocacy, autistic, disability rights, POC, representation, resilience, self-awareness, social justice, survival, tokenism / By

“You’re not really supposed to be here,” she said. I was at the sink in the girls’ restroom washing my hands when the words shot out from behind me. I heard the words. I knew what they meant, but I didn’t know what they were supposed to mean. I turned around slowly, a little confused, …

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everything is connected neon light signage

All of me: how do I know where blackness ends and neurodivergence begins?

16 Comments / acceptance, autism, autistic, black, disability, intersectionality, parenting, POC, religion, self-awareness / By

Most of us have multiple identities. Few (actually, probably no) people in this world can claim a existence that’s purely homogeneous. We are all different in some way, and usually in several ways. However, there’s a pretty distinct difference in our perspectives and our experiences when our specific differences fall within marginalized and/or minority groups …

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grayscale photography of people raising hands

You #StandWithCharleston, you say? Prove it.

African American, bigotry, black, Black Lives Matter, Charleston, Charleston massacre, discrimination, hate crime, KKK, Ku Klux Klan, murder, POC, racism, social justice, solidarity, violence, WWJD / By

Nine innocent lives were recently lost in #Charleston, South Carolina when a white supremacist entered a historically black church, was welcomed into an evening Bible study, and announced after an hour that he hated Black people and had came to kill the people who were there. He then opened fire, murdering clergy persons, college graduates, …

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Black Lives Matter??? The Day After (#WalterScott)

#BlackLivesMatter #WalterScott #WalterScottvideo #JusticeforWalterScott, disability, discrimination, parenting, parenting while black, POC, police brutality, police violence, racial profiling, racism / By

Only slept an hour last night. Couldn’t stop thinking about life, death, race, gender, violence, deceit, corruption. About #WalterScott. About everything. I had “the talk” with my kids this morning in the car. Not the “birds and the bees” talk. The “how to stay alive because you’re black and therefore a threat” talk. Don’t wear …

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