Feeling like channeling your inner FRIDA to kick some butt?  Here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Pay attention to news about people with disabilities.  You can do this by watching tv or reading the newspaper.  We find it also really helps to use search engines like Google or Yahoo to help us find news about disability rights around the world.  You can set up the alerts so they search for words or phrases important to you, like “woman with a disability,” “cerebral palsy,” feminist disability,” “sterilization,” or whatever you want.
• Let people know about feminist disability issues by e-mailing or talking to them.  A lot of times, people just don’t think to look at problems from a feminist disability point of view.
• Hang out with other feminists with disabilities and talk about gender-based disability discrimination out there. You can meet people up to have coffee, talk on the phone, or chat on the Internet.
• Set up a petition on the causes you care about.  You can do it using paper, or there are free online websites where you can set up your own petition.  We suggest that you first find out who has the power to do something about your issue, and then after you collect a number of signatures, mail a copy of the petition to those people.
• Host a town hall meeting.  A town hall meeting is a good way to collect people’s thoughts on feminist disability issues.
• Set up a brown bag discussion lunch group at your work, especially if you work for a disability-related group.  Take one hour to discuss a topic related to feminism and disability rights.  You can talk about issues or real life cases happening in the news.
• Learn about organizing.  No, we do not mean organizing your closet.  We mean organizing people to take action on the issues they want to change.  There are many ways you can learn.  You can join a direct action group, learn from a role model who is an organizer, attend organizer trainings like the ADAPT Youth Summit (up to age 30, cheaper than most), Midwest Training Academy, the Highlander School or the School of Unity and Liberation.  Think about seeing if your employer can pay for it as professional development.  Real organizing is pretty tough and you pretty much learn as you go, but it’s worth it to create FRIDA PEOPLE POWER.
• Read about disability history and women’s history.  Knowing the backstory will make you feel more powerful!
• Learn how to lobby your city, state and federal governments.  Learn about the legal system—probate courts, municipal courts, state courts, the Supreme Court! We also suggest learning how transit authorities, housing authorities, hospitals and medical professional organizations work.  Quite often, the barriers we face have to do with money, so how does the money work in all these groups?
• Listen to yourself.  What do YOU think is important?  How did you get to be who you are?  What experiences have shaped your life?  Often, the most powerful story you will ever tell is your own.  Know how to talk about yourself and why you are fighting for change.  FRIDA is all about speaking out, so think about ways you can speak out in public….to groups, one on one, online.
• Know the story of Frida Kahlo.  We find that her life inspires us to think creatively and be tough about the issues we want to fight.  Frida was an unusual human being who lived a life and believed in things that were often very different from the times she lived in.  When you feel that sometimes nobody understands why feminist disability rights are important, think about Frida Kahlo and FRIDA.  We’re with ya!

Any other ideas?  Send us a note by contacting us.