By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Before dedicating her life to disability justice, Vilissa Thompson had dreams of becoming a therapist with her own private practice. But, when she finished graduate school with a master’s degree in social work, she realized the job market was not accessible to her.
Thompson, a licensed master social worker (LMSW), was born with osteogenesis imperfecta— a rare genetic condition, also known as brittle bone disease, that causes bones to break easily.
She often uses a wheelchair to get around. With home visits being a central part of social work, she quickly realized that navigating clients’ homes—many of which aren’t wheelchair accessible—would be nearly impossible. Thompson knew she would need to get creative with her career trajectory.
Today, she is the founder of Ramp Your Voice, a disability rights consultation and advocacy organization that has a special focus on empowering Black women and femmes with disabilities. The AFRO spoke with Thompson about the inspiration behind Ramp Your Voice, the gaps it seeks to fill and how she envisions political and social inclusion.
AFRO: When you founded Ramp Your Voice, what needs were you looking to address in the Black disability community?
Vilissa Thompson: There was definitely a gap in Black, disabled women and femmes trying to find other people who could understand their experiences. It’s one thing to be disabled and connect that way. But, when you’re Black, a woman or queer, there’s nuances in those identities that are very important to cover. You want to be able to connect with people on those nuances—people who you don’t have to explain them to.
It’s like, if you know, you know. It’s similar to when Black people see something funny going on, and we kind of give each other “the look.” It’s a communal connection in a way, and that’s what I wanted to provide with my work. I wanted to create a space as a Black disabled woman for other Black disabled women and femmes who are either starting their disability journey or may have been disabled their whole lives and want a space for themselves.
AFRO: What programs, initiatives or events have you organized to further the mission of Ramp Your Voice?
VT: Last year in June, we held the inaugural Ramp Your Voice Conference, a virtual event that centers the identities and experiences of disabled Black people who are not cisgender, heterosexual men. It was a beautiful gathering. As of July 2025, I am actually getting the conference team back together so we can hold it again in 2026. I want to have the conference every other year because it’s a lot of planning, and I want to make sure it’s sustainable for my team and me.
I am also working on launching a pilot program for disabled college students of color, particularly for those who are about to graduate in the fall. As someone who graduated from college and had to find out on their own that my employment experience would be looking different from others, I think it’d be nice to hold space for disabled college students to talk about what life will be like post-undergrad—whether it’s going to graduate school, going to work or another path.
A lot of my work going forward is going to center young adults because it’s a tricky age. You’re an adult, but you’re still trying to figure out what to do with your life. If you’re disabled on top of that, there’s a lot of things that come with navigating systems or figuring out accessibility.
AFRO: What are some of the misconceptions that able-bodied people have about the disability community?
VT: One is this whole idea of disabilities being an unfortunate experience. It’s interesting how that mentality spreads. For example, I know a lot of people across racial lines have experienced hurt by the church due to ableism. I never had that experience, but I learned about them when I got into this work.
It’s this warped thought process that makes them feel like they need to save people who are different from them in order to make them “good.” I don’t need to be saved. What I need as a disabled person is wheelchair ramps, appropriate curb cuts and affordable, reliable transportation options. Seeing me as a disabled person, particularly as somebody who has a very visible disability, your first reaction shouldn’t be pity. I don’t need you to feel sorry for me because I’m disabled.
People need to think about the unconscious biases they carry when they see people who have an experience that’s different from them. They don’t interrogate that enough or really at all, and we’re living in this time where we’re seeing how fearful people are of difference.
It feels like there’s a social and political regression of accepting people. We need to do more than tolerate people—we need to accept people for who they are, and we need to interrogate our own prejudices that may come out in ways we don’t intend. A lot of people are unaware as to how deep ableism runs in our culture—from our religion, to our media to the words we use every day.
AFRO: What does true inclusion look like to you politically and socially?
VT: Politically, we need to understand that disability is a part of every societal issue we have. For example, cuts to Medicaid are obviously a disability issue. Medicaid is a lifeline. It fills in the gap for people who either earn too little or don’t earn anything at all.
I know that my life would be totally different if my grandmother didn’t have Medicaid. She didn’t have the money for the physical therapies that I needed. My health would have been very different if reductions and eliminations like we’re seeing today took place.
Socially, we need to understand that we are all connected. People need to start having more empathy and calling out people who don’t show it. There’s a lot of cruelty that we’re seeing with the elimination and reduction of services and aid to people with disabilities. We have to hold our politicians accountable. We need to be calling them and showing up to every town hall meeting. We can’t just wait to vote in 2026 or 2028. We have to do something now.
We’re all we have because they are not going to care about us as people. They’re going to care about whomever’s lining their pockets. These people work for us. Whether it’s your city council, school board, state legislators or federal legislators, they work for us. We have to be better employers to them by holding them accountable and getting rid of them when they’re doing harm.
To find out more about Ramp Your Voice, visit: www.rampyourvoice.com.
Great Job Megan Sayles AFRO Staff Writer & the Team @ AFRO American Newspapers Source link for sharing this story.
