[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message message_box_style=”outline” style=”round”]This is a personal post about the inauguration.
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I started crying when Fire Captain Hall started to sign the Pledge of Allegiance:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/5YR53IqdeEg” title=”Captain Andrea Hall Signs the Pledge of Allegiance at the Inauguration”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It hit me like a ton of bricks as I watched her with tears streaming down my face, we have been so wounded, smothered, pushed down, on edge, kicked aside, in fight mode for the past four years. It has been one thing after another, a constant battle not just for disability inclusion, but for our very survival.
I am so tired.
I know you must be, too.
The daily watches, being scared of the news, the “oh no, what NOW’s?” The calls, calls, calls, advocacy, pushing, pushing, fighting, fighting. It has been FOUR YEARS OF THIS, and I realized how raw I am as I saw Captain Hall sign the Pledge of Allegiance.
Disability Representation at the Inauguration
From inviting people to “stand if you are able,” to the signing of the Pledge to the inclusion of Lady Gaga (who has fibromyalgia), Amanda Gorman (who has an auditory processing disorder and speech impediment ) to Joe Biden himself (- who stutters), this administration feels more pro-disability to me than any other administration has. That’s the part that right now, I’m simply savoring.
It just feels like a deeply nourishing and healing salve has been applied to my cracked, dry, beaten skin and I’m just letting it sink in for a while, letting it not hurt, letting it be.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/5-dkVhOQRRQ?t=8361″ title=”Amanda Gorman with ASL Interpretation and Captions”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We’ll see the light,
we’ll be the light.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”502976″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/politics/amanda-gorman-inaugural-poem-transcript/index.html”][vc_empty_space][vc_message message_box_style=”3d” message_box_color=”turquoise” icon_fontawesome=”fas fa-hand-holding-heart”]
Opinion Pieces
Posts that I've written about disability access, inclusion or things said
Meriah Nichols is a counselor. Solo mom to 3 (one with Down syndrome, one on the spectrum). Deaf, and neurodiverse herself, she’s a gardening nerd who loves cats, Star Trek, and takes her coffee hot and black.
