Because of limited support for this great organization, because of systemic ableism, the disabled researchers will not be paid. Society needs to invest in STEM accessibility and treat disabled researchers as equals.
Transcript
They’re asking disabled people to put our bodies on the line for research. A team of disabled researchers will go on a parabolic flight and experience zero G environments to conduct research, and do experiments to help make space more accessible. AstroAccess is the organization behind this. Right now, all the tools for space exploration are designed for nondisabled people. That’s a problem. That’s a *design* problem, and we should be building tools for humankind. And that includes disabled people.
The disabled researchers who will go on this mission, they’re volunteers. They will not get paid. There is a big need for volunteers in our society, but I’m also aware of the high unemployment rates, and the employment discrimination that’s rampant in the United States and around the world. As we work on space exploration, let’s make sure it’s accessible at all stages. This part is easy! I’m not asking for the moon and stars. I’m asking for disabled researchers and nondisabled researchers to be treated as equal.
My name is Haben Girma. I’m a Black woman, Eritrean and Ethiopian ancestry. I am sitting in my yard. My guide dog, Mylo, is lying down behind me. I am a human rights lawyer, author, speaker, and my goal is for ableism to disappear. I don’t want it to go out into space or stay on Earth! I want ableism to disappear.
Learn about Mission AstroAccess.