Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 4/19/2022
NORTHAMPTON – A “joyful march” to raise awareness of the rights of all people with disabilities and chronic illnesses to be able to have reasonable accessibility throughout the city is occurring on April 23 at 12 p.m. from Northampton train station at 170 Pleasant St. to Pulaski Park at 240 Main St.
Jeremy Macomber-Dubs, a longtime Northampton musician and one of the organizers of the event, told Reminder Publishing that the goal of this march and movement is to disable ableism, or discrimination in favor of able-bodied people.
“I started learning more about [ableism] and decided that I wanted to flip the script on that, and call it ‘disable ableism,’” said Macomber-Dubs. “We’re going to shut it down everywhere we go.”
This movement stems from personal experiences Macomber-Dubs, who has been in a wheelchair for 44 years, has encountered with some businesses throughout Northampton, where proper accessibility is absent, and solutions are bare or non-empathetic.
“I’m trying to start a conversation in the community, and let people know we live in an ableist society,” said Macomber-Dubs. “That’s what disableism is. It’s shutting down ableism with language that makes disability a positive thing. We’re members of the community that want to be happy.”
Macomber-Dubs, who has been performing and booking shows in Northampton for years – including one instance when he booked the Pixies’ Frank Black – told Reminder Publishing that he was cyber bullied by hundreds of people for speaking out against ableist infrastructure. The business allegedly claimed that Macomber-Dubs was attacking them and trying to make them lose money, but in reality, Macomber-Dubs said he was trying to help them so more disabled people could give them business.
“I was bullied a little bit when I was really young by little kids that didn’t know any better,” said Macomber-Dubs. “Now, I’m being bullied [by people] that are ableists … this is why I started this movement. We can’t just be treated this way.”
Because of these experiences, Macomber-Dubs and others in the community are trying to create a movement where their voices are heard. “I want people to not just tell us that they care, but also show us that they care,” said Macomber-Dubs.
The outreach for this movement so far has been “really positive,” according to Macomber-Dubs. Outside of the movement’s flyer circulating throughout social media, there is also a new Facebook page called “Disableist Movement Rally for the Rights of All People With Disabilities,” where people stay connected about the rally. Macomber-Dubs has also had organizational help from his good friend and disability activist partner Olivia Marshall, who is also a wheelchair user, and they both reached out to other members of the disabled community for the movement.
When asked what he hopes comes out of this rally, Macomber-Dubs said more empathy toward the disabled community, as well as greater solutions that are not just forced upon people who have disabilities. He said one thing inaccessible businesses could do is advertise that they are inaccessible-not in a shameful way-and offer a number for people who are disabled to call and ask about solutions for accessing the desired establishment. Another solution, he added, was businesses should make more of an effort to hire people with disabilities so businesses can learn more about how they can become more accessible without having to guess.
“It’s set up in a way now so I have to go to businesses, have a bad experience, complain…and when that happens, you’re really mad,” said Macomber-Dubs. “We don’t want to have those experiences. Anybody that knows me, knows that I’m a happy guy, and I don’t like going around having to be mad. I want the conversation to be a positive one where businesses know we’re not mad at them, we’re just mad at the way things are. I think the world would be a lot happier if people with disabilities didn’t have to go around complaining all the time.”
The rally will also feature a performance of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” by Philip Price, Flora Reed and Melissa Nelson.