Disability Justice: Public Health for Collective Liberation

Disability Justice is not an add-on to equity work —it is essential to building public health systems that are accessible, accountable and life-affirming for everyone.

Disability Justice in Action is a five-part professional development webinar series designed for public health and health care professionals committed to equity, accessibility and systems change. Hosted by the American Public Health Association (APHA) Center for Public Health Policy, this series centers the leadership, lived experience and expertise of disabled people — particularly disabled people of color — and moves beyond compliance toward collective care, accountability and liberation.

Public health often approaches disability through narrow, medicalized, or deficit-based frameworks. This series intentionally shifts the lens. Participants will explore Disability Justice as an intersectional, anti-racist and community-led framework that addresses ableism alongside racism, poverty, immigration status, gender oppression, audism and other systems shaping health inequities.

Register

Through interactive Zoom-based learning, panel conversations and applied workshops, participants will gain practical tools to:

• Identify and dismantle ableism within public health systems
• Build accessible communication, data and engagement practices
• Center disabled communities in program design and policymaking
• Apply Disability Justice principles to health equity, policy and advocacy work

What to Expect

• Five live Zoom sessions blending foundational learning, applied workshops and community-led panels
• Multiple modes of participation including chat, polls, reflection prompts, breakout rooms and asynchronous options
• Disability-centered access with captioning, interpretation, plain-language materials and flexible engagement
• Real-world application grounded in public health practice, health care systems, policymaking and community organizing

Who Should Attend

• Governmental public health professionals
• State and local health department staff
• Public health institutions and nonprofit leaders
• Health care professionals engaged in equity and systems change
• Policy advocates, program managers and equity practitioners
• Self-advocates and community leaders are encouraged to attend

Why This Series Matters

Disability Justice challenges public health to think bigger — to move beyond accommodation and toward transformation. By centering disabled communities, especially those most impacted by racism, poverty and exclusion, this series equips participants to build public health systems rooted in access, dignity and collective care.

Disability Justice in Action invites public health professionals to learn, reflect and practice differently — together.

This series is free to all - $0.00