Although people with disabilities represent a quarter of the U.S. population, funders often do not include them in health equity discussions or prioritize them in grantmaking initiatives. This is a profound oversight with serious consequences, because people with disabilities experience significant barriers to health care services, and are at high risk of poverty, housing insecurity, and discrimination. These disparities are even more pronounced among people of color with disabilities. For example, the poverty rate for people with disabilities is more than twice as high as for the general population, and is over three times as high for black and Indigenous people with disabilities.  A comprehensive vision of health equity must include the rights, needs, and voices of people with disabilities.

This webinar explored innovative measures to address how philanthropy can advance disability justice and how grassroots organizations are helping to change the national dialogue on disability, health equity, and race. Speakers included Nikki Brown-Booker of Borealis Philanthropy, Sneha Dave of Generation Patient, Ryan Easterly of the WITH Foundation, Mordecai Ettinger of Health Justice Commons, Morénike Giwa Onaiwu of the Foundations for Divergent Minds, and Justine "Justice" Shorter of the National Disability Rights Network.