Introduction
The digital space has become a powerful tool for disabled people to advocate for their rights, share experiences, and preserve important history. From protecting disability activism from erasure to making it easier to document discrimination and demand accountability, online platforms have reshaped how advocacy occurs. This post explores how digital spaces preserve disabled history, enable real-time advocacy, and support empowerment through accessibility and assistive technologies.
The Digital Space Protects Disabled History from Erasure
The fight for disability rights has been long and difficult, shaped by protests and acts of civil disobedience that paved the way for disabled people like me to exist and participate in public life. Recognizing the work of past activists is essential to understanding how we arrived here. Without social media and widespread internet access, many of these stories could easily be lost to the benefit of ableist systems and attitudes. The digital space acts as a time capsule, preserving this history and making it accessible with only a few keystrokes. Here are some protests I never would have known about without the digital space.
The Capitol Crawl
One example is the Capitol Crawl, organized by the activist group ADAPT. On March 12, 1990, more than 600 protesters gathered at the U.S. Capitol, where dozens left their wheelchairs and crawled up the building’s 83 steps to highlight the inaccessibility faced by disabled people. This powerful demonstration helped accelerate legislative action and contributed directly to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in July 1990 (The Nonviolence Project, 2022).
The Gang of 19
Another example is the 1978 “Gang of 19” protest in Denver, Colorado. Nineteen wheelchair-using activists blocked two RTD buses during rush hour, chanting “We will ride!” to protest the lack of accessible public transit. At the time, most buses were inaccessible, making independent travel impossible for many disabled people. The protest drew media attention and pressured transit authorities to retrofit approximately one-third of their buses with wheelchair lifts (PASCO, 2023).
These activists put their safety and dignity on the line to create a more accessible future, and the digital space ensures their efforts are not forgotten.
The Digital Space Enables Documentation and Calls for Change
Despite the achievements of past disability activists, we still live in a world marked by frequent inaccessibility, discrimination, and stigma toward disabled people. Historically, these experiences often went unchallenged and undocumented. In the digital age, however, it has become easier to record incidents, collect evidence, and share experiences with wider audiences. This increased visibility allows for accountability and meaningful calls for change.
Brandon Transit - My Experience
From September to early October 2025, I experienced multiple incidents of inaccessibility while using Brandon Transit. These included missing or inadequate securement equipment for mobility aids, improper ramp deployment, disregard for best boarding practices, and repeated driver misconduct. This misconduct involved dismissive and rude comments, breaches of personal autonomy, being blamed for safety issues, and being made to feel unwelcome and humiliated. As these incidents continued, I documented details such as bus numbers, routes, timestamps, driver actions, and comments using my notes app. I also recorded one particularly serious incident in which my chair rolled into another seat, and I was repeatedly blamed and berated. This documentation allowed me to advocate for myself clearly and confidently. Using the digital space, I located the appropriate transit contact and communicated through email, providing detailed accounts and supporting evidence. Email allowed me to advocate on my own terms, eventually leading to an in-person meeting focused on addressing these issues and improving future experiences for other disabled riders.
Service Dog Discrimination - The Service Flower
Public documentation has also been used effectively by other disabled advocates. Content creator The Service Flower shared a video documenting being denied access to a public space while accompanied by her service dog. In the video, she explains her rights under the ADA and clarifies that service dogs are not legally required to have identification, yet she continued to face resistance (The Service Flower, 2025). The video highlights widespread misinformation about disability access laws and demonstrates how public accountability can be necessary to secure equal access.
Electric Vehicle Charging - Amy Pohl
Similarly, disability advocate Amy Pohl has used digital platforms to critique the inaccessibility of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the UK. She recounts an experience at Leeds East Services where no accessible charging bays were available. This forced her to climb over a passenger seat, navigate a curb, and reach an elevated screen—barriers that severely limit independent use for wheelchair users. Pohl argues that companies continue to ignore accessibility guidelines, undermining broader goals such as the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate (Pohl, 2025). Her advocacy calls on companies and policymakers to prioritize inclusive design, demonstrating how digital storytelling can expose systemic accessibility failures.
The Digital Space Supports Assistive Technology and Accessibility
Beyond advocacy and documentation, the digital space also enables innovative assistive technologies that empower disabled people to interact, communicate, and participate with fewer barriers. Many of these tools are made possible through advances in digital infrastructure, software, and artificial intelligence.
AI-Powered Assistive Technology
AI-powered assistive technologies have significantly expanded opportunities for independence and communication. Tools such as predictive text and AI-driven speech recognition support people with mobility impairments, learning disabilities, and speech differences by reducing the physical and cognitive effort required to communicate. Image recognition technologies can describe visual environments to blind or low-vision users, allowing them to identify objects, read printed text, and navigate unfamiliar spaces more independently. These technologies demonstrate how digital innovation can actively reduce barriers rather than reinforce them (TechTarget, 2024).
Built-In Accessibility Tools
The increasing availability of built-in accessibility features across digital platforms has also transformed online participation. Screen readers allow blind and low-vision users to navigate websites, apps, and documents. Captions and transcripts make video and audio content accessible to Deaf and hard-of-hearing users, while also benefiting users in noisy or quiet environments. Text-to-speech tools, descriptive audio, audiobooks, and ASL-interpreted content provide multiple ways to access information, recognizing that no single format works for everyone. As these tools become more standardized and expected, they help normalize accessibility rather than treating it as an afterthought (AIOps Group, 2024).
Conclusion
The digital space has transformed disability advocacy by preserving critical history, amplifying lived experiences, and supporting accessibility through assistive technology. From learning about past protests to documenting present-day discrimination and accessing inclusive tools, digital platforms play a central role in advancing disability rights. Together, these technologies create opportunities for awareness, accountability, and meaningful change.
References
AIOps Group. (2024). The evolution of accessible technology. https://aiopsgroup.com/evolution-of-accessible-technology/ PASCO. (2023). The Gang of 19. https://pascohh.com/gang-of-19/ Pohl, A. (2025). Inaccessible EV charging infrastructure [Video]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DPeLnDtiIxr/ TechTarget. (2024). How AI is advancing assistive technology. https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/How-AI-is-advancing-assistive-technology The Nonviolence Project. (2022). The Capitol Crawl. https://thenonviolenceproject.wisc.edu/2022/09/08/capitol-crawl/ The Service Flower. (2025). Service dog access confrontation [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvQ2QhkpX68