Activist Anastasia Somoza Shares Her Hopes for a More Visible Disability Community
Anastasia Somoza was one of the rare instances of a child taking matters into her own hands when faced with a situation she didn’t like. At nine years old, Somoza had gathered enough influence and attention for her cause that the then -- President of the United States Bill Clinton took notice.
Somoza drew national media attention when she personally asked the president to help aid in mainstreaming her twin sister into the New York City public school district.
In the years that followed, Somoza never tired of advocating for the disability right movement in the United States, frequently speaking to various groups to bring visibility to the disability community.
Somoza once again stepped into the spotlight to raise awareness for the disability community when she backed presidential candidate Hilary Clinton in a speech given at the Democratic National Convention in 2016, expressing that she had always felt seen by Clinton during the course of their friendship. She also used the national platform to express urgency to continue the fight of the disability rights movement.
Born with cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia, Somoza has never tired of leading the inclusion revolution as a speaker and defender of human rights over the course of her career.
Her passion for advocacy naturally translated into a knack for consulting in areas of accessibility and disability legislation. A couple of years ago, Somoza was hired as New York City’s first disability liaison. The job catered to Somoza’s strengths in community outreach and was created to develop tangible plans to aid accessibility in the greater New York City area.
Sitting down with podcast show host Ming Michelle Canaday, Somoza shared her proudest accomplishments and what her goals are for the future as a disability liaison to the city.
The Need for Accessible Subway Systems
At the time the podcast show was recorded, Somoza was tackling an issue raised by many New Yorkers with disabilities -- the inaccessible subway systems.
While New York City has taken measures to make most of their subways and stations accessible, frequent system failures or a simple lack of usable accessibility infrastructure has been a problem that has plagued the public transportation system.
As disability liaison, it is Somoza’s job to convey the testimonies of the disability community to government agencies and offices that could enact positive change for New Yorkers with disabilities.
While discussing the current trajectory of the fight to make the subway system more accessible with us, Somoza conveyed a buoyed sense of hope for the future. Her optimism came from her inclusion as a disability liaison, citing that the mere fact that the city’s community outreach division took the steps to hire a full-time liaison to the disability community is a huge leap towards representation and visibility.
Her goals as liaison are simple: make the problems faced by the disability community more visible to the average able-bodied American. Somoza has spent her life advocating for the inclusion of people with disabilities in mainstream society, whether it be in places of education, places of employment, or public buildings. She doesn’t plan to stop advocating anytime soon.
Her position as liaison shows that people are beginning to listen and initiate tangible steps to fully include the disability community.
Want to hear Anastasia Somoza in her own words? Check out the Traipsin’ Global on Wheels Podcast: