The Anti-Ableist Manifesto by Tiffany Yu gives readers a list of 33 ways to be actively anti-ableist, including "diversify your feed," "use your privilege," "hire us," and "nothing about us without us." Yu provides readers with the information they need to challenge the status quo and become better allies to the disabled community.
Yu, the founder and CEO of Diversability, a virtual disability-centered employee resource group, discusses simple actions, such as how to stop using ableist language, and more complex efforts, such as getting involved in local politics by attending community meetings and encouraging leaders to include disabled voices.
The book contains one chapter for each item in the manifesto, and Yu consults people with many kinds of disabilities for insight about what needs to be done and how, noting that disabled people are not a monolith. She includes statistics that strengthen her arguments. For example, there are 1.85 billion disabled people in the world, and "the disability market controls $13 trillion in disposable income." Why, Yu asks, wouldn't businesses want to cater to such a large group?
Each chapter ends with action items and reflection questions, giving readers space to absorb what they've just read. Interwoven through the book is the idea of universal design, the concept that a design that makes life easier for disabled people is likely to make life easier for everybody. Accessibility innovations such as curb cuts, electric toothbrushes, and automatic doors benefit nondisabled people, too.
Reflective, informative, and engaging, The Anti-Ableist Manifesto is an excellent choice for readers wanting to be better members of their community. --Alyssa Parssinen, freelance reviewer and former bookseller