Striving to remove barriers that prevent us from building Vibrant, Diverse, Inclusive, Accessible Communities!
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Charity
Treating accessibility for People with Disabilities as an act of charity, done at our convenience and out of generosity, is a grave injustice. Injustice is the misuse of power that withholds rights or opportunities and inflicts preventable harm. But a grave injustice goes further—it is an act or system of wrongdoing so deep that it scars individuals and marginalized groups across time. While ordinary injustices may be corrected through apology or reform, grave injustices resist repair because they wound human dignity itself. They create not only victims, but legacies of mistrust, exclusion, and moral debt.
This pattern shows up in ordinary, preventable failures. Event hosts distribute print-only materials with no accessible versions—“maybe next time”—excluding some attendees while others get to participate. Flyers are posted as image-only graphics with tiny, low-contrast text; email “announcements” arrive as picture attachments no screen reader can read. Online registration forms lack labeled fields and usable error feedback. Invitations omit accessibility details and transit guidance; bathrooms are not accessible. Videos play without captions or Audio Description. Discussions take place based on inaccessible materials.
Each detail delivers it—no thought of me, no plan with me, no place for me. I am simply not welcome here.
Grave injustice in community life often begins quietly—when power decides without listening. It appears wherever people excluded from participation are cast as charity recipients instead of partners in design—with voice, veto, and authorship. It grows out of certainty (we know what they need) and convenience (we’ll fix it when we can), then hides behind good intentions (at least we tried).
“In order to find truth we must give up our prejudices, our own small trivial notions; an open receptive mind is essential. If our chalice is full of self, there is no room in it for the water of life.” — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 136
So: empty your chalice, listen, and let lived experience lead. Invite the people who face the barriers to name them plainly and co-author the details of their removal—with authority, timelines, and accountability. Consultation means: listen to how things have been, name the barriers, and co-design solutions—with a clear goal and a shared vision of what could be, should be, must be, and will be. It should include a sustainable plan to keep assessing effectiveness and improving it if necessary, baking it into the way things are done. Publish accessibility milestones and results, and tie progress to leadership evaluation and funding decisions.
Service to Humanity
Service to Humanity takes a different path. It listens first, shares authorship with those affected, and ties removing the actual barriers to sustainable outcomes. Concretely, service follows the International Accessibility Standards: it releases Accessible agendas and handouts along with print, sends emails with accessible attachments, posts recordings with captions and transcripts at release, tests sign-ups with screen readers, confirms working microphones and assistive listening before doors open.
Following the International Accessibility Standards in ALL digital and online content production is crucial. People with disabilities can then use their preferred accessibility tools, which rely on these standards, to access your information.
Service makes access non-negotiable and belonging routine.
Under that ethic, so-called “small fixes” are moral acts: a ramp kept clear in winter, a microphone that actually carries every voice, materials that follow the International Accessibility Standards, and accessible bathrooms. That is how access stops being a favor or an afterthought and becomes the visible measure of shared respect and accountability.
“Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and centre your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.” — Bahá’u’lláh
Steps we can take Right now
Change begins with one decision at a time. You don’t need a new department or grant to begin—you need the will to ask who isn’t included yet, and the humility to seek them out. Consultation cannot stop with the people already in the room; it must reach those excluded by barriers of design, communication, or assumption. Invite their voices before the next plan is drawn.
Start where you are: share your agenda in an accessible format, check the hallway for obstacles, test a document with a screen reader, or add captions before posting. Every act of awareness becomes an act of partnership; every partnership weakens the roots of Ableism.
“Service to humanity is service to God. Let the love and light of the Kingdom radiate through you until all who look upon you shall be illumined by its reflection. — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Removing barriers to accessibility is not charity, it is Service to Humanity, guided by the principles of Unity in Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Justice. Do it with those affected, make it measurable, and let dignity and respect and belonging—not convenience—set the terms.
Watch the PBS Documentary: Change NOT Charity - The American's with Disabilities Act
