About DIS

The Disability & Intersectionality Summit (DIS) is a biennial national conference that centers the multiple oppressions that shape the lived experiences of disabled individuals, as told by disabled people, in a setting organized by disabled activists.

DIS aims to create dialogue on how our society must address systemic oppressions using an intersectional approach. The conference centers the experiences and knowledge of multiply marginalized disabled people such as, queer disabled people of color, undocumented transgender disabled people, or formerly incarcerated disabled people among others.

​This summit builds on the work of Black feminist, legal scholar, and civil rights leader Kimberlé Crenshaw who was the first to use the term intersectionality. Crenshaw's work in critical race theory, racism, and gender and the ways these frames of identity impact power is the knowledge we draw from.