For Lisa Franklin, who became partially paralyzed in 1996 when a drunk driver struck the van she was riding in, Disability Pride Month is about people with disabilities “owning” who they are.

“We need people to show up as they are,” explains Ms. Franklin, who is a wheelchair user and the founder, president, and CEO of the nonprofit Warriors on Wheels of Metropolitan Detroit (WOW). “We don’t want to be called ‘handicapped.’ By owning our disabilities and using our voices, we are making the world more accessible and dispelling stigma.”

She doesn’t remember the accident – only waking up one week later in the ICU to learn the extent of her injuries. Ms. Franklin says when she opened her eyes, she rejoiced that she had the vigor to live for whatever would come next. She not only survived but was ready to thrive.

As she moved forward with her life, one of the first things she realized was that the barriers she encountered as a wheelchair user were unacceptable, Ms. Franklin says. That was the first motivator for what would become her life’s work.

Another turning point came in 2004, when she entered the Ms. Wheelchair Michigan pageant and won the title of first runner-up. Ms. Wheelchair America and its state competitions recognize contestants for the beauty of being vocal advocates for people with disabilities.

Ms. Franklin says the competition was one catalyst for launching WOW, including the inspiration of a question asked by the judges: "If you could be any animal, what would you be?”

Her answer, which Ms. Franklin says came out of nowhere – part of her belief that God has put her where she is to serve a purpose – was, “I would be an eagle so I can soar.”

She’s lived up to that vision, fueled by her determination to create a barrier-free society.

Ms. Franklin established WOW in 2008 to focus on advocacy, disability rights, accessibility, community engagement, and development. Although WOW has earned worldwide recognition, her priority is making a difference for local urban communities such as Detroit, Highland Park, Hamtramck, and Dearborn. WOW advocates for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws impacting people with disabilities, while addressing individuals’ human spirit, morals, and values. After all, accessibility and inclusion are central to creating the sense of belonging that helps people flourish.

To that end, Ms. Franklin was integral in establishing Detroit’s Office of Disability Affairs. She is also a member of many organizations with goals similar to WOW’s, such as Detroit Disability Power, Detroit Advocates of the Blind, Deaf Black Advocates Detroit, and many more.  

With a mission of pushing for systems change in areas including transportation, housing, education, and civic access, WOW has established key programs that protect the rights of people with disabilities. This includes improving accessibility in public spaces such as the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Belle Isle Beach, Hart Plaza, and the Detroit Riverfront. WOW also conducted law enforcement sensitivity training through a partnership with Arc Detroit, working with the Hamtramck, Ferndale, and Dearborn police departments. Most recently, the organization established the WOW Boutique, which offers free clothes every Wednesday.

What’s more, Ms. Franklin’s leadership of WOW has earned her numerous awards, such as the Spirit of Detroit Award from the Detroit City Council, the Judge Deborah Thomas Social Justice Award from the African American Institute, and a 2024 Disability Pride Month Game Changers Award from the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, and Comerica Bank.

Ms. Franklin wholeheartedly embraces Disability Pride Month, because it not only celebrates people for who they are but for what they can overcome. For her, it has been a journey of recognizing her own disability as part of her personal journey and embracing her ability to soar – and giving others the chance to do the same by removing barriers to inclusion.

“Disability Pride Month is so important,” Ms. Franklin says, “because if people don’t understand everything people with disabilities can do, this is a time for them to find out.”

By: Julia Pulver, RN

For the second time in my life, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a landmark decision that puts in jeopardy my right to make highly private and personal medical decisions without government interference.  

As a woman, I saw the Court’s Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, holding that the right to an abortion was not protected by the U.S. Constitution, as a direct assault on my right to any reproductive care that my doctors and I determine is best for me. Now, as the mother of a trans teenager, there is a second-right-depriving ruling that also causes incredible personal concern: U.S. v. Skrmetti, which clears the way for states to impose deeply dangerous laws that block trans teens from receiving treatments vital to their wellbeing. 

My reactions to both decisions have been much the same: feelings of outrage, fear, heartache. 

A nurse of more than 20 years, I’m also experiencing mind-bending frustration over how both rulings fly in the face of decades of well-established evidence proving the safety and efficacy of reproductive healthcare and various therapies for trans youth. 

Then there’s the unfathomable scorn I feel for politicians from any party who, for whatever made-up reason, find political gain in villainizing trans children. No one should find that acceptable. 

One of the things giving me hope, is how Michiganders responded to the Dobbs ruling. We rallied to ensure that people in our state would retain access to reproductive health care by voting to amend the Michigan Constitution,  etching abortion protection into law. 

Now, in a way that is chillingly similar to Dobbs, the Supreme Court, in its  Skrmetti decision, is endangering my right to make medical decisions for my child. 

In Skrmetti, the Court upheld a Tennessee law that bans gender affirming care for minors, eliminating the ability of parents to work with healthcare providers and mental health experts to ensure that the children under their care are able to receive needed treatment 

As a longtime nurse, I know that neither the Dobbs nor the  Skrmetti decision was made because of any new medical standards or evidence-based best practices. Just the opposite is true: In both cases, a majority of justices not only ignored the voluminous amount of valid research showing the real-world harm that would result from allowing the government to dictate what can be life-or-death medical decisions, they also gave credibility to junk science manufactured by people with an anti-trans agenda.  

Regarding abortion, the only reason I still retain the ability to make medical decisions for myself and my child without government interference by non-medical, unlicensed politicians is because the state of Michigan is doing what its residents demand: protecting our rights from government intrusion into personal medical matters. 

But the fact that my son and I are currently protected does not limit my fury over the effect the insulting, heartless and cruel Skrmetti decision will inevitably have on trans children and their families living in less-enlightened states. 

Since when did it become acceptable for politicians to attack children like this?  

The other question is why: I think the answer is obvious. The politicians villainizing trans people, including vulnerable children, believe it will help them win elections.  

These relentless attacks are extremely personal, and hurtful, to me, my husband Ben, our son, Jason, and the rest of our family.  What makes the emotions we’re feeling even more acute is the knowledge that so much of this would evaporate if the politicians pushing these hateful and harmful policies, and every person sucked into believing the lies being spread, somehow had a chance to know our son. 

Jason was born full term, completely healthy and assigned female. Right after pre-school, he started rejecting all things feminine, which took the form of not wanting his older sister’s “hand me downs,” and wanting to cut his hair short. Around the age of 5, he began telling us that he wished he was a boy because he wanted to do “boy things.” We assured him that that girls could do anything boys did.  

By the 8^th grade, he’d decided to start using a different name and he/him pronouns as he started living life as the boy he always knew himself to be. Prior to that, Jason struggled with anger and depression. But once he made those changes, we started noticing a 180-degree transformation in his mood and outlook. This improvement gave us reassurance that we were doing right by him.  

As Jason progressed in high school, his desire to further live as his authentic self led him to request adding testosterone to his transition plan. Ben, Jason and I, along with his mental and medical health providers, discussed the risks and benefits of testosterone therapy and set realistic treatment goals. It has been a collaborative, deliberate effort spanning several years. I’m happy to report that Jason started receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) this year and since then, he is absolutely thriving. He loves theater, choir, and his natural desire to help people is leading him to a career as a firefighter. He is a kind human being with a beautiful soul who only wants to be accepted for who he is. 

However, at this very moment, politicians who don’t know Jason want you to hate him so much that you look the other way while they pass bills aimed at hurting him. I remember a time when innocent children were supposed to be off limits as political targets. Now it seems that everyone is fair game where cruelty reigns, and anyone who opposes it is too “weak and woke” to matter. 

Regardless of their hate, Jason will continue chipping away at the nefarious lies being spread about him by simply going out into the world and being himself. People like Ben and I will keep telling the story of our family in hopes it will help break through all the scare tactics being used to make our fellow Americans hate and fear our son. We won’t ever stop trying to create an America that accepts our trans siblings for who they really are – our fellow human beings only seeking their chance to pursue their own happiness in peace.