In a time when so many in the disability community are feeling discouraged about the future, hope might seem hard to find. Yet for the attorneys and advocates at Disability Rights North Carolina, hope isn’t optional – it’s essential. It is the force that turns frustration into action, despair into determination. This August, intern Malaika Mokashi spoke with DRNC staff across the agency to uncover how they keep hope alive in the face of relentless challenges. Their insights are a powerful reminder: when we choose hope, we choose to keep fighting – and that is how change happens.
We invite you to read Malaika’s essay and hear directly from our staff about the power of hope in this work.
The Value of Hope Right Now
Malaika Mokashi, Columbia University & SciencesPo Paris dual degree student
Advocacy isn’t for the faint of heart. Wins take time, and setbacks can feel overwhelming. For those living with disabilities and for those working to advance the rights of people with disabilities, the future can sometimes feel uncertain, and the path forward can look scary. Especially now, more than ever, our constituents are reporting feeling hopeless about the future of disability rights.
While it is important to honor these feelings, it is equally important not to lose sight of the work ahead. That’s when we must ask ourselves: what keeps us moving forward? The answer looks different for everyone, but here’s what I’ve learned after talking to the staff at Disability Rights North Carolina (DRNC) who make fueling the fight possible every day.
First off, it is impossible to continue working towards expanding and protecting disability rights without understanding that there will be hard days and setbacks. Finding strategies to combat losing hope is not only helpful, but absolutely necessary to continue to foster long term progress.
Lisa Grafstein, litigation counsel at DRNC, explains the importance of turning emotion into action as she shares, “We can be mad all we want. We can shake our fists at the sky. We can be upset, we can be sad, we can cry– but ultimately our job is to do something… And I think it’s important that people feel their feelings for sure and express their feelings and get support, but then also think about what I can do to do whatever part I have in changing how things are going.” Her statement is a reminder that while frustration is a natural feeling, progress is dependent on channeling emotion into meaning. Only through this shift from despair to determination can lasting change continue.
In this mindset, hope itself can be used as a strategy to combat uncertainty. As put by Corye Dunn, the director of public policy at DRNC, “You must deliberately make space for hope. Hope and joy are survival strategies. They are essential. People cannot work toward what they can’t imagine, and hope is about imagining what could be better and working toward it.” Without a hopeful vision of the future, it becomes increasingly difficult to figure out what the next step is to make things better. That means hope isn’t something that we must wait to feel, it is something we can also choose to practice.
When feeling down, we can try to imagine what a better future could potentially look like, no matter how far or unrealistic it feels. Use this vision and break it down into smaller manageable steps. Even the smallest actions taken with hope in mind, whether that be a conversation, a vote, a letter, or simply showing up for someone, can turn discouragement into momentum. During times of feeling overwhelmed, hope can be treated as a tool, one that both sustains us and strengthens the determination that has been present throughout the long course of the disability rights movement.
Still, finding hope everyday can be difficult. In these times, sometimes looking towards the past can become fuel for the future. Right now, it may feel like there are more challenges than ever. In these times, taking a historical perspective can have a grounding effect, providing the realization that civil rights of any kind are an ongoing fight that ebbs and flows.
DRNC attorney Glynnis Hagins, who uses historical perspective to stay motivated, often turns to the civil rights movement as a hopeful reminder, allowing it to put today’s struggles into context. She reflects on how the victories of the 1960s were rooted from the 1940s and 1950s and how leaders like Medgar Evers and his family sacrificed for progress they might not live to see. She emphasizes, “The civil rights movement has really been an ongoing movement. It’s had some peaks and some valleys, but it’s always been an ongoing fight.”
Her thoughts serve as a reminder that even when progress seems slow, our work is part of a larger ongoing movement. For those currently feeling discouraged, hopefully this perspective can provide a practical approach to hope, acknowledging that every action, no matter how small it feels, is part of a larger arc of progress. When hope feels distant, remember, social change is cumulative, and small victories have built up to create the present we envisioned decades ago.
More than just a feeling, hope is a lifeline. Cara Paolicelli, development coordinator, captures this sentiment perfectly, expressing that, “In my experience working with people with disabilities, I’ve seen an incredible amount of resilience. Even in tough circumstances, there’s a determination that things can get better. That outlook reminds me that hope is possible, and it pushes me to keep going too. You can’t keep doing the work if you have no hope. So, find the courage to hold onto it… The resolve I see in other people inspires me. When somebody else believes, I’m like, ‘Okay, I can do it too.’ I can’t be hopeless.”
Imagine the determination and energy that radiates from a community that doesn’t give up. That spark of possibility is truly contagious, reminding us why we do this work and why it is worth it to keep showing up. Because when we choose hope, we choose to keep going. And when we keep going, change happens.