July 28, 2026 • 8 mins
Black autistic Brazilian activist Luciana Viegas has advocated for the rights and protections of people with disabilities and Black folks in Brazil for many years. We go over some of the milestones.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Anny and smitha welcome to stuff. When
I ever told your prediction of I heard you.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And welcome back to another episode of Activists around the World,
and today we are celebrating the works of Luciana Vegas
from Brazil. Vegas' story is a bit similar to our
last Activist around the World why Johnson was. I was like,
wait what because she is also a mother of a
non verbal autistic child, and because of this she became
(00:41):
a fierce advocate for the black disabled people in her
community of Brazil. So I love that these stories are
like a little more closely related, because it's true that
the fact that we need this on a broader scale
is kind of what we're talking about and how it
looks like from community to community.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
And I love that aspect.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Described as a quote black autistic activist, pedagogue, mother of
an autistic child, and this is in Mydiversitability dot com article.
Vegas used her skills and passion to co found Vidas
Negroes comb Defaciensia importam or in English, Black Disabled Lives
Matter Brazil and it's also known as VNDI based on
their words. So I'm going to try to refer to
(01:23):
it as V and di I. However, because I have
all the articles translated, it's going to say BDLM. So
if you hear me inter change that is because I
read it off and I'm trying to say V and
di I just with that there. So this was created
in twenty twenty. V and di I was created to
quote highlight the intersection between racism and ableism in Brazil
(01:46):
and highlight the rights of black and other marginalized people
with disabilities in the country. And that's back to that
my diversitability dot com article from their site vedas negroes
coomb Defacinia dot org. They write, we are an anti
racist and anti ablest movement for black lives. The movement,
they say is our work takes place through social media
(02:07):
focusing on awareness, education and support, and through collective actions
via public demonstrations and events, always engaging with existing intersections
with other social movements. We value the inclusion of people
with disabilities, their families and caregivers, and the promotion of
human dignity, advocating for neurodiversity and quality of life, understanding
(02:27):
disability as a part of human diversity as ensured by
the International Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities
and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and I love
that this is a part of that diversity and the
way we should be looking at it. So on their
side and continues with their manifests, which we're not going
to quote the entire thing because it's a pretty long bit.
(02:50):
Here's a snippet of it. Our struggle and mobilizations are
driven by a social model that allows Black people with
disabilities respect and human dignity through public policy protecting the
disabled population as guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities. We fight against the denial of
our existence by a social structure that is ablest and racist,
(03:11):
which can be evidenced in the reduced number of studies
and research, the lack of access to academic spaces, and
actions that exclude us from public policies of inclusion, accessibility,
and discussions with civil society. With our effective participation, this
prevents access to accurate diagnosis and necessary individualized support, as
(03:32):
well as the fight against institutional violence against people with disabilities,
especially Black people with disabilities. Our work is based on
supporting people with disabilities, their families and caregivers in their
fight for justice yeah, So this manifest is beautiful, So
if you have time, should definitely go to their site
and read it in full because there's a lot that
they are saying.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
That obviously we're not covering here.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
And yes, this organization does exactly all these things, and
they are working on a political level to fight for
equality and equity for all citizens. So back to their site,
they write this. Part of V and d I's work
involves political advocacy at various levels, both nationally and internationally.
The movement participates in numerous initiatives for the rights of
(04:15):
black people and people with disabilities, including coordinating and setting
the agenda for the issues of the racialization of these bodies.
So they have done a lot of political things and
Vegas has used her voice to do this with V
and di I. In twenty twenty one, Vegas spoke at
the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil for disability rights movement
(04:35):
against segregated education in Brazil that had been proposed as law,
and with her information and her voice, the court suspended
that judgment, so that did not happen.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
We'd love to see it.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
And she, with other organizations, was able to collect data
about black people with disabilities in Brazil and present it
to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination or CERD. In a twenty three five article written
about her works for Ford Foundation dot org, she tells them,
when I created Black Disabled Life Matter or VNDI I
(05:06):
knew the problem to address was not about autism. It
was not about neurodivergent people or neurodivergent black people, said Vegas.
The problem was that our systems were inadequate in recognizing
the intersectionality between racism and ableism, which is something we
talked about often. And she also talked about her experience
in gathering the data for the CERD. She said, we
(05:28):
are the first organization to collect data about black people
with disabilities in Brazil. Before this, our government only had
disaggregated data. There was data about black people in Brazil
and separate data on people with disabilities, but none about
how many.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Black disabled people there are.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
In conjunction with partners including Minority Rights and the University
of York, we built this research and then put it
in accessible language for all people to understand. Now, with
this growing awareness of the community, others are asking how
they can join in this work and build more support
for black disabled people. That and we've talked about how
oftentimes a lot of the data is incomplete and it's
(06:05):
taken organizations and people like her to get that complete
look in this research, because I cannot believe we're not
even talking about this, like we're tiving to talk about
stuff like this in twenty twenty five as of that
article states and from nicia Preta dot com, here's what
they write about the objective of the research and data.
(06:25):
The overall objective is to propose a comprehensive measure to
protect the rights of marginalized people with disabilities who suffer
intersectional discrimination in Brazil. The movement believes that the intersection
between the forms of oppression of racism and ableism has
been recognized through social justice movements that aim to build
an anti racist, anti ablest, and inclusive society for all. Thus,
(06:46):
this project highlights the systemic racism experienced by black and
mixed race Brazilians with disabilities, neurodiverse individuals and their families
at both the international and national levels.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Man, that's such amazing work.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
And you could actually go to their site and see
that report and it's complete, and yeah, her work is
only expanding. She and the organization is working with different
organizations around the world, including in Thailand and Nepaulit and
of course Latin America. And back to that same Ford
Foundation article, she says this about her goals and hopes
with the organization and her work. Despite the international growth
(07:20):
and impact of BDLM or V and di I Vegas,
ultimate goal has remained the same since its inception. I
created V and di I for my son, she said,
So if we can help create a better world one
whether there is greater support for an understanding of the
lives and the stories of black people with disabilities, that's.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Good enough for me.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Oh sometimes I feel like the bar is so low
just for equality. Come on, But we love to see
this amazing type of work and we're so excited to
see what she and the V and Di I continue
to do.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yes, absolutely well listeners. As always, if you have any
thoughts about this, if you have any suggestions for people
or organization we should spotlight, please let us know. You
can email us at a Hello at stuffanevertold You dot com.
You can find us on blue Sky. I'm also a
podcast or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I never
told you. We're also on YouTube. We have some merchandise
(08:13):
at Common Bureau, and we have a book you can
get wherever you get your books. Thanks as always to
our superducer Rima and our executive pducer Maya. Thank you
and thanks to you for listening stuff. Never told you
this production, but iHeartRadio. For more podcast from my heart Radio,
you can check out the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or where you listen to your favorite shows.
Hey, this is Anny and smitha welcome to stuff. When
I ever told your prediction of I heard you.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And welcome back to another episode of Activists around the World,
and today we are celebrating the works of Luciana Vegas
from Brazil. Vegas' story is a bit similar to our
last Activist around the World why Johnson was. I was like,
wait what because she is also a mother of a
non verbal autistic child, and because of this she became
(00:41):
a fierce advocate for the black disabled people in her
community of Brazil. So I love that these stories are
like a little more closely related, because it's true that
the fact that we need this on a broader scale
is kind of what we're talking about and how it
looks like from community to community.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
And I love that aspect.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Described as a quote black autistic activist, pedagogue, mother of
an autistic child, and this is in Mydiversitability dot com article.
Vegas used her skills and passion to co found Vidas
Negroes comb Defaciensia importam or in English, Black Disabled Lives
Matter Brazil and it's also known as VNDI based on
their words. So I'm going to try to refer to
(01:23):
it as V and di I. However, because I have
all the articles translated, it's going to say BDLM. So
if you hear me inter change that is because I
read it off and I'm trying to say V and
di I just with that there. So this was created
in twenty twenty. V and di I was created to
quote highlight the intersection between racism and ableism in Brazil
(01:46):
and highlight the rights of black and other marginalized people
with disabilities in the country. And that's back to that
my diversitability dot com article from their site vedas negroes
coomb Defacinia dot org. They write, we are an anti
racist and anti ablest movement for black lives. The movement,
they say is our work takes place through social media
(02:07):
focusing on awareness, education and support, and through collective actions
via public demonstrations and events, always engaging with existing intersections
with other social movements. We value the inclusion of people
with disabilities, their families and caregivers, and the promotion of
human dignity, advocating for neurodiversity and quality of life, understanding
(02:27):
disability as a part of human diversity as ensured by
the International Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities
and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and I love
that this is a part of that diversity and the
way we should be looking at it. So on their
side and continues with their manifests, which we're not going
to quote the entire thing because it's a pretty long bit.
(02:50):
Here's a snippet of it. Our struggle and mobilizations are
driven by a social model that allows Black people with
disabilities respect and human dignity through public policy protecting the
disabled population as guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities. We fight against the denial of
our existence by a social structure that is ablest and racist,
(03:11):
which can be evidenced in the reduced number of studies
and research, the lack of access to academic spaces, and
actions that exclude us from public policies of inclusion, accessibility,
and discussions with civil society. With our effective participation, this
prevents access to accurate diagnosis and necessary individualized support, as
(03:32):
well as the fight against institutional violence against people with disabilities,
especially Black people with disabilities. Our work is based on
supporting people with disabilities, their families and caregivers in their
fight for justice yeah, So this manifest is beautiful, So
if you have time, should definitely go to their site
and read it in full because there's a lot that
they are saying.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
That obviously we're not covering here.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
And yes, this organization does exactly all these things, and
they are working on a political level to fight for
equality and equity for all citizens. So back to their site,
they write this. Part of V and d I's work
involves political advocacy at various levels, both nationally and internationally.
The movement participates in numerous initiatives for the rights of
(04:15):
black people and people with disabilities, including coordinating and setting
the agenda for the issues of the racialization of these bodies.
So they have done a lot of political things and
Vegas has used her voice to do this with V
and di I. In twenty twenty one, Vegas spoke at
the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil for disability rights movement
(04:35):
against segregated education in Brazil that had been proposed as law,
and with her information and her voice, the court suspended
that judgment, so that did not happen.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
We'd love to see it.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
And she, with other organizations, was able to collect data
about black people with disabilities in Brazil and present it
to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination or CERD. In a twenty three five article written
about her works for Ford Foundation dot org, she tells them,
when I created Black Disabled Life Matter or VNDI I
(05:06):
knew the problem to address was not about autism. It
was not about neurodivergent people or neurodivergent black people, said Vegas.
The problem was that our systems were inadequate in recognizing
the intersectionality between racism and ableism, which is something we
talked about often. And she also talked about her experience
in gathering the data for the CERD. She said, we
(05:28):
are the first organization to collect data about black people
with disabilities in Brazil. Before this, our government only had
disaggregated data. There was data about black people in Brazil
and separate data on people with disabilities, but none about
how many.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Black disabled people there are.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
In conjunction with partners including Minority Rights and the University
of York, we built this research and then put it
in accessible language for all people to understand. Now, with
this growing awareness of the community, others are asking how
they can join in this work and build more support
for black disabled people. That and we've talked about how
oftentimes a lot of the data is incomplete and it's
(06:05):
taken organizations and people like her to get that complete
look in this research, because I cannot believe we're not
even talking about this, like we're tiving to talk about
stuff like this in twenty twenty five as of that
article states and from nicia Preta dot com, here's what
they write about the objective of the research and data.
(06:25):
The overall objective is to propose a comprehensive measure to
protect the rights of marginalized people with disabilities who suffer
intersectional discrimination in Brazil. The movement believes that the intersection
between the forms of oppression of racism and ableism has
been recognized through social justice movements that aim to build
an anti racist, anti ablest, and inclusive society for all. Thus,
(06:46):
this project highlights the systemic racism experienced by black and
mixed race Brazilians with disabilities, neurodiverse individuals and their families
at both the international and national levels.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Man, that's such amazing work.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
And you could actually go to their site and see
that report and it's complete, and yeah, her work is
only expanding. She and the organization is working with different
organizations around the world, including in Thailand and Nepaulit and
of course Latin America. And back to that same Ford
Foundation article, she says this about her goals and hopes
with the organization and her work. Despite the international growth
(07:20):
and impact of BDLM or V and di I Vegas,
ultimate goal has remained the same since its inception. I
created V and di I for my son, she said,
So if we can help create a better world one
whether there is greater support for an understanding of the
lives and the stories of black people with disabilities, that's.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Good enough for me.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Oh sometimes I feel like the bar is so low
just for equality. Come on, But we love to see
this amazing type of work and we're so excited to
see what she and the V and Di I continue
to do.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yes, absolutely well listeners. As always, if you have any
thoughts about this, if you have any suggestions for people
or organization we should spotlight, please let us know. You
can email us at a Hello at stuffanevertold You dot com.
You can find us on blue Sky. I'm also a
podcast or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I never
told you. We're also on YouTube. We have some merchandise
(08:13):
at Common Bureau, and we have a book you can
get wherever you get your books. Thanks as always to
our superducer Rima and our executive pducer Maya. Thank you
and thanks to you for listening stuff. Never told you
this production, but iHeartRadio. For more podcast from my heart Radio,
you can check out the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or where you listen to your favorite shows.
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