The Power of Difference
One standout at our recent Changemakers conference was disability activist Tiffany Yu, a first-generation daughter of a Taiwanese immigrant and a refugee from the Vietnam War. At nine years old, Yu suffered a devastating car accident that killed her father, shattered her leg, and permanently paralyzed one arm. For years, she struggled to fit in. In college, Yu founded a disability awareness group that has since grown into an internationally recognized organization, Diversability. Here are just a few of Yu’s ideas that stick with us.
• Be the nail.
Don’t be afraid to stand out from the rest, Yu says. “I grew up with a Japanese proverb that said, ‘The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.’ As a disabled woman of color, I sit at the dangerous intersection of racism, misogyny, and ableism. The world wants me to get hammered down. But the truth is, I am the nail that sticks out, and I’ve learned to be proud of it.”
• Connect disability to diversity.
For true diversity, Yu says, we need a broader definition. “When you don’t acknowledge part of my identity, I feel invalidated, insignificant and invisible,” she says.
• Say something.
“[Growing up] people seemed uncomfortable with disability, including me. No one knew how to talk about it. We’re so afraid of saying something offensive or not politically correct that we end up saying nothing at all. If we’ve learned anything around the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes recently, silence is never the answer. When we stay silent, we don’t learn, and we don’t grow.”
• Make your own community.
“I never wanted anyone to feel like they didn’t matter. So, when I couldn’t find community, I created it.” We all need to feel socially connected, to find people who will root for you, challenge you, and lift you up. We have the power to create that sense of belonging.
- Authenticity has a ripple effect.
Telling your story inspires the people around you. “Every time you use your voice, your power and your privilege to show the world exactly who you are,” says Yu, “you’re paving the way for all of us who thought that invisibility would be our method of survival.”
