Bradley Lomax had had ENOUGH! Everywhere he looked, there seemed to be something hurting our people. Poverty. Crime. Police Brutality. Things HAD to change. He wanted to do something major.
But what?
He heard about a group called the Black Panther Party. They seemed like they were trying to change things for Black people! So the next time they had a meeting, he attended.
They talked about police brutality, poverty – everything he cared about! But something was missing.
Him! He joined the same night, and started working on making things better for our people. He’d finally found an outlet for his work and his passion to make positive change.
But there was also something else going on.
A few years before, Lomax had begun falling. He was soon diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). By the time he joined the Panthers, he was already a wheelchair user.
There’s a myth that Black people don’t get MS, but the truth is the opposite! His experience fired him up to fight on multiple fronts.
Lomax became a symbol for Black Power AND Black disability justice, and he helped shape the legacy of the Black Panther Party.
Our work toward liberation calls on us to be advocates for ALL Black people, regardless of our physical, mental, or emotional abilities. How will you advocate?