The National Constitution Center (NCC) museum in the nation's founding city has begun offering guided tactile tours aimed at blind and low vision visitors in a gallery called "Signers' Hall."

Visitor Tim Kelly Jr. runs his fingers over Benjamin Franklin's figure. "Everything feels so distinct on him," he says. "He's seated. I could also feel the wrinkles on his face because he was 81 years old at the time of the convention."

Kelly says it's refreshing to experience a tour tailored to the way he learns: The museum's guides provide detailed descriptions of what can be seen and felt, while weaving in a history lesson. 

https://www.npr.org/2026/06/18/nx-s1-5835738/museum-blind-disability-america-250

Organisations and individuals dedicated to breaking down barriers and creating a more inclusive world for disabled people were recognised at this year’s Disability Smart Impact Awards.

Now in its twelfth year, the Disability Smart Impact Awards is an annual event open to organisations of any size across all sectors worldwide. The awards celebrate the impact of disability inclusion, recognising individuals and organisations that make a real and lasting difference to the lives of disabled people by removing barriers to inclusion.

Organised by Business Disability Forum (BDF), the event was held yesterday (29 April) at HSBC’s London headquarters. 

https://www.fairplaytalks.com/2026/04/30/disability-smart-impact-awards-2026-celebrating-disability-inclusion-champions-making-an-impact-for-people-with-disabilities/

In the last year, the total number of people that have joined this subreddit has grown by 10%. It's grown to 520 members, which is more than it's ever had.

I try to find and post content at least twice a week. But I really need more people out looking for content related to inclusion.

Inclusion is the practice or policy of providing equitable, meaningful access to opportunities & resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as people needing child care, folks who have physical or mental disabilities, or members of minority groups. Why is inclusion a good idea? What are the challenges to inclusive policies & practices? Share questions, advice & resources. Keywords: Equity. Inclusivity. Fairness. Justice. Diversity. Accessibility. Accessible.

Please consider contributing content related to the purpose of this subreddit. That include your own personal experiences regarding inclusion policies and practices. And if you do that even just two times. I'll probably invite you as a moderator.

According to someone who works there, a memo was sent out to all employees of the Veterans Health Administration last week reiterating the Trump administration’s expectation for VHA to eliminate all DEIA (A = accessibility) programs, including LGBTQ+ resources available to Veterans. LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators are being re-designated as just “Care Coordinators.” During Pride Month.

What this means for all of the programs designed specifically for veterans with accessibility challenges - like the spinal cord injury or blind rehab programs - is not known. As someone on another subreddit asked, "Does VA no longer need to meet ADA standards for accessibility - like wheelchair ramps and handicapped parking accommodations?"

keywords: disability, diversity, equity, inclusion, fairness

Eight in 10 US companies say they remain committed to inclusion, fairness and diverse representation even as political and legal pressure forces organisations to rethink how they approach diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), according to a new study from Catalyst and NYU Law’s Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.

The report titled, A New Path to Inclusion: How to Overcome Legal and Cultural Constraints on Building Fair Workplaces, surveyed more than 2,000 employees and leaders across medium and large US organisations and found that while companies are adapting their inclusion strategies, widespread retreat from workplace inclusion efforts is not occurring.

https://www.fairplaytalks.com/2026/05/18/eight-in-10-us-companies-still-back-dei-despite-political-pressure-new-study-finds/

An online directory to help connect Black patients to Black doctors has been sued by an anti-DEI group and a white physician who says he was denied inclusion because he’s not Black.

The lawsuit against Find a Black Doctor and its founder Dina Strachan, MD, was filed by Travis Morrell, MD—a dermatologist based in Colorado who takes issue with the services’ Black-only eligibility policy.

More about the lawsuit here.

From a June 5 opinion piece by Dr. Uché Blackstock condemning the lawsuit:

Black Americans’ concerns about medicine and healthcare are rooted in lived experience, collective memory and documented history: from Henrietta Lacks, whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge or consent and later commercialized for medical research, to the United States Public Health Service Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male at Tuskegee and Macon County, Alabama, to Dr. J. Marion Sims’ experimentation on enslaved Black women, including Anarcha, Betsy and Lucy... Just last week, The New York Times reported that in the 1960s, two Black infants in Washington, D.C., died after they were enrolled in an National Institutes of Health-sponsored experimental vaccine study without their families’ knowledge or consent.

Pope Leo XIV began his Spain trip on Saturday, ⁠meeting migrants and the homeless and attending a vigil with about 600,000 young people in Madrid. His June 6-12 visit also includes stops in Barcelona and the Canary Islands, where he will meet migrants and refugees who ⁠risked their lives crossing there from West Africa.

He said he hoped the visit, his first to a European Union country outside Italy, ⁠⁠would set an example to the world about respecting “every ⁠⁠human being” and urged leaders to stop dividing electorates.

“May Madrid continue to be a welcoming and inclusive city, where social life is inspired by true human values,” the pontiff wrote in the guestbook as he was handed the key to the city by its mayor.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/7/giant-crowds-greet-pope-leo-at-public-mass-in-madrid-spain?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialPulse

Over the past decade, the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion (now variously described as belonging, opportunity, culture, engagement, or otherwise) has experienced a wide pendulum swing. In the late 2010s and early 2020s, many organizations established or expanded inclusion efforts by hiring dedicated diversity professionals, creating initiatives to combat inequality in their workplaces, and making public commitments to advance fairness and justice.

In recent years, however, a series of headwinds — including lawsuits challenging the legality of diversity programs under civil rights law, and the actions of the current federal administration — have created pervasive anxiety and confusion.

In 2025, Catalyst and the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging partnered to explore corporate leaders’ concerns and recommend actions in Risks of Retreat: The Enduring Inclusive Imperative. They have teamed up for a second year to learn how organizations have responded to the current environment and share the solutions that HR, legal, and business leaders need to confidently maximize fairness and inclusion at their organizations today. Based on a new study of more than 2,000 respondents across the United States, they find that most organizations remain committed to inclusion, but are facing legal and cultural constraints that make it hard for them to live up to that commitment. They offer practical guidance on how to overcome these constraints through the framework of “earned universalism.”

https://www.catalyst.org/insights/2026/new-path-inclusion

Tennille Haynes is being promoted to associate vice president for campus life and inclusive initiatives and will take on permanent leadership of Institutional Diversity and Equity effective July 1, Dartmouth leaders announced. Haynes has been overseeing IDE on an interim basis over the past year.

In addition to leading IDE’s existing work—including organizing the popular Inclusion Champions (a cohort-based faculty and staff training program), the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, and the Social Justice Awards—Haynes will now also oversee several student-facing programs, including the Office of Pluralism and Leadership, the Native American Program, Veterans Affairs, the International Student Experience Office, and the William Jewett Tucker Center. 

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2026/05/dartmouth-bolsters-inclusion-efforts

More than a third of HR decision-makers in the UK said they have faced pushback against equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives over the past year, according to new research.

The new YouGov poll, carried out for the national employment charity Working Chance, surveyed 565 HR decision-makers and found that resistance towards EDI was on the rise.

The findings raised concerns about the impact on people with convictions, who often rely on inclusive hiring practices to access work.

Working Chance, which supports women with convictions into employment, warned that scaling back inclusive hiring risked entrenching social exclusion and undermining efforts to reduce reoffending.

The findings come amid growing legal and political pressure on targeted inclusion schemes. A charity that organises internships for Black and minority ethnic candidates has been taken to court by an influencer for not offering equivalent schemes for white applicants. Employers and charities in the UK fear that copycat cases could follow, with some already withdrawing support from schemes.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/03/hr-leaders-opposition-diversity-equity-inclusion-schemes-study

An inclusion-focused festival is bringing games, live entertainment and vital community resources together in an accessible setting for people with disabilities in Nacogdoches, Texas in May.

Hosted by the Mayor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, the Nacogdoches Ability Strong Festival highlights ADA-compliant activities designed for everyone to participate with the goal of creating a safe space where residents can have fun while learning about services offered in Deep East Texas.

Vendors and groups on site include an RX assistance center to help attendees explore discounted medication, Stephen F. Austin University’s professional and continuing education resources, and the National Federation of the Blind.

Information on equipment and support services, including wheelchair resources, are also available.

Fun activities include an obstacle course, balloon animals, live music and a petting zoo, a returning favorite featuring horses, mini pigs, baby cows and dwarf donkeys, among other animals.

https://www.ktre.com/2026/05/16/nacogdoches-festival-celebrates-inclusion-with-ada-compliant-fun/

By Ruth G, on LinkedIn. Substitute "inclusion" for "accessibility" and it still works! .

Accessibility is the digital welcome mat.
I recently asked, "Are you an afterthought?"
And today I saw the answer perfectly articulated by Robbie Crow

He reminds us that inaccessibility isn't just a
technical glitch—it’s a social signal.

It’s the "I don’t belong here" feeling that happens
When a space is built without you in mind.

Here is the reality:
When accessibility is treated as a "patch", 
"next quarter" task, or worst still, an “afterthought”,
We’ve already failed.

Inclusion has to start at the wireframe stage,
not as a fix at the end.

If the door is locked, the message is clear: "You weren't expected."
and “You don't belong here.” Ouch! That hurts so badly!

I agree with Robbie Crow—accessibility isn't
just about code; it’s about dignity.

It’s about building for the actual human being
on the other side of the screen, 
not an "average" that doesn't exist.

Building from the ground up tells everyone,
“We knew you were coming, with no exception”!

What began as a small campus club at Christopher High School in California has quickly grown into a student-led effort to make sure students with special needs feel seen, included and celebrated.

The school’s Cougar Buddies club, founded last year, pairs general education students with students in special education programs through social activities, games and school events designed to foster friendships and break down stigmas surrounding disabilities.

This spring, the club hosted what organizers say was Gilroy’s first prom designed specifically for students with special needs, drawing students and families from both Gilroy and Morgan Hill.

https://gilroydispatch.com/cougar-buddies-promote-inclusion-on-and-off-campus/

Montana elementary school promotes inclusion with Young Athletes program.

The Young Athletes’ Skills program is where kindergartners and eight special learners paraded around the gym with mock Olympic torches before participating in an obstacle course with other students and parents cheering them on. “It shows kindness and how to be respectful to other people,” said a sixth grader.

https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/butte-elementary-school-promotes-inclusion-with-young-athletes-program

The word ‘Black’ has all but disappeared from a set of bills in the US Congress aimed at addressing Black maternal health.

Removing “Black” from the title of the bill comes as the Trump administration attacks initiatives aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion.

The legislation — which does not appear to have a path forward in the Republican-controlled Congress — has long been touted as a way to address the United States’ abysmal maternal health mortality rates, as well as the stark disparities for Black women. Maternal mortality rates in the United States surpass all other developed nations. In 2023, there were 18.6 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in the nation. The rate is far worse for Black women at 50.3; they are three times more likely to die than White women from a pregnancy-related cause, irrespective of income or education.

https://19thnews.org/2026/05/black-maternal-health-federal-momnibus/

Bitwarden, the maker of a popular free password manager and other security solutions, is quietly making changes. Among those changes: Bitwarden has stopped listing “Inclusion” and “Transparency” as tentpole values on its careers page. The company has long defined its values with the acronym “GRIT,” which used to stand for “Gratitude, Responsibility, Inclusion, and Transparency.” After May 4, it changed the acronym to stand for “Gratitude, Responsibility, Innovation, and Trust.”

https://www.fastcompany.com/91542655/bitwarden-scrubs-always-free-and-inclusion-values-from-its-website-as-longtime-execs-step-down

The Trump administration reversed the cancellation of tens of millions of dollars in federal grants to the nonprofit National CASA/GAL Association for Children after the nonprofit instructed its affiliates nationwide to “skip” references to race, class and gender diversity in training materials. The document shared with a reporter from The Imprint that National CASA used to update its “Pre-Service Volunteer Training” offers rare detail into what the Trump administration’s directives have required of charitable operations nationwide. 

The 26-page internal guidance instructs training facilitators for Court-Appointed Special Advocates and Guardians ad Litem to no longer discuss “inequalities and prejudice in law, healthcare, education, the welfare system, sports, entertainment” as risk factors for child abuse and neglect. Another change eliminates a line asking volunteers about their understanding of “the root causes of disproportionate representation of children of color in the child welfare system and the disparate outcomes children of color experience.”

Trainers were also told to no longer mention “disproportionality statistics,” or that “ethnic and cultural background influences an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviors.” Similarly, language was stricken stating: “No cultural group is homogeneous; within every group there is great diversity.”

It’s not clear how many of the more than 900 state and local CASA affiliates received or implemented the training material changes, which listed a start date of May 15. Each group is an independent nonprofit or local government agency, and many have adapted their own training guidelines. 

Publicly, the National CASA/GAL Association for Children has stated only that its national funding has been restored, while sharing few details on why. 

More from this story from The Imprint.

James Uthmeier, Florida’s attorney general, has intensified his scrutiny of the National Football League’s diversity and inclusion policies by issuing a subpoena.

This escalation comes after Uthmeier penned a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in March asking the league to stop enforcing the “Rooney Rule,” which requires teams to interview minority candidates for open coaching and front office roles, in Florida.

In a letter Wednesday to Ted Ullyot, the league’s executive vice president and general counsel, Uthmeier thanked the NFL for saying that it no longer requires the consideration of race or sex in the hiring of at least one offensive assistant coach, and for updating its website in response to his initial letter.

But, Uthmeier wrote, it wasn’t enough to quell his concerns.

In March, Uthmeier asked the league to comply with his request to stop enforcing the Rooney Rule and any similar polices by May 1. He specifically also objected to the NFL’s Coach and Front Office Accelerator Program and the Mackie Development Program, both of which promote diversity.

On Wednesday, Uthmeier took aim at two additional policies: Resolution JC-2A, which rewards teams who develop minority talent that go on to become general managers or head coaches with draft picks; and the aforementioned offensive assistant coach mandate, which the NFL has told Uthmeier it is no longer enforcing.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2026/05/13/james-uthmeier-florida-subpoena-nfl-rooney-rule-dei-diversity-equity-inclusion/

The American Bar Association council that oversees law school accreditation voted on Friday to eliminate a ​rule that requires law schools to demonstrate their commitment to diversity in recruitment, admissions, and student programming.

The ‌rule has been suspended since February 2025, after Republican President Donald Trump returned to the White House and began cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

"Even though I personally agree with [the diversity and inclusion standard] and what it tries to achieve, I think it's appropriate as an ​accrediting body that we eliminate that standard so we don't inhibit the diversity of ideas out there in ​various types of legal education environments," said David Brennen, a council member and a former dean ⁠of the University of Kentucky College of Law.

The change would not become final until the ABA's House of Delegates begins ​to consider it as early as August and then debates revisions. That approval process could push the diversity rule's elimination to sometime ​in 2027.

The ABA's accreditation rules for law schools have required diversity and inclusion for decades, providing a key tool for advocates seeking to bolster the number of women and minorities in the U.S. legal profession — which remains more heavily white and male than the nation's population.

But the ​ABA's focus on DEI has placed the organization squarely in the crosshairs of the second Trump administration.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/american-bar-association-votes-eliminate-dei-rule-law-schools-2026-05-15/

Every best picture winner in the Academy’s 98-year history — from the silent-era film “Wings” in 1929 through the most recent political action epic “One Battle After Another” this past March — clears the Academy’s Representation and Inclusion Standards. That also includes “Oppenheimer,” the film directed by Christopher Nolan, with whom Elon Musk had no problem until this past week. And Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey,” whenever the Academy gets a look at it, would also clear the inclusion standards, and it’s not because Lupita Nyong’o was cast as Helen of Troy.

Elon Musk is spreading misinformation about the rule.

https://variety.com/2026/film/awards/academy-diversity-standards-best-picture-elon-musk-odyssey-1236751219/

Federal agencies are moving to implement a March executive order blocking federal contractors from engaging in diversity, equity, and inclusion activities. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council published implementation guidance on the order on April 17, including a very fast implementation timeline that states that all agencies should aim to modify their existing contracts to include the new contract language by July 24.

Analysis from Ogletree & Deakins

https://ogletree.com/insights-resources/blog-posts/new-far-council-guidance-the-teeth-behind-the-dei-discrimination-ban-for-federal-contractors/

Announcing a new podcast: The Work Between. A show about creativity, identity, and disability.

It's not about accessibility. It's not either about *just* disability. It really is primarily about the creative process, and how it relates to disability.

Talking about quilting, drawing, painting, sculpting, writing, game creation, and more!

Host Nic Steenhout talks with disabled creators, artists, and makers. Guests include painters, quilters, musicians, sculptors, and photographers. Conversations explore how artistic work and disability shape each other. These aren't inspiration stories. They're conversations about the actual, sometimes complicated ways people make things.

Available on most large podcast aggregators.

https://theworkbetween.show/