By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Two years old.
That’s how old Adiba Nelson’s daughter was when they went searching for a book with a character who looked like her.
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“We couldn’t find a single book that my daughter could see herself in. I said, I’ll just write one for you myself,” says Nelson.
But when Nelson tried to publish it, she was told that the world was not ready for a book about kids with disabilities.
“Little Black children and little brown children are left out… add a disability and you’re nonexistent. You’re an afterthought,” Nelson says.
African American Museum of Southern Arizona Director Nikieia Johnson says holidays like Juneteenth are a reminder that freedom without visibility isn’t freedom at all.
“When the Declaration said, ‘all men created equal,’ it didn’t necessarily include us.“
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But instead of dwelling on the past, Adiba wants people to move forward.
“We cannot go back. We have to move forward in equity and accessibility. For everybody. Not just white folks, not just Black folks, not just able-bodied folks. For everybody.”
This Juneteenth, a mother’s promise to her daughter and a museum’s call to remember remind us that true freedom cannot be had without visibility.
As Adiba Nelson says, “We have to acknowledge even the ugly truths about the past to make the beautiful future that we want.”
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