Lydia Brown, disability justice advocate, will present the April 12 White Fund lecture.

Disability justice advocate Lydia X. Z. Brown, will present, in partnership with Northern Essex Community College, the White Fund lecture titled “They Must Not Stamp Us Out: Why We Need Disability Justice” on Thursday, April 12.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will run from 11:30 a.m. until to 12:30 p.m. in The NECC White Fund Room, at 78 Amesbury St. in Lawrence. It will also be telecast to the Harold Bentley Library on the Haverhill campus in room A112.This is one of several events scheduled in recognition of “All Abilities Week” which celebrates individuals with disabilities.

“We are sick, disabled, mad, wobbly, lopsided, flappy,” according to Brown. “We are everywhere — working, loving, playing, laboring for liberation, yearning for community. …working for disability justice and freedom…Disability oppression is deeply connected with all forms of violence…We are constantly erased and forgotten, but this is not the way things have to be. Disability does not have to be something scary, broken, or sad. Disability justice challenges us to imagine and build a world where each one of us is valued for all of our humanity.”

Brown is a disability justice advocate, organizer, and writer whose work has largely focused on violence against multiply-marginalized disabled people, especially institutionalization, incarceration, and policing.

Brown is a founding board member of the Alliance for Citizen-Directed Services, a stakeholder representative to the Massachusetts One Care Implementation Council overseeing health care for Medicaid/Medicare dually-eligible individuals, and board member of the Autism Women’s Network. Brown is the lead editor and visionary behind “All the Weight of Our Dreams,” the first-ever anthology of writings and artwork by autistic people of color, published by the Autism Women’s Network in June 2017.

Most recently, Brown has designed and teaches a course on critical disability theory, public policy, and intersectional social movements as a visiting lecturer at Tufts University’s Experimental College.

Brown has been honored by several government and nonprofit organizations including The White House and the Washington Peace Center.

Brown is currently a public interest law scholar at Northeastern University School of Law.

The White Fund’s purpose is to have a free series of interactive presentations for Lawrence area adults, youth, and children. The audience is encouraged to seek wisdom, cultural enrichment, and intellectual enhancement by attending and participating.

The views expressed in the White Fund Enlightenment Series Presentations are the views of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Northern Essex Community College.

Funded by a generous financial gift from the Honorable Daniel Appleton White, the White Fund Lecture Series has provided cultural conversation featuring well-known lecturers in fields such as history, literature, travel, the arts, and politics. The White Fund is collaborating with Northern Essex on this series.

For additional information or to be notified of upcoming events in the White Fund Enlightenment Series, contact Analuz Garcia at agarcia@necc.mas.edu or call 978-738-7423 or visit the website