Before Aerius Franklin Sr. ever had the language for advocacy, he was living it. Born with spastic cerebral palsy diplegia, a condition that affects mobility in the lower half of his body, Franklin entered a world that often questioned access before it offered opportunity. While some individuals with cerebral palsy also experience vision, speech, or cognitive challenges, Franklin considers himself fortunate not to have faced those additional barriers. Still, his earliest memories are rooted in resistance, sitting alongside his mother as she challenged a system that did not consistently uphold access or inclusion.
Growing up in San Francisco in the early 1990s, at a time when the Americans with Disabilities Act was still newly enacted and not consistently implemented, Franklin’s mother fought to ensure he could attend public school in a mainstream classroom. He recalls being just four or five years old, accompanying her to the school board as they made the case that his disability would not define his capacity to learn. That moment, part confrontation and part declaration, became the foundation of a lifelong commitment to advocacy. Today, Franklin carries that lesson forward, working to ensure that access, autonomy, and dignity are not privileges, but rights.
During the March KSPS Documentary Pop-Up Series screening of The Inquisitor, a film focused on Barbara Jordan, Franklin joined a panel discussion that extended beyond the documentary itself. The experience gave him language for something he has lived his entire life.
“Like Barbara Jordan said in the film, it’s a banner,” Franklin said. “It’s two different banners we have to carry. But for me, it’s the banner. I can’t put this down even if I try.”
Aerius shared his thoughts and reflections in the interview below.
Q: What is your connection to Spokane, and what do you do?
Franklin: I work for the Disability Action Center, which is a Center for Independent Living. We help individuals with disabilities of any age and any type of disability maintain, further, or develop their independence, while also removing barriers in their communities.
Q: How long have you been in this work?
Franklin: I started with the organization when I was about 22 years old in Moscow, Idaho, where the main office is. I worked there for about eight years, then moved to California for three years, and came back to work in the Washington office. I have been here about four years now.
Q: Where are you originally from?
Franklin: Northern California, the Bay Area. I spent a lot of time in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park growing up, and my high school years were in Fairfield.
Q: How did your advocacy journey evolve over time?
Franklin: Watching my mom advocate for me taught me everything. She fought for my education, for my equipment, for my independence. She made sure people did not do things for me that I could do myself.
At the time, I thought if someone helped me, it meant they were stronger, smarter, or better than me. That made me very prideful. As I got older and my body started to change, I realized that advocacy also means knowing when to ask for help and how to use the resources around you.
Q: What has your experience been as a Black man with a disability in the Pacific Northwest?
Franklin: I am still on that journey. Coming from California to the Pacific Northwest was a huge culture shock. In California, there is more diversity and more acceptance. Up here, it felt like there was an unspoken limit, like we will only let you get so far.
I love it here, but I wish there was more unity among Black people. There is a sense of hesitation, what some people call the Freeze. Where I am from, you see each other, you speak. Here, it can feel different.
Q: What do you want people to understand about living with a disability as an adult?
Franklin: That we are still the same. Whether someone was born with a disability or acquired it later in life, we are still part of one community.
As a father and a husband, I have had to become secure in who I am. I may not do everything the same way, but I still do it. I might not run with my kids, but I can still play with them. I just do it differently.
Identity is everything. Knowing who you are changes how you move through the world.
Q: What is your role at the Disability Action Center?
Franklin: I am the lead advocate. I work directly with consumers, helping them identify their goals, connect to resources, and build the skills they need to advocate for themselves.
I always tell people, “You are the consumer. I work with you, not for you.” We are not doing things for people. We are helping them build independence.
Q: What gaps do you still see in policy and systems?
Franklin: Cuts to education and disability supports, especially things like the IDEA Act, are a detriment to the disability community. When those systems are weakened, it is the youth and families who suffer most.
There is always room for improvement when it comes to accessibility and universal design. Access is not optional. It is necessary.
Q: What does it mean to navigate both race and disability?
Franklin: It is like carrying two banners. You cannot put either one down.
There is still judgment. As a Black man with a disability, people look at you differently, your relationships, your family, your role. But how I carry myself determines how people engage with me.
A lot of what we were fighting for before civil rights, we are still fighting for now, equality, access, dignity. Sometimes I have to be the example so others can see that they belong too.
Q: What stood out to you from the Barbara Jordan documentary?
Franklin: Her presence. Her confidence, intelligence, and timing. She knew when to speak and how to speak.
It was an honor to be part of that panel. To be in spaces where our voices matter, where people want to hear from us, that means something. I care about my community enough to show people something different.
Q: How do you take care of yourself while doing this work?
Franklin: I am still figuring that out. But I talk to my wife, I go to therapy, and I make time to decompress, watching TV, films, just finding moments of rest.
Q: What is at the core of your work?
Franklin: Choice. Autonomy.
Centers for Independent Living exist to ensure people have the right to choose how they live. Not to be placed somewhere because of a disability, but to live the life they want.
You can have knowledge and options, but without access, those choices do not mean anything. That is why we fight for access.
Q: What advice would you give to others navigating disability and systems of support?
Franklin: Knowledge is power. Learn the laws where you are. Every state has Centers for Independent Living, and they are free resources. Use them.
Q: What legacy do you want to leave?
Franklin: For my kids, for my family, I want them to know that I mastered something. That I did it on my own terms. That I did not just work hard. I built something meaningful.
Learn More at Disability Action Center NW