This article was written by Margaret Fraser, and originally appeared in the edition of DABC’s Transition magazine, Following Their Path: How disability trailblazers are guiding today’s advocacy (Fall/Winter 2025).

Read the full edition in PDF format here and in text-only format here.

If you’re interested in contributing to Transition as an individual or an organization, please email transition@dabc.ca.

This edition of Transition Magazine is dedicated to the late Pamela Horton. Pam served on DABC’s board of directors for close to thirty years. If you’d like to support Transition, we have set up a fund in Pam’s name. We so appreciate any contributions.

Pam Horton grew up in North Vancouver in the 1950’s and 60’s with her brother, Mom and Dad. She had an active life, loving the outdoors, mastering a range of crafts and later finding work in the administrative field.

On February 9, 1982, at age 28, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She often spoke of this as her second birthday.

When the shock began to wear off, her goals changed. Pam wanted to focus on working on behalf of the disability community—first on the North Shore, then Greater Vancouver and ultimately province-wide.

Pam worked extremely hard to maintain her physical health as much as possible, through physiotherapy and mentally through volunteering. She was an excellent collaborator and communicator. She sat on numerous committees and challenged politicians, civil servants and anyone who would listen. She also made many friends.

Co-chairing the Together Against Violence Network on the North Shore was a perfect example of her understanding of intersectional issues for people with disabilities. Pam always prioritized inclusion. Each November, she enlisted her mother, Ruth, to cut purple ribbons—thousands over the years—to raise awareness of the issues close to her heart.

And Pam was not just a “joiner.” Encouraging and creating advisory committees on disability became one of her most far-reaching contributions to change, not only in the general public’s attitudes, but in those involved in government decisions at every level.

She was instrumental in so many changes in transportation that we now take for granted, such as accessible buses and taxis, including education for drivers on how to respectfully and safely assist those with disabilities.

When it came to income security, Pam worked to improve the living situations for the many people who rely on government assistance and programs, addressing problems from rental costs to equipment expenses.

In 1998, the North Shore Disability Resource Centre opened and it continues its work today. Pam and her various teams raised money for a host of initiatives at the centre including public education.

She worked with youth, adults and seniors and was never afraid to speak up on behalf of others.

In the arts, it was her persistence and invincible approach that led to the wheelchair accessible renovation of Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver.

On the quirky side, Pam was known for her love of owls! You may know an owl represents a wise creature–there’s a connection there–and she amassed a collection of owl-related photographs, trinkets, earrings and kitchen gadgets. You name it.

Her ultimate passion was the successful development of Disability Alliance BC. Pam was the first Executive Director and later sat on the Board of Directors for many years. She used her strong voice to advocate across the province for people with all types of disabilities.

Pam took a courageous stand beside Sue Rodriguez. She supported Rodriguez’s trailblazing right-to-die advocacy in the 90s that eventually lead to the creation of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in BC.

And she did so while also articulating the serious concerns about the potential for MAID to be misused around people with disabilities.

What follows are some thoughts from Pam’s friends and colleagues. The world is a much better place because of Pam. After her passing in May of this year, she will be missed by many and forgotten by none.

“Fearless and respected.”

“Gracious with her time and gave generously.”

“Able to retain her dry wit and knowing smile in the most difficult times.”

“Always kind and generous.”

“A good, truthful friend no matter what.”

“A stellar human being who made a tremendous contribution to our communities and, in many respects, changed so many people’s lives for the good.”

“An unflinching advocate for accessibility and the rights of people with disabilities.”

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Over the course of her 40-year working life, Margaret Fraser worked in a variety of roles with, and advocated for, people with a broad range of disabilities, frail and isolated seniors, youth at risk, new immigrants and adult literacy groups. She held hands-on roles as well as positions in management, and learned much about how folks progress through life–more than a university education can provide. Originally from Scotland, she immigrated to Canada in 1983. She remains an active volunteer in North Vancouver.

This Black History Month, we are reflecting upon the fact that Black liberation and disability justice frameworks have always been linked. Concepts of race and disability have been used to justify discrimination throughout history. Bodies and their perceived functionality were weaponized to uphold slavery in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade; false notions of black peoples’ inferior intellectual capabilities meant that Black people were legally considered less than human. Time and again, Black people have been harmed by medical and societal institutions[1].

Here in Canada, we have a similar history of the deployment of racism and ableism as tools to perpetuate harms. The Alberta Sterilization Act[2], repealed in 1972, predominantly impacted Black and Indigenous women with disabilities, and allowed for sterilization to occur without their will, knowledge, or consent. Today, Black and racialized people with disabilities have some of the highest unemployment rates[3]. Many are forced to live in legislated poverty with social assistance rates that are below the poverty line. Though these conditions impact Canadians with disabilities of all races, its impact can particularly be felt amongst Black and Indigenous Canadians with disabilities. Black and Indigenous Canadians with disabilities also have disproportionate amounts of fatal interactions with policing institutions and corrections, many of which start off as mental health calls.[4] Specifically, D’Andre Campbell[5], Abdirahman Abdi[6], and Soliman Faqiri[7] come to mind as examples.

Ableism also disproportionately impacts racialized people on a global scale. Across the world, wars and genocides in countries including Palestine, Sudan, and Congo will result in mass disability rates.

Black people with disabilities have always been leaders in resistance. Many Black freedom fighters, like Harriet Tubman, were known to live with disabilities that were often caused by their enslavement. In her case, she lived with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and was instrumental in freeing hundreds of slaves through the underground railroad [8]. During the civil rights movement, the 504 protests occurred, where people with disabilities occupied a federal building for over a month to push for the adoption of legislation that would protect the public rights of people with disabilities. During these protests, the Black Panthers, a Black focused movement based civil rights organizations, supported the 504 protests by providing food and resources to the protesters [9]. The Black Panthers also focused on health and disability rights advocacy, leading nation-wide screenings for Sickle Cell Anemia in the Black community, inspiring calls for Federal funding and research for a cure [10].

Lastly, the creation of disability justice as a framework is an example of the link between Black and disability-based resistance work. Disability Justice as a framework was created by Black and racialized, disabled and queer artists in San Francisco. [11]. The creation of this framework paved the way for disability rights work to move away from rights-based analyses and created the move toward a justice-based analyses with inclusion-based frameworks in relation to disability organizing. 

Racism and its historical context cannot be separated from systemic ableism and its historical context.  This connection has also linked the struggles of Black and racialized disabled people throughout history and has forever linked Black liberation and disability justice organizing today, both in Canada and across the world. Black people with disabilities are a large part of the disability community. It is our role as advocates for racial and disability justice to acknowledge the intersections that continue to intertwine our movements for an ableism-free world together.

To learn more about these connections, check out the following books:

• Black Disability Politics by Samantha Dawn Schalk
• Black skin, white masks by Frantz Fanon
• DisCrit : disability studies and critical race theory in education by David J. Connor, Beth A. Ferri, and Subini A. Annamma, editors.
• The Right to Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability Hardcover by Jasbir K Puar
• Blackness and disability: critical examinations and cultural interventions edited by Christopher M. Bell.
• Embodied injustice: race, disability, and health by Mary Crossley.

[1] What Was Drapetomania? The Racist Pseudoscience of Slavery-Era America — Simply Put Psych

[2] Sterilization of Indigenous Women in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia

[3] Research — Race and Disability Canada

[4] Tracking (In)Justice: Documenting Fatal Encounters with Police in Canada | Canadian Journal of Law and Society / La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société | Cambridge Core

[5] D’Andre Campbell fatally shot by police in Brampton home after calling for help, family says | Globalnews.ca

[6] The Abdirahman Abdi inquest: A day-by-day guide | CBC News

[7] ‘No longer any doubt,’ says Soleiman Faqiri’s family as inquest deems Ontario jail death a homicide | CBC News

[8] The Tragic Injury Harriet Tubman Never Recovered From

[9] The 504 Protests and the Black Panther Party – Disability Social History Project

[10] Beyond Berets: The Black Panthers as Health Activists – PMC

[11] 10 Principles of Disability Justice | Sins Invalid