Bob’s Room: A Michigan-Focused Disability Forum
January 21, 2027, we will launch Bob’s Room, in memory of Bob Liston—a space inspired by the legacy of Judi’s Room, Devva’s Room, and Justin’s Room.
Bob’s Room will focus on Michigan: the disability issues shaping our nation, the ways they affect disabled Michiganders, and the state-level solutions we can create together. We will bring forward the perspectives of Michigan advocates, organizers, researchers, policymakers, and community members, while also welcoming speakers from elsewhere whose work can inform and strengthen our efforts here.
At a moment when federal action feels increasingly uncertain, we cannot rely solely on Washington to secure our rights, services, and freedomź. We must organize, build relationships, develop leadership, and pursue practical solutions here in Michigan—through our communities, our institutions, and our state government.
p>Bob Liston’s work in the 1970s and 1980s helped shape services and opportunities that made Michigan stand apart from many other states. His legacy reminds us that meaningful progress is not inevitable: people create it through vision, persistence, and collective action.
Bob’s Room will honor that legacy by asking what Michigan can become next. How do we protect community living? How do we expand accessible housing, transportation, health care, employment, education, voting access, technology, and genuine self-determination? How do we ensure that disabled people—across race, age, gener, geography, income, identity, and disability—are at the center of the decisions that affect our lives?
Our goal is simple but ambitious: to empower one another to make Michigan a state that every disabled person can be proud to call home.
Get Involved
If one of these issues compels you to speak out, share your experience, propose a topic, or help shape the conversation, please contact Susan Fitzmaurice.She is organizing a monthly Zoom gathering on the third Thursday of each month, and everyone is welcome to participate.
Join us as we remember Bob, learn from one another, and build the Michigan our disability community deserves.