Alice Wong, pioneering disability rights advocate and author, dies at 51

Alice Wong, the trailblazing disability rights activist and author who amplified underrepresented voices in American society, died Nov. 14 in San Francisco at age 51.

Known for founding the Disability Visibility Project and serving on the National Council on Disability, Wong spent her life advocating for people at the intersections of race, disability and gender. Her death followed complications from an infection, according to friends.

Born in Indianapolis in 1974 to parents who had emigrated from Hong Kong, Wong was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy as a child and used a powered wheelchair and ventilator throughout her life. She often described how her experiences navigating hospitals, schools and public spaces informed her understanding of structural barriers faced by disabled people. In a 2022 essay she wrote, “We need more stories about us and our culture,” capturing her long standing effort to expand representation for disabled communities, particularly people of color.

Wong created the Disability Visibility Project in 2014 as an oral history partnership that grew into an influential platform for disabled writers, artists and advocates. She edited several collections of essays, authored the memoir “Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life” and continued public work even as her health needs increased. In 2013, President Barack Obama appointed her to the National Council on Disability, and in 2024, she received a MacArthur Fellowship for her contributions to disability advocacy and storytelling.