To begin I have a learning disability myself, specifically Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) and I was diagnosed when I was in 5th grade. It was a defining moment of my entire life, shaping who I am today. I have to be frank with you all, for the majority of my life up until relatively recently I was quite ashamed of having a learning disability. I remember being extremely insecure about others knowing I had a disability as I feared them viewing me as a “lesser student” or as I had found to be immensely hurtful “slow.” 

But eventually, sometime during college I realized that I shouldn’t be ashamed of my disability as it makes me who I am, and that like I feel a strong sense of pride and love for my Chicano & Brazilian identity I too can feel a sense of pride and strength because of my disabled identity. It was from that day forward that I was no longer a student with a disability. But a Disabled Student.  

It was the beginning of my Fall 2024 quarter. I had just transferred to UC San Diego from Southwestern College and was completely oblivious to the historied past of disability justice at UC San Diego. At the time there was no remaining active organization for disabled students. With the election of Donald J. Trump for his second presidential term, I realized that this gap in community support, self advocacy and empowerment opportunities would be fatal for our community, anticipating funding cuts for disabled youth and student programs. That's why on November 6, 2024, while at home in the South Bay near the Tijuana Border, I decided to establish the Blind Snakes Co-op (then called the Blind Snakes Disabled Student Empowerment Group).

As a proud Chicano-Brazilian person, I was also inspired by Chicana labor leader and feminist activist Dolores Huerta, Brazilian Roman Catholic Archbishop, human rights and social justice activist Hélder Câmara, civil and disability rights activist Brad Lomax, as well as social justice organizations and movements of the past century like Latin American Liberation Theology and the Brown Berets which I had proudly volunteered with as a teenager. That formative experience is why our organization has done a Free Food day every quarter with UC San Diego's Food Co-op (because food insecurity is an issue that disproportionately affects disabled people), launched a free testing materials program at my alma mater (deeply inspired by the free breakfast programs of the Black Panthers), and now volunteer monthly at Chicano Park.

Ultimately, I have tried to create an organization that emphasized disability pride, mutual aid, and collective action, combining organizing with cultural and social support. In addition to creating a community that helped those similar to myself (I have a learning disability), I hope to build an organization where people felt empowered instead of ashamed when they have a disability. For too long, I felt like my disability was something I should hide, something I shouldn't tell others about. I used to wait until everyone left the lecture hall or classroom to tell my professors about my academic accommodations. Since I started the Blind Snakes, that is no longer the case. Instead, I proudly say I have a learning disability, and I only hope that by doing so, others can feel comfortable knowing that having any kind of disability is nothing to be ashamed of.

 -- Matthew Diego Benny

Founder, Blind Snakes Co-op