SAN FRANCISCO — Alice Wong, a disability rights activist and author whose independence and writing inspired others, has died. She was 51.
Wong died of an infection Friday at a hospital in San Francisco, said Sandy Ho, a close friend who has been in touch with Wong’s family.
Ho called her friend a “luminary of the disability justice movement” who wanted a world in which people with disabilities, especially ones of marginalized demographics who were people of color, LGBTQ and immigrants, could live freely and have full autonomy over their lives and decisions.
The daughter of Hong Kong immigrants, Wong was born with muscular dystrophy. She used a powered wheelchair and an assistive breathing device.
Ho shared a statement on social media that Wong wrote before her death in which she said she never imagined her trajectory would turn out as it did, to writing, activism and more.
“It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin. We need more stories about us and our culture,” Wong wrote.
She advocated for “getting people out of institutions and remaining in the community,” Ho said and her works — including books she wrote and edited and the Disability Visibility Project blog, which she started — shared her writing and voices and the perspectives of others.
Ho said Wong was a funny person and a hilarious writer, not an easy skill. Her memoir “Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life” is filled with humorous snippets but also humanizes disability, she added.
The legacy of Wong’s work is that people with disabilities “speak for themselves and that nobody speaks for us,” Ho said.
Wong was among the 2024 class of fellows of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, recipients of the “genius grant.”
Friends and admirers of Wong took to social media over the weekend to express their gratitude for Wong’s work.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement on social media that Wong was “fearless.”
“Her activism and courage inspired countless people across our communities, including here in San Francisco,” Lurie said. “Let us honor her legacy by continuing to build a city where every voice is heard, every space is accessible, and every resident can thrive.”
W. Kamau Bell, an Oakland-based comedian and director, honored Wong in an Instagram post, calling her “fierce, funny, and fierce.”
“She suffered ZERO fools. But always had time to spread the good word. She was an activist, an advocate, and a truly awesome person,” he said. “She made sure concepts like inclusion and diversity always included people with disabilities. And even when I was not talking to her, she was in my head reminding me to do the same.”
Staff writer Caelyn Pender contributed to this report.
