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Yep. All very similar processes in the disability movements back thirty years ago, especially the `beneficiaries benefit without cost sidelining the innovators.' And the wide part too. Many of the benefits particularly in awareness, and gains out of poverty never reached down far enough into the minority community disabled.
Interestingly, like the white and student population the only black disabled people I came in contact with during the early phases of a rising political awareness were already socialized into what I would call a middle class. What was interesting in this latter case was that as in the white community, the politically aware and active black group (that I knew) had as many problems relating to and being effective with the more oppressed poor, as their white counterparts.
Part of this was of course that the organizations were not funded well enough, couldn't offer enough, and didn't last long enough to really reach down and make a difference. So for example as those organization were breaking up in the early 80s, I was already working in the privatized version of wheelchair repair and transportation and just then coming in contact with black disabled people who had never heard of these organizations, even though both were in the same urban area.
Of course the irony was not lost on a few older more aware black people I came to know. It was the same old story to them. Just as they got a step up, the door closed.
Anyway I found the surest way to politicalize people was through providing social services that are delivered by people like them, or at least by people `with them' in some sense. Their lives begin to change and as events come up these get addressed through organization assistance and that in turn changes their perspectives as well as their conditions. This is why privatizing the delivery of these services was such a potent weapon against the left and absolutely destorys any potential to build up communities.
Gotta go to work, more later.
Chuck Grimes