Ruderman Family Foundation

The Ruderman Family Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation established in 2002 in Boston, USA, managed by the Ruderman family. The foundation operates in America and in Israel in two main areas: inclusion of people with disabilities in society and strengthening the relationship between Israel and the American Jewish community, while promoting strategic philanthropy and expanding circles of giving and involvement. The foundation aims to operate as a non-partisan strategic catalyst in its areas of focus in cooperation with the government, private sector, civil society and philanthropies.

In March 2016, the Ruderman Family Foundation released its first White Paper- a two-year media study and overview (2013–2015) on media coverage of law enforcement use of force and disability- in order to change the public’s awareness of people with disabilities and the civil rights battle they face for full inclusion and equality. The study was authored by David M. Perry, a disability rights journalist and Associate Professor of History at Dominican University, and Lawrence Carter-Long, one of the world’s foremost authorities on media representation of disability. It concluded that disabled individuals make up a third to half of all people killed by law enforcement officers and make up the majority of those killed in use-of-force cases that attract widespread attention, including Eric Garner, Kajieme Powell, Tanesha Anderson, Freddie Gray and Sandra Bland. This was true both for cases deemed illegal or against policy and for those in which officers were ultimately fully exonerated. The authors argue that the media ignored the disability component of these stories, or, worse, told them in ways that intensified stigma and ableism. The Ruderman White Paper received international attention for bringing this issue to light and hopes to start a larger dialogue about the need for greater law enforcement training when it comes to interacting with people with disabilities. The study was covered by media outlets including NBC News, Al Jazeera, Russia Today, International Business Times and New York Magazine.

...
Wikipedia