Crippen Cartoons cartoons at the cutting edge of disability

The UK Disabled People’s Movement mourns the sad passing of Micheline Mason, disabled activist, author, artist and founder of The Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE).

In a moving tribute by her colleagues at ALLFIE, Micheline is remembered as a remarkable activist who dedicated her life to campaigning for inclusive education and the rights of all Disabled people to be educated in mainstream settings. As a Disabled mother of a Disabled child, Micheline was determined that her daughter, Lucy, now an adult, would attend her local mainstream school rather than be segregated from society, as this was her own experience within the education system.

Micheline often explained how she formed ALLFIE around her kitchen table, alongside a group of parents determined to ensure their children were educated equally, and formed the pivotal inclusive education group, Parents for Inclusion. She said:

“I started the Alliance for Inclusive Education 30 years ago now. At the time I was a parent of a Disabled child who was 4. Who was coming up to school age. Having been educated myself for 14 years at home on the sofa and then 3 years in a special boarding school which brought great problems to me when I left. I was so determined as a mother that my daughter wasn’t gonna follow the same path as me. And ever feel excluded from her local community. I felt she deserved to have all the same opportunities as any other child, possibly even more because she needed, she would have limited choices because of her impairments.”

All her life, Micheline, alongside other activists, drove forward the inclusive education movement, it is now a global campaign that remains one of the most powerful tools in combating societal inequalities and discriminatory practices. Micheline played a crucial role in supporting other parents of Disabled children in advocating for their child’s right to attend a mainstream school. She was instrumental in introducing national policy changes and reshaping the language around inclusive education.

She will be sadly missed by her family, friends, colleagues at ALLFIE and Parents for Inclusion and also fellow disabled activists from around the world.

You are invited to leave your own tribute to Micheline on the ALLFIE web site.

Description of cartoon for those using screen reading software – A caricature of Micheline Mason from the waist up shows her smiling with a purple band holding back her white hair. A pink scalf over a purple top completes her dress.