Disability advocates, survivors and community members gathered Sunday at the Columbus Park Refectory for the “Runway of Change” fashion show, an event designed to celebrate inclusion, representation and empowerment for people with disabilities.
The “Runway of Change” fashion show was organized by Azalia Mallory, founder of Limitless Free and United, and Jamaal Johnson, CEO of the Stay Up Foundation, both of which focus on disability empowerment and inclusion. The event featured adults and youth with disabilities modeling, sports-inspired fashion, while also providing recognition, resources and opportunities that highlight confidence, dignity and representation within the disability community. Throughout the event, speakers shared personal experiences related to their disabilities.
Kaelin Hall, a two-time gunshot survivor who traveled from Louisville, Kentucky, to attend Runway of Change, spoke about overcoming adversity and finding purpose, sharing how what he once thought was his ending ultimately became his beginning.
“We’re here to remind the world that God exists. The proof is right here in this room. Most of us have traveled from different places and come from different cultures, but we have one thing in common: we’re all disabled in some way,” Hall said.
Hall credited Mallory and Johnson with being guided to help create something larger than themselves and ultimately bigger than all involved, both individually and collectively.
“I got on that Greyhound and you all don’t even want to know what I had to go through on that Greyhound. That’s another story. Thank you all for advocating for us and for speaking up for us. Thank you all for creating space for us and for joining us and making us feel important today,” Hall said.
Tajea McCoy is a career leader and motivational speaker who addressed the audience at Runway of Change.
“Back in 2021, at the age of 19, I was shot in an attempted robbery. My mom was in the car and I was shot twice and grazed by a bullet. The bullet that hit my shoulder is the one that caused my back injury. I have a spinal cord injury and I am paralyzed from the chest down,” McCoy said.
Reflecting on becoming paralyzed, McCoy said she initially struggled to make sense of the experience and came to understand that the hardest part of trauma is not the event itself, but the process of recovery and continuing forward.
Over time she found strength in maintaining a positive outlook, even while questioning when it would be acceptable to stop appearing strong for others.
“I realized that, by looking at the glass half full, you can always make everything better. When I was in the hospital, I always had this question, like, ‘Is she okay?’ Not because I was hurt, but because I was smiling,” McCoy said.
As McCoy adjusted to life in a wheelchair, she connected with many people who were going through similar experiences. Although she had known many of them through social media for three to five years, this was her first time meeting them in person.
“Getting to meet everybody in person makes it feel much more heartfelt. It gives you a better understanding of what everyone actually goes through behind the scenes. It made me realize how much the mental health aspect plays a role in the recovery process because I had never stopped moving until I did,” McCoy said.
McCoy said the depression eventually led to stress, illness and additional challenges that required her to return to rehabilitation to regain her strength. She emphasized that mental health struggles had as much of an impact on her recovery as the physical injuries she sustained.
McCoy said visible aids such as wheelchairs, crutches and glasses are only tools and that many of the most significant challenges people face are not immediately visible to others.
“Each injury is different. Every aspect of each and every one of us, our individuality, makes us who we are. So make sure you ask somebody who they are before you just look at them and assume you know. You might see a chair, but that’s not who we are or how we are,” McCoy said.