Introduction: Exploring the Opportunities and Challenges of Alliances and Allyship in the Lives of People with Disabilities

In 2019, when we (Allison, Joan, and Tara) issued the call for papers for this volume, we aimed to draw attention to the opportunities and challenges of alliances within, among, and beyond disability communities. We set out to encourage challenging conversations, focusing on issues such as power, shared and conflicting interests, and voice. As we moved toward finalizing the volume, the political landscape changed dramatically. The spread of the novel coronavirus and the protests following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer shone a spotlight on the devastating consequences of social oppression and thrust the meaning and practice of allyship into the foreground of national dialogue.