Bambi, posing in the AP interview. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

Employment gaps for disabled people have been an issue across the federal and private sectors for years. When the Labor Department began recording disability status in its employment trends in the Current Population Survey in 2009, just 30% of disabled people between ages 16 and 64 were working at least part time. That’s compared with 71% of people without a disability.Last year, employment rates for disabled people hit a record high of 38%, but the decades-old disparities still persisted: 75% of people without disabilities were employed that year.

Disability hiring in the federal government became a prominent effort in the 1970s, shortly after the passing of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits disability discrimination in federal agencies. Expectations to hire disabled people expanded from there.In 2014, Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration began requiring that federal contractors meet specific goals related to hiring disabled people.Three years later, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated rules under the Rehabilitation Act. The new rules required federal agencies to set hiring goals for people with disabilities and create plans to help them get jobs and promotions.

Anupa Iyer Geevarghese worked as a disability policy adviser at the EEOC when officials updated the regulations. She said it increased progress in ensuring that disabled people had equitable opportunities in the federal workforce. She now worries that progress will be undone as the Trump administration shows little interest in continuing inclusion efforts.“I think, unfortunately, there are still perceptions about the knowledge, skill and abilities of people with disabilities,” she said. “As a whole, we’re still, as a community, still perceived as people who can’t do their jobs, are unqualified, who are uneducated and are incapable … we thought we had combated it, but we are still fighting that fight.”

Abby Tighe, a former public health adviser at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, was among thousands of

in February. Tighe, 30, has a progressive form of muscular dystrophy, which may eventually affect her ability to walk independently.He expects to be joined on the road by his wife, Suleika Jaouad, who is currently facing cancer for the third time and recently released a new book, “The Book of Alchemy.”

Batiste believes his unreleased music can still forge a connection, even with those hearing it for the first time.“I try to tell the most up-to-date origin story through the set,” he said. “If you come to the show and you don’t know any of the music, or you don’t know anybody on stage and it’s your first time seeing me perform or seen me on television, you’ll leave and feel like you know the songs. You’ll connect with the artist, the human being and the movement. It’s almost like you’re going to see a play.”

Batiste said the tour will mark the beginning of his “next era” of music. He views the live performances as an opportunity to introduce new material to audiences, allowing the songs to evolve through connection before ultimately recording them for his forthcoming album.Tickets will be available through artist presales beginning Friday.