Her political views, which she described as "left, not liberal," informed her writing on topics such as healthcare, the prison-industrial complex, physician-assisted suicide, poverty, ableism, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

As a young adult, the Civil rights movement was active all across the Southern US and Russell was a part of it, volunteering for the ACLU to fight against racial segregation.

Frustrated with the conservative culture of the South, she moved to Los Angeles, California, in her early 20s to pursue a career in film.

[5] Russell was co-producer/correspondent for the KCET Life & Times documentary entitled, Disabled & the Cost of Saying 'I Do' (1995) which was honored with a Golden Mike Award for Journalism.

In 2016, Routledge Press published an anthology dedication entitled, "Disability Politics in a Global Economy: Essays in Honour of Marta Russell".