You likely were expecting to hear Part 2 of my story as a sibling today, but I’ve decided to put my story on pause because much more important things have been happening in the world as of late.
Police brutality is not just an able-bodied black problem.
According to a 2017 study in the American Journal of Public Health, 55% of disabled black people are arrested at least once by the time they are 28 years old, while the same is true for only 37% of non-disabled black people. And there are countless stories of police brutality to go along with this statistic.
Despite this injustice, the disability community is certainly not immune to racism, as the disability rights movement and the field of disability studies have largely been led by white disabled people. As a result, we are truly missing out on the whole picture of what it means to be disabled in this country, and issues such as this haven’t been brought to the forefront of disability issues.
Right now it’s time for us to truly listen to the black disabled community.
Today I’m highlighting black disabled organizations and people to learn from and get involved with.
Please do your best to learn and understand the experiences of the black disabled community and if you can, become involved in whatever way is best for you.
Where to Donate/Organizations to Get Involved With
National Black Disability Coalition
Focused on addressing black disabled issues in the US
Nylon Magazine
Where to donate to help black people with disabilities
https://www.nylon.com/life/black-people-with-disabilities-donations-resources
Sins Invalid
A disability justice based performance project
The Divas with Disabilities Project
Promoting black and brown women with disabilities in mass media and popular culture
https://www.divaswithdisabilities.org/
National Alliance of Black Interpreters
National Black Deaf Advocates
Harriet Tubman Collective
A collective "striving for radical inclusion and collective liberation"
https://harriettubmancollective.tumblr.com/
People to Follow and Learn From
Imani Barbarin
Communications Director, Disability Blogger, Content Creator, Forbes Contributor, Public Speaker, Model, and Actress
https://www.instagram.com/crutches_and_spice/?hl=en
Jennifer Brea
Health activist, Filmmaker, Unrest director, #MEAction co-founder, TED Talker
https://twitter.com/jenbrea?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Lauren “Lolo” Spencer
Actress (Give Me Liberty), model, disability lifestyle influencer, Youtuber
https://www.instagram.com/itslololove/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKhnl8iyRPa1TNJrMO-UN-Q
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4169146/ (Give Me Liberty Movie)
Ajani “AJ” Murray
Actor (Drunk History, Speechless, Becoming Bulletproof) , Public Speaker, Writer Rep
https://www.instagram.com/ajaniajmurray/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/gotnextaj?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Jen White Johnson
created the image above, and is a mother of a disabled child herself
https://www.instagram.com/jtknoxroxs/?hl=en
Stephanie Thomas
Disability Fashion Stylist, Founder of Cur8able, Fashion Journalist
https://www.instagram.com/disabilityfashionstylist/?hl=en
Tripple Cripples
Groundbreaking Platform for & by Disabled, Black & Non-Black, Women, Femmes & Non-Binary POC!
https://www.instagram.com/triplecripples/?hl=en
Pieces to Read and Learn From
Disability Justice - A Working Draft
by Patty Berne
https://www.sinsinvalid.org/blog/disability-justice-a-working-draft-by-patty-berne
Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice
by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
http://brownstargirl.org/care-work-dreaming-disability-justice/
Peoples Power Assemblies Take On Police Brutality Against People With Disabilities
by Leroy Moore
https://poormagazine.org/node/5447
Disease Is Not A Metaphor
by Cyree Jarelle Johnson