INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN RACISM AND ABLEISM

“Racism and ableism are often thought of as parallel systems of oppression that work separately to perpetuate social hierarchy. Not only does this way of looking at the world ignore the experiences of people of color with disabilities, but it also fails to examine how race is pathologized to create racism. Meaning that society treats people of color in specific ways to create barriers, and these poor conditions create disability. The concept of disability has been used to justify discrimination against other groups by attributing disability to them.” To learn more, click here.

Additional resources:

• We can’t address disability without addressing race. Here’s why. - https://learnplaythrive.com/we-cant-address-disabilitywithout-addressing-race/

• Ableism: A Tool of White Supremacy – watch recording here

• Dismantling Racism & Ableism with Lydia X. Z. Brown 31mins Podcast - https://learnplaythrive.com/podcasts/dismantling-racism-ableism/

• What is intersectionality? - https://www.townofchelmsford.us/885/What-isIntersectionality

CONFRONTING SPECIAL EDUCATION’S RACE PROBLEM

Students of color are disproportionately misidentified with learning disabilities and behavioral disorders, often altering the course of their lives. The reasons why Black children (and other children of color) are being disproportionately misdiagnosed with learning or behavior disorders are numerous, complex, and often systemic. To learn more, click here.

Additional resources:

• What is Special Education? - https://www.k12.wa.us/student-success/specialeducation/family-engagement-and-guidance/what-special-education

• History of Special Education: Important Landmark Cases - https://www.fortelawgroup.com/history-special-education-important-landmark-cases/

• Landmark Cases in Special Education Law - https://specialeducationlawyernj.com/special-education-law/landmark-cases-in-specialeducation-law/

Faith And Disability

While sixteen percent of the global population is disabled, religious communities and spaces around the world are replete with ableist barriers of all kinds, whether it’s a meditative pose that excludes certain bodies, a synagogue’s bimah only accessible by stairs or a Christian hymn that equates blindness with sin. Despite these setbacks, disabled leaders and allies have been advancing accessibility in their theology, worship practices and physical spaces. For many, accessibility isn’t just a matter of morality it’s a spiritual duty.

To learn more click here.

Additional resources:

• Faith Communities and Inclusion of People with Developmental Disabilitieshttps://thechp.syr.edu/faith-communities-and-inclusion-of-people-with-developmentaldisabilities/

• Disability in Islam: Insights into Theology, Law, History, and Practice - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270893538_Disability_in_Islam_Insights_into_ Theology_Law_History_and_Practice

• Disability & Inclusion in Judaism - https://associationforjewishstudies.org/publicationsresearch/adventures-in-jewish-studies-podcast/disability-inclusion-in-judaism-transcript

• Disability, Asian Religions, and Spirituality: Partnering with Faith-Based Organizationshttps://adopt.ahslabs.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2018/04/Chapter-10.pdf