“There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as more.” – Robert M. Hensel
According to the CDC, a disability refers to “any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).” As you may deduce from that definition, the population of people who are considered disabled is diverse, spanning race, gender, class, and more. Because of this, it is important that we consider the way these different aspects of identity interact with disability to produce unique outcomes, particularly with respect to race.
Studies shared by the National Disability Institute have demonstrated that African Americans are more likely to have a disability than non-Hispanic White people in every age group, and that the impact of that disability on their lives may be greater than if they were White.
Additionally, 14 percent of working-age African Americans have a disability, compared with 11 percent of Non-Hispanic Whites and eight percent of Latinos. The relationship between race and disability is complex, and it is related to systemic racism. This relationship shows up both in the connection between poverty, race, and disability, but also in the lack of an aggressive and meaningful effort to address accessibility, particularly for disabled people of color.
This week we will look at some resources that begin to address the complex intersections between race and disability.
Additional Facts:
• Poverty causes disability: Children living in poverty are more likely to have asthma, chronic illness, environmental trauma such as lead poisoning, learning problems and low birth weight that lead to disabilities. People in more physically demanding jobs are also more likely to suffer workplace illnesses and injuries.
• People in poverty are less able to treat disabling conditions and to mitigate their impact: Limited access to high quality medical care and early intervention may mean that a condition goes untreated longer and has potentially more severe long-term effects.
• Disability causes poverty: Disability adversely affects employment possibilities and earnings. It also can impose additional costs on families, such as medical bills, transportation, modifications to their home and personal assistants.
• Race is linked to poverty and disability in America: African Americans as a group continue to have lower incomes than whites and poorer health status than whites.
TODAY’S CHALLENGE: Do one or more of the following…
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Black Disability Politics by 
