Black Women with Disabilities 

Written by Iris Elena Jordan for “Feminist Disability Studies”

My name is Iris Elena Jordan. I am a Black student at the University of Connecticut who’s had the displeasure of experiencing racism on my campus. I am also a student who happens to have a disability. This fall, I took a Feminist Disability Studies class that taught me so much about myself, and the world around me. There are very few times I feel seen at the University of Connecticut but this class welcomed me with open arms. If Feminist Disability Studies was a major here, I would be studying it. This school is a predominantly white university. It caters to able-bodied white students. There is no room for students like me, who suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and major depressive disorder. I hope in future years, we can  let go of the “one size fits all” education system, and welcome in the different backgrounds and needs of all students. 

Let’s circle back to my Feminist Disability Studies Class that I’m taking this fall, because again, I have learned so much. 

Being a black woman with a disability in this country is one of the toughest identities to have. Black women are supposed to be strong; taking in the pain of racial microaggressions and constant injustice. Nothing can faze us, right? We’re the strong caretakers who don’t need to be taken care of, right? For my final exam of the course, I wrote a poem about Black politics. I touched on topics of Gun Violence, and the Social Exclusion of Black Women with Disabilities. Most importantly, I talked about Sandra Bland, who died at the age of 27, and  who was a key figure in sparking the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Sandra Bland’s identity as a disabled woman was not publicized enough. We learned in class that just after being thrown down  to the ground, Sandra announced to officers that she had epilepsy. She requested medical attention, but the officers ignored her.

Now, I won’t talk about how Black women’s healthcare needs are constantly ignored (because this is something else we learned in our Feminist Disability Studies cClass). What I will talk about though, is how Sandra Bland has been one of the most well-known key figures for the Black Lives Matter Movement–but her having a disability was left out of the news. 

Why do we socially exclude  Black disabled individuals? Why wasn’t this part of her identity included in all the Instagram posts, news articles and tik tok stories about her? Why are we ashamed? The year that Sandra Bland died, there were 5 Black women who died while incarcerated, and 3 of them had a disability, including Sandra Bland. My heart goes out to Sandra, her family, her friends. There is something to be said for her identity as a disabled woman being hidden from the media. To me, this is just another form of discrimination, and social exclusion for Black disabled individuals.