Scan barcode
wanderlust_romance's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
The author notes very specifically in the preface and introduction to Black Disability Politics that this book is directed towards a Black, disabled, and activist audience. Schalk notes that non-Black and non-disabled readers are welcome to listen and learn from the information provided therein. I appreciated this explicit call out, as it helped to frame my own processing of the text and simultaneously checking my own internalized ableism and anti-Blackness. This text is highly educational and a valuable read.
Black Disability Politics is a thorough and well researched text that defines Black disability politics and provides both historical examples and context for it's development while also discussing its impact on Black cultural workers (an umbrella term Schalk uses to encapsulate social justice activists, researchers, artists, etc). The writing is academic in tone. In comparison to a few of the other nonfiction I have read that center the Black experience and disability, Black Disability Politics felt weightier but still approachable for an audience outside of academia. I found the chapters that centered the work of the Black Panther Party especially fascinating. Additionally, the praxis interludes included between the first second portions of the book were helpful breaks for reader reflection on the lessons provided in the preceding chapters.
I listened to BDP via Hoopla through my local library and would recommend if you enjoy non-fiction in audio format. The book was narrated by Imani Barbarin (also known as educator and content creator @crutches_and_spice) who does an excellent job narrating this text.
Black Disability Politics is a thorough and well researched text that defines Black disability politics and provides both historical examples and context for it's development while also discussing its impact on Black cultural workers (an umbrella term Schalk uses to encapsulate social justice activists, researchers, artists, etc). The writing is academic in tone. In comparison to a few of the other nonfiction I have read that center the Black experience and disability, Black Disability Politics felt weightier but still approachable for an audience outside of academia. I found the chapters that centered the work of the Black Panther Party especially fascinating. Additionally, the praxis interludes included between the first second portions of the book were helpful breaks for reader reflection on the lessons provided in the preceding chapters.
I listened to BDP via Hoopla through my local library and would recommend if you enjoy non-fiction in audio format. The book was narrated by Imani Barbarin (also known as educator and content creator @crutches_and_spice) who does an excellent job narrating this text.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Racism, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content
tenar's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Racial slurs
Brief content warnings are placed at the start of the chapters.hilaryreadsbooks's review
5.0
[Thank you Duke University Press for the gifted copy, out Oct 31]
BLACK DISABILITY POLITICS begins: “This is a book written for Black people, especially Black disabled people…If you are a non-Black person, imagine that you have just walked into my living room, where I’m having a conversation with my Black family and friends.” I feel humbled to listen in, for this invitation to finish this book and consider all the ways disability has played unnamed and undervalued roles in movements in my own communities, and to, first and foremost, center the contributions by Black disabled activists (especially Black feminist activists) that are often erased or ignored by white disability movements.
Schalk notes key qualities of Black disability politics: intersectional but race centered, not necessarily based in disability identity, contextualized and historicized, and holistic. Through examples from the 1970s to the present, Schalk demonstrates these qualities in action: the Black Panther Party, for instance, held a radical ideology that often included anti-ableist goals such as supporting the 504 sit-in and protesting psychiatric abuse, and the National Black Women’s Health Project engaged directly and indirectly with disability and its physical and spiritual relationship to Black female bodyminds. Crucial to the inclusion of disability is the multiply-marginalized Black bodymind—ableism, racism, sexism, and all forms of oppression experienced by Black people are inextricably tangled.
Movements are never perfect, Schalk notes. She respectfully critiques and analyzes ableist elements of these organizations without invalidating any of their contributions. These are presented as a chance to learn and grow, to continue towards a framework that frees all marginalized people. We are asked to consider: How can we heal populations debilitated by war, climate change, and state violence without portraying disability as tragic? How can we continue to make our movements more inclusive? How can we learn from the work done by past and present day Black disabled activists?
A crucial and necessary read. Please, please read this and Schalk’s first book: BODYMINDS REIMAGINED ♥️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, and Medical trauma
More...