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turtletats's review
4.0
A great contribution to the space of black and disability liberation.
I was almost turned off by the introduction which I found very academic and dry. In truth I found the writing style repetitive and difficult to connect with throughout, but glad I stuck it out and I encourage anyone facing a similar roadblock to as well.
I was almost turned off by the introduction which I found very academic and dry. In truth I found the writing style repetitive and difficult to connect with throughout, but glad I stuck it out and I encourage anyone facing a similar roadblock to as well.
bookishly_laura9813's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
claire2024's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
4.5
I think overall it was really really good. some of the text was very dense ans it might have been better to have more examples to help illustrate its points but i think it managed to put a lot across.
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
letsgolesbians's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
5.0
sami schalk says at the beginning of the book that this is written for Black people, specifically Black disabled people, and the rest of us are welcome to sit and listen. as she reminds us throughout the book, listening to the people with the most marginalizations and those most oppressed by the state about liberation will help liberate the rest of us.
schalk is a fat queer Black disabled woman weaving together teaching, activism, and scholarship in Black disability politics. schalk examines "how Black people have engaged with disability as a political issue through exploration and analysis of the work of the Black panther party, the national Black women's health project, and 21st century Black disabled cultural workers" and recognizing the work the Black community has done for disability politics while not always calling it disability politics or centering disability. this work has often been left out of disability conversations and its erasure has contributed to much of the activism surrounding disability to be focused on white disabled people. i think this book is a great learning opportunity; not only is the framework of Black disabilty politics an important one, but i also learned a lot about the Black panther party and found particular interest in how the national Black women's health project worked to inform people of and protect people from HIV/AIDS.
some of the things schalk talked about regarding Black disability politics reminded me of what i've learned about harm reduction and addiction from indigenous people and were good reminders for me not to look at people through such a white, western lens (e.g. not relying on medical and legal frameworks, definitions, and diagnoses). if you're looking for a nonfiction book to read for pride, i recommend this book, even though it's not specifically centered on queerness. imani barbarin reads the audiobook, and i'm grateful thatdarnchat
CWs: ableism; HIV/AIDS; racism (general systemic, as well as medical and environmental)
photo review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C7pdgMgSSSJ/?igsh=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA==
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Racism
nilescrane's review
4.75
I super appreciated Schalk's inclusion of the history of black disability politics, as well as the exploration of semantics when it comes to disability.