Black Disability Politics

Sami Schalk is Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race, and Gender in Black Women's Speculative Fiction, also published by Duke University Press.

Acknowledgments vii Introduction. Black Health Matters 1 1. "We Have a Right to Rebel": Black Disability Politics in the Black Panther Party 23 2. Fighting Psychiatric Abuse: The BPP and the Black Disability Politics of Mental and Carceral Institutions 48 Praxis Interlude One. Anti-ableist Approaches to Fighting Disabling Violence 69 3. Empowerment through Wellness: Black Disability Politics in the National Black Women's Health Project 81 4. More Than Just Prevention: The NBWHP and the Black Disability of HIV/AIDS 110 Praxis Interlude Two. Approaches to Disability Identity in Black Disability Politics 129 5. Black Disability Politics Now 140 (Not a) Conclusion. The Present and Futures of Black Disability Politics 154 Notes 161 Bibliography 187 Index 199

"With Sami Schalk's incredible book, Black Disability Politics, we begin to move into a different kind of book doing intrinsically connected work-a rigorously researched look at all the ways that disabled people's concerns have been foundational to Black resistance organizing. . . . If knowing your history is a key ingredient to success, Black Disability Politics presents a deeply researched and still incredibly readable map of the past, with implications for the shimmering future. This, along with what I can only describe as a muscular clarity in her writing, was incredible as a beginner to the topic to feel my understanding grow as I read, and that is only possible in the capable hands of a great writer like Schalk." - S. Bear Bergman (Xtra!) "Sami Schalk explores the histories and essential lessons of Black disabled labor, politics and movements. This is a long-overdue and essential volume." - Karla Strand (Ms.) "Black Disability Politics is a profound exploration and documentation of a cultural topic that has gone overlooked throughout the entire history of the Black American experience. . . . A deeply important view of the fight for the rights of disabled Black people in America since the 1970s." - Jordannah Elizabeth (New York Amsterdam News) "This book will be of particular interest to undergraduate and graduate students because it invites continued exploration of Black disability studies and politics. Recommended. Undergraduates through faculty." - S. Burch (Choice) "In addition to opening possibilities for new scholarship, Black Disability Politics offers multiple opportunities to change our understanding of the past, present, and future of disability justice-and to be changed ourselves in the process." - Kendall Dinniene (The Black Scholar)