Theorizing Racist Ableism in Higher Education

Abstract

Background/Context: Although research on the experiences of multiply-marginalized Black and Brown students with dis/abilities in higher education is limited, this growing body of work indicates that these students navigate racialized perceptions of ability, which impact their experiences on college and university campuses. This research highlights the need for intersectional frameworks that consider students’ multiple identities and the limitations of single-identity–focused frameworks. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: Centering the counternarratives of 10 Black and Brown undergraduate students with dis/abilities across five college and university campuses, this article uses critical race theory (CRT), disability critical race theory (DisCrit), and racist nativism to develop a conceptual framework of racist ableism. Racist ableism bridges CRT, DisCrit, and racist nativism to describe how particular forms of ableism, informed by racist attitudes and beliefs, oppress and dehumanize Black and Brown people based on actual or perceived (or, inversely, lack of perceived) dis/ability, thereby reinforcing the relationship between whiteness and ability. Research Design: I examined the counternarratives of 10 Black and Brown undergraduate students who identified or have the lived experience of dis/ability. Counternarratives allowed me to center the stories of students. I identify three overarching findings: (1) Black and Brown dis/abled students navigated racialized perceptions of intelligence, productivity, and academic capability; (2) Black and Brown dis/abled students were pathologized as lazy and/or deviant, which minimized or erased their access needs; and (3) Black and Brown dis/abled students resisted racist ableist discourses. Conclusions/Recommendations: The counternarratives of students reveal how racialized perceptions of ability shaped their experiences interacting with staff and their ability to access institutional supports such as accommodations. They also reveal the critical raced-disabled epistemologies of Black and Brown students who identify or have been labeled as dis/abled. Their counternarratives highlight the need for: (1) intersectional frameworks that account for the ways in which racism and ableism are interconnected, and (2) race-conscious policies and practices that consider their multidimensional identities.

A DisCrit Analysis of Quality in Early Childhood: Toward Pedagogies of Wholeness, Access, and Interdependence

“…First, multiply-marginalized teachers’ wisdom is often discarded through teacher education program entrance and progression requirements. Standardized assessments (e.g., GRE, content knowledge assessments) reinforce racist and ableist notions of intelligence (Mireles, 2022), exclude multiply-marginalized TCs from programs, and negatively impact their progression (e.g., assessments required for student teaching; Carter Andrews et al, 2019). Teacher education programs are also typically structured for full-time study, including practicum and student teaching experiences, which presents financial barriers that disproportionately impact TCs of Color due to the racial wealth gap (Nagasawa et al, 2020; Rogers-Ard et al, 2013) and set a pace for program completion that may not adequately attend to disabled TCs’ access needs (Mireles, 2022).…”

“…We also recognized the gaps in our knowledge, given how we have benefitted from oppressive systems in our respective lives. We frequently returned to the writing of multiply-marginalized authors (e.g., Kulkarni et al, 2022; Lewis, 2022; Mingus, 2011; Mireles, 2022), whose perspectives guided us.…”

“…Standardized assessments (e.g., GRE, content knowledge assessments) reinforce racist and ableist notions of intelligence (Mireles, 2022), exclude multiply-marginalized TCs from programs, and negatively impact their progression (e.g., assessments required for student teaching; Carter Andrews et al, 2019). Teacher education programs are also typically structured for full-time study, including practicum and student teaching experiences, which presents financial barriers that disproportionately impact TCs of Color due to the racial wealth gap (Nagasawa et al, 2020; Rogers-Ard et al, 2013) and set a pace for program completion that may not adequately attend to disabled TCs’ access needs (Mireles, 2022). Although classroom experiences are, of course, critical for TCs’ learning, rigid expectations for how experiences are structured in the name of quality (alongside a lack of support) can exclude multiply-marginalized TCs who may need more time or flexibility.…”

Expanding Critical Perspectives on Disability and Education

“…Contributors invited readers of TCR to consider connections between ableism and racism, as well as other forms of oppression embedded in commonplace practices in education. Engaging DisCrit as both a tool for analysis and a theoretical framework, contributors to TCR interrogated the deployment of racism and ableism: in norms and standards of early childhood education (Beneke & Love, 2022); in racialized perceptions of ability in higher education (Mireles, 2022); in barriers to the profession associated with teacher certification and licensure exams (Schwitzman-Gerst, 2022); in race-evasive perspectives and ideologies perpetuating discipline disparities in schools (Tefera et al, 2022); and in state learning standards (Clark et al, 2022). Authors engaged with DisCrit Classroom Ecologies and DisCrit Solidarity 2 —applying the former to literacy contexts (Locke et al, 2022) and the latter to disabled girls of color in a youth prison (Cabral et al, 2022, 2023).…”