Looking Through History May Help Explain Why People Of Color Have Been Missing In The Disability Rights Movement
Jennifer Erkulwater is a professor of political science at the University of Richmond. Her scholarship focuses on the politics of poverty, Social Security and disability rights. Below are highlights from an interview with The Conversation. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Jennifer Erkulwater speaks on her research about people of color and the disability rights movement.
What is your research focused on?
Erkulwater: My current work involves trying to understand why people of color seem to be missing in debates about disability rights.
People of color, especially African Americans, are more likely to report medical impairments than whites, and yet popular media tends to showcase largely white people with disabilities. It’s an absence that’s been critiqued on social media ...