Black History Month 2023 – Highlighting Black Disabled Voices
This Black History Month, we thought we’d highlight disabled black voices from past and present.
Tylan Grant
First up, we have National Autistic Society’s ambassador, actor Tylan Grant, talking about how even though signs that a child might be autistic are often first picked up when they’re in school, schools can miss the signs in Black Autistic children due to preconceived ideas about race and culture. The child’s challenges may be seen as a social issue instead of due to neurodiversity. Read Tylan’s interview here.
Christopher Reid
Christopher Reid is an award-winning SEN athlete and fundraiser; in this article on Mencap’s website, he talks about how young Black men are 40% more likely to be stopped by the police and how this can be particularly scary if you have a learning disability.
Mary Prince
Mary Prince (shown in the photo above) was the first Black woman to publish an autobiography of her experience as an enslaved person, ‘The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave, Related by Herself’, the publication of which, in 1831, three years before the Abolition of Slavery Act came into being, sparked much public controversy in the UK. Mary had been brutually treated by her owners and left to die when rheumatism prevented her from working; fortunately, she was saved by a neighbour. Mary’s owners still refused to grant her freedom. They took her to London, where Mary escaped and went on to publish her book, which became a key in highlighting the brutality of slavery, leading to its eventual abolition. Read more about Mary here.
