(Un)Deserving Bodies: Dis/abled Students of Color in Higher Education

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: Responding to the Shifting Features of Racism: Intersectional Extensions of Critical Race Theory

Abstract

Objectives/Purpose:
The marginalization of “dis/abled” students of color is well-documented in the K-12 literature (Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2013; Artiles, Harry, Reschly, & Chinn, 2002; Artiles, & Trent, 1994; Blanchett, 2006). Studies have found that not only do students of color experience disproportionality and overrepresentation in Special Education (Artiles et al., 2002; Sullivan & Artiles, 2011), but Special Education is a mechanism in the school-to-prison pipeline (Annamma, 2015; Annamma, 2017; Annamma, Morrison, & Jackson, 2014). While these studies allow us to understand issues surrounding dis/abled students of color in the K-12 system, far less is known about this population upon entering college. Extending critical race theory (CRT), my study examines the racialized experiences of dis/abled students of color attending four-year colleges and universities in California.

Methodology: This research paper draws on dis/ability critical race theory (DisCrit) and CRT as theoretical frameworks and methodological tools to examine the experiences of undergraduate, dis/abled students of color in higher education. Critical race theory and dis/ability critical race theory (DisCrit) allow us to examine not only how racism is pervasive and thus normalized within colleges and universities (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004; Solórzano, 1997), but also how ableism is very much embedded into the ivory fabric of higher education and is often intertwined with racism (Annamma et al., 2013). Bridging together DisCrit, CRT, and racist nativism, this paper introduces racist ableism as a theoretical construct. Racist ableism is used to describe how particular forms of ableism, informed by racist attitudes and beliefs, dehumanize persons of color based on actual or perceived (or, inversely, lack of perceived) dis/ability, thereby reinforcing the relationship between whiteness and ability.

The narratives of dis/abled undergraduate students of color were analyzed using critical race methodology and a counter-narrative approach. An online survey and informal interview served as my primary forms of data collection and dis/ability-related documents (e.g. dis/ability services office documents, course syllabi) served as secondary.

Findings: In my preliminary analysis, two themes emerged: (1) resistant attitudes of dis/ability services staff regarding the deservingness of students of color and (2) the requiring medical documentation as the only valid form of dis/ability diagnosis. When dis/abled students of color advocated for their needs as dis/abled students, their actions were often viewed as hostile or inappropriate rather than as a form of dis/ability advocacy. Students often interpreted these reactions as meaning they were not seen as deserving or worthy of accommodations.

Scholarly Significance: Including dis/abled students’ of color stories allow researchers as well as policymakers, faculty, and other stakeholders to move beyond single identity initiatives and look towards serving students that occupy multiple spaces of marginality. Their stories also serve as a “counter-narrative” to dominant ideologies regarding the competency and ability of dis/abled students and students of color in higher education (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002) and to examine the role of racist ableism in disability policy and practice.

Author

• Danielle Mireles, California State University - Fresno