Many people are not aware that Harriet [Tubman] was a disabled person (this
has been “conveniently” omitted in our already skewed history books).
She sustained a severe head injury as a teenager while protecting
another slave. Due to this injury, she developed symptoms that are
described to be temporal lobe epilepsy and narcolepsy. It was not until I
began to study disability history and Black disability history that I
learned that Harriet was like me – disabled. Underground has
managed to do what few slave narratives have – portray disability in
general, and to do so in a light that was not tragedy or inspirational
porn leaning. We tend to “forget” that disabled people have always been
here, and that there were indeed disabled slaves. In my advocacy work,
I make it a priority to discuss disability and slavery when I explain
the triple jeopardy status of Black disabled women.Why do I do this? Disabled slave experiences matter. We
cannot have a full discussion about the dehumanization of Black bodies
and chattel slavery in America if we do not recognize how Black disabled
bodies were also disregarded, abused, and exploited by slave owners.
Disability, Slavery, & The Call to #PickUpUnderground – Ramp Your Voice!
QueerAnarchism 