Resources about Black Disability History

Black Disability History is Black History, Too!

12 Black Disabled Activists and Advocates You Need to be Following this Black History Month

17 Impactful Black Disability Advocates and Advocates

The Untold Origins of the Black & Blind Musician

Brad Lomax - how he and the Black Panthers helped the 504 Sit-In

Overlooked No More: Brad Lomax, a Bridge Between Civil Rights Movements - The story of a Black Panther Party member and founder of the East Oakland Center for Independent Living, who had multiple sclerosis and used a wheelchair. Explore Brad Lomax’s under-reported contributions to the early disability justice movement, which laid the groundwork for the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

Brad Lomax: Creating Communities of Care

Brad Lomax - PBS Renegades Lessons

Renegades is a series of five 12-minute short films showcasing the lives of diverse, lesser-known historical figures with disabilities, exploring not only their impact on and contributions to U.S. society, but also the concept of disability culture, which honors the uniqueness of disability. These lessons were designed to be used with the videos. They can be used individually or as a unit.

Henry Heard - tap dancer and advocate for People with Disabilities

Anita Cameron - disability rights advocate and activist, has moved the country closer to justice through her civil rights activism.

My Itty Bitty Bio - Anita Cameron - grades K-1

In This Moment (ITM) chapbook elevates the contributions, stories and images of local Black leaders, and writers. This ITM Chapbook about Anita Cameron is available in pdf and audio format for free - grades 5 - 12

Disability Conversations: Anita Cameron - On July 26, 2021 - the 31st anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act - DEE spent some time talking with Disability activist, Anita Cameron.

Thomas Wiggins

Thomas Wiggins: Composing the Future - An African American composer and pianist known as one of the greatest musicians of the 19th century, Thomas Wiggins (1849-1908) was blind from birth and likely autistic. Although born into slavery, Wiggins was the first African American to perform at the White House, and toured throughout the U.S., South America, and Europe.

Thomas Wiggins - PBS Renegades Lessons

Renegades is a series of five 12-minute short films showcasing the lives of diverse, lesser-known historical figures with disabilities, exploring not only their impact on and contributions to U.S. society, but also the concept of disability culture, which honors the uniqueness of disability. These lessons were designed to be used with the videos. They can be used individually or as a unit.

Maya Angelou

Many know Maya Angelou as a poet and author, and even her traumatic childhood, but it’s important to recognize her experience with disability as well. As a result of her trauma, she became mute for five years. (This condition is known as selective mutism.)

Maya Angelou Lesson - In this read-aloud of a picture book version of Maya Angelou’s “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me”, students will learn about and discuss fear, what it means to be brave, and how to cope when feeling scared. Students will learn about Maya Angelou and selective mutism, which is an anxiety disorder that Maya Angelou experienced for 5 years during adolescence. 

Lois Curtis

Lois was an American artist and the lead plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court case that became known as the Olmstead Decision, in which the court held that the unjustified segregation of people with disabilities was discriminatory and a breach of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Smithsonian video about Lois Curtis, Elaine Wilson and the Olmstead Act

Celestine Tate Harrington

Celestine Tate Harrington was a Philadelphia (and later Atlantic City) street musician, born with a condition that left her limbs unusable. In 1975, Tate Harrington won a custody battle against the Philadelphia Department of Child Welfare, which sought to take away her infant daughter, claiming that she could not provide adequate care. Her fight to be a mother and earn an independent living was a revolutionary act.

Celestine Tate Harrington - PBS Renegades Lessons

Renegades is a series of five 12-minute short films showcasing the lives of diverse, lesser-known historical figures with disabilities, exploring not only their impact on and contributions to U.S. society, but also the concept of disability culture, which honors the uniqueness of disability. These lessons were designed to be used with the videos. They can be used individually or as a unit.

Lesson Plans and Resources