Day 14: Ableism 

One type of privilege often dismissed is the ability to navigate our physical surroundings and to participate in school and work without assistance. For 20% of Americans with physical and/or intellectual ‘disabilities’, this is not the case. This includes everyone from folks who need to use a wheelchair, are unable to walk long distances because of chronic health conditions, or wear hearing aids to people who need assistance with understanding a lecture or need a quiet space to take a test. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ableism is, “discrimination in favor of able-bodied people.”    

CHALLENGES 

OPTION 1: Overcoming Ableism. Watch Overcoming Ableism: What You Don’t Know As An Able Bodied Person (11min) 

OPTION 2: Able Privilege. Watch Able Privilege: Re-Conceptualizing Disability (18min) 

 OTHER RESOURCES 

• Read “Being Heumann” by Judith Heumann that shares her story as a disability Rights Activist