Navigating Complexities: The Intersectionality of Blackness and Disability in Higher Education

Academic accommodations have become quite commonplace in universities in the Global North. At their best, accommodations support the rights of all students to an education, enabling students with disabilities or those who learn differently to succeed in the university and beyond. But are accommodations truly at their best? Reflecting on his own experiences as a Black student with a disability as well as the experiences of other Black students accessing accommodations at Canada’s premier university, the University of Toronto, Baker examines how Black students who self-identify as having a disability navigate the everyday complexities of Blackness and disability in Canadian higher education. Revealing the often invisible ways Black disabled students negotiate the double bind of disability and anti-Blackness, this book draws attention to the alarming regularity with which students internalize stigmas born from structural forms of anti-Black racism and ableism and demonstrates how this often create devastating barriers to student success and well-being.

Timely, thought-provoking, and at times deeply personal, this book encourages us to rethink the accommodations process with the aim of supporting all students to achieve success within the academy and beyond.

Leroy A. Baker received his PhD in Sociology and Social Justice Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto and currently holds a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University. His research focuses on Black mental health, equity, intersectionality theory, education, and practice. Baker was awarded the Dionne Brand Award for Excellence in Liberal Arts for his exemplary achievement in research at the University of Toronto.