Say it Out Loud – Black Chronically Ill Disabled Lives Matter

When I started this blog, the purpose was to share my illness journey. As a reader of chronic illness blogs and social media accounts, I had found my own experiences validated and understood, and I wanted to pay that forward to others. I hope that readers here feel encouraged and supported to better navigate the challenges of living with illness, perhaps through finding a new perspective, or a practical strategy in one of my posts. I strive to balance a realistic look at the difficulties we face with the hope that it is possible to find greater wellbeing despite illness. But if I want everyone who finds their way here to feel that way, I have to be explicit about equality: Black lives matter. Indigenous lives matter. The lives of people of colour matter.

As a patient advocate, I have written about how ableism puts unfair barriers in place to prevent people with illnesses from participating fully in society. I have talked about how women are often disbelieved and dismissed by the medical establishment. But I have failed to write about how black people, indigenous people, and people of colour are at a greater risk of developing pain and illness, and undertreated for their conditions, compared to white people. And my silence is a message. Because, to not say anything when people are literally screaming for their lives is to say a lot.

On top of ableism and sexism, black women with illness face racism (women of colour, and indigenous women do too). This impacts their medical treatment:

“This study provides evidence that false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites continue to shape the way we perceive and treat black people—they are associated with racial disparities in pain assessment and treatment recommendations. Black Americans are systematically undertreated for pain relative to white Americans (Hoffman, 2016).”

In fact, the stress of experiencing racism can predispose black women to chronic disease. Professor Amani Allen at UC Berkeley says:

“Racial discrimination has many faces. It is not being able to hail a cab, getting poor service in stores and restaurants, being treated unfairly at work, being treated unfairly by police and law enforcement and being followed around in stores because of racial stereotypes.

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We found that experiencing racial discrimination repeatedly can create a state of biological imbalance that leaves certain groups of people more susceptible to chronic disease (Berkely News, 2016).”

I realize that I have to do better and ensure I include racism when I write about the barriers and challenges of accessing treatment and fully participating in society, otherwise I erase the experiences of black women as well as all women of colour who live with illness. I have to unlearn my own internalized racism and privilege.

At the end of the day, it’s more important to hear the words of women who are black, indigenous, and of colour than to hear my words on the subject. I’d like to point you to just a few of the many black bloggers and social media influencers you should follow who share their journeys living with illness and disability:

> @MsMoReal (Twitter) Free Spirit. Blogger. Lover of slurpees, trap music + the color orange. I have #myastheniagravis so I blog about that. #MGwarrior #spoonie #chronicillness Blog is at ‘Is Was Will Be’

>@Imani_Barbarin (Twitter) she/her Black girl magic+disabled pride |MA Global Comms | my thoughts | #DisTheOscars + #AbledsAreWeird #ThingsDisabledPeopleKnow Blogs at Crutches and Spice

>@ohheyteigh (Twitter) who is the creator of @BlackDisability and the Black Disability Collective on Facebook. @mnwfpc sweetheart #BlackDisabledLivesMatter

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>@DawnMGibson (Twitter) Founder of #BlerdChat + #SpoonieChat, #Paleo #GlutenFree #FoodSafety #Spondylitis #Arthritis

>@Tinu (Twitter) Founder #EverywhereAccessible. Black. Disabled. Writer. @HotMommasProj Fellow. #MySpoons #ChronicPain #cancer Typos? #BrainFog!

>@Keah_Maria (Twitter) Writer/Author.Bi Icon. l created #disabledandcute

>@breenikki (Twitter) Writer. Married. Mama. Believer. Beatface. Teacher. AutoImmune + Chronic Illness + Chronic Pain. A taker of Polonius’ advice to Laertes. Blogs at Cynical Ingenue

In addition, here are 9 Powerful Black Female Voices to follow who are educators, speakers, and activists that are facilitating important discussions on anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion to motivate people to change their beliefs and address issues of race and racism to resist and dismantle oppression.

Sources:

Hoffman Kelly et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Apr 19; 113(16): 4296–4301.

Berkely News (2018) https://news.berkeley.edu/2018/10/05/racial-discrimination-linked-to-higher-risk-of-chronic-illness-in-african-american-women/

Talking pain is hard (a number out of 10 doesn’t really say much!) Learn how to harness the power of images to communicate about your pain more effectively, to reduce pain through visualization strategies, and to express yourself emotionally and intuitively about the experience of living with pain using art therapy insights.