Black Advisory Committee
The Black Advisory Committee supports the analysis of Black experiences interacting with early childhood disability services. Through a relational model of disability, Blackness and disability are both social and political constructs of identity that may affect the ways Black children with disabilities and their families navigate institutions. The committee explores the ways in which the intersection of anti-Black racism and ableism affect the lived experiences of Black families and children interacting with institutions. The committee's role is to support good stewardship of the data from IECSS participants who identify as Black, including analysis, advocacy and knowledge mobilization activities. Our Black Advisory Committee was launched following our February 2022 panel discussion online event on Black Experiences and Disabled Childhoods. Videos from the event are available below.
Black Advisory Committee
Dr. Janelle Brady
Kimberley Garrett
Sherron Grant
Nerissa Hutchinson
Kevin McShan
Alison Smith (Co-Chair)
Dr. Kathryn Underwood (Co-Chair)
Panelists Kevin McShan, Sherron Grant and Trevor McAlmont discuss the following guiding questions on the ways in which anti-Black racism and ableism affect the lived experiences of Black families and children, and consider the future possibilities of Black disabled identities.
- What do you think it means to have a Black disabled identity?
- Based on your experiences, what do you think is unique about Black family experiences with disability? What do you think is unique about Black disabled childhoods?
- How are these unique experiences shaped by early childhood education, care and intervention programs and the schooling system?
- How can early intervention programs be culturally safe spaces for Black families?
Kevin McShan, Podcaster & Motivational Speaker
Sherron Grant, Principal & Co-Founder of the Sawubona Africentric Circle of Support
Trevor McAlmont, Executive Director of Macaulay Child Development Centre
- Smith, A. (2020). (PDF file) IECSS policy brief no. 8: Black experience and disabled childhoods: Comparison of federal and provincial policies. Inclusive Early Childhood Service System project. - (PDF file) Text version
- Allen Omeiza, K. (2024). Autistic and Black: Our experiences of growth, progress, and empowerment. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
- Ase Community Foundation for Black Canadians with Disabilities (external link)
- Boveda, M. (2024). (PDF file) What's a Black feminist doing in a field like special education? Theory into Practice, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2024.2355816
- Burks-Abbott, G. (2022). My mother's apprentice: An Autistic's rites of passage. Yorkshire Publishing.
- Carroll, J. R. (Executive Producer). (2020-present). Views from the 8% (external link) [Audio podcast]. JRC the SLP, L.L.C.
- Sawubona Africentric Circle of Support (external link)
- The Anti-Black Racism Task Force. (2023). Honouring Our Promise: Ending Anti-Black Racism. Retrieved from: https://www.hope-strategy.com/ (external link) .
- Underwood, K., Snoddon, K., Gayle, C., & Moola, J. (2023). (PDF file) A resource scan for teaching about Black disabled and deaf childhoods. Toronto Metropolitan University.
- This document compiles resources which delve into the intersectionality of Black experiences and disability. The goal of the resource scan was to develop a reading list that may be useful in developing higher education courses which focus on equity, childhood disability, early childhood education, intervention and care, inclusion and/or special education. The authors range from Black scholars and storytellers, disabled scholars, deaf activists, and allies within the disability community. The list also broadly includes work that is situated beyond North America and examines international approaches to understanding disability and childhood. By highlighting Black, deaf, and disabled scholarship, we hope to center these experiences when considering equity discourses in educational training and research.
- Youth Alliance for Intersectional Justice (YAIJ) (external link)