NEW BRUNSWICK — Black children with disabilities are less likely to be placed in mainstream classrooms than white children. They are also more likely to drop out of high school and face more school-related suspensions and arrests than children of other races, according to the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers.
These disparities drew cultural leaders of color and disability advocates to Rutgers last week to focus on the barriers they need to work together to overcome.
“We are here not just to talk, but to create a roadmap for real change. It’s about dismantling the barriers that prevent Black New Jerseyans with disabilities from accessing the opportunities they deserve,” organizer LeDerick Hornewho co-hosts a podcast called “Black and Dyslexic,” said at Thursday’s event.
“We are making history today,” he added Bill Daviswho along with Horne won funding for the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities forum.
About 75 people gathered at the invitation-only event, dubbed the Black Impact Summit. Discussions focused on inequalities that black people with disabilities face in education, employment, social services, law enforcement and legal services, family, self-advocacy, and health care.
“Our intention is to make sure that we come up with some recommendations, which we hope the council, the state Legislature and different agencies can implement so that the lives of people of color with disabilities improve,” said Davis, a consultant for the Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities at Rutgers. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Among the obstacles cited by Rutgers researchers Cornwall Center, which studies urban communities: African Americans with disabilities face higher levels of poverty and greater dependence on public benefits like Medicaid, but they also have more difficulty accessing health care. They often face discrimination in medical settings, have inadequate health insurance and higher rates of chronic health conditions that are poorly managed, the public was told.
“The summit was born out of necessity,” said the event coordinator, Atonia Worley.
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Professor Tawara Goode, keynote speaker at the Georgetown University event, began the day with a presentation on cultural competence – the need for organizations to understand and respect cultural backgrounds.
The summit drew representatives from a variety of advocacy groups and government agencies, including ARC of New Jersey, the Black Consortium, the state Division of Developmental Disabilities, the Advocacy Action Center, NJ STEPS, Disability Rights NJ, Salvation and Social Justice, the Center for Independent Living and Autism in New Jersey. Educators and law enforcement officials also attended, as did Paul Aronsohn, the state disability ombudsman.
The day’s suggestions have been collected and will be returned to the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities. Among them: better mental health screenings and resources for people affected by the criminal justice system.
“I thought it was a great conversation and it was a particularly well-represented group of people with diverse backgrounds, both from organizations and families and schools,” said Michael Steinbruck, senior training and consulting specialist at the Boggs Center.
Gene Myers covers disability and mental health for NorthJersey.com and USA TODAY Network. For unlimited access to the most important news in your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: myers@northjersey.comTwitter: @myersgene
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers Summit for Black People with Disabilities Addresses Inequities
