A Look at History: Intersectional Stereotypes and Judgement:
“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.” These words were uttered by Mahatma Gandhi over 50 years ago, yet still ring true today. The strength of our society lies in our ability to foster a community that is open to new perspectives and ideas. However, we still have a long way to go in order to achieve this goal. Not only are there disparities in the treatment of individuals with autism on the basis of race, but there is also a lack of representation of people of color with autism. Morénike Giwa Onaiwu’s “A Dream Deferred” No Longer: Backstory of the First Autism and Race Anthology discusses the stark lack of discourse relating to autistic people of color. This scarcity in portrayal, explained Onaiwu, led “Vilissa Thompson, a Black disabled writer and social worker, to coin a phrase that became a viral hashtag (#DisabilityTooWhite) [...]”. For too long, neurodivergent people of color have been disproportionately susceptible to the stigmas, stereotypes, and prejudice of our society.
Take Matthew Rushin, a Black, autistic 22 year old male. Rushin overcame all the hurdles that were thrown at him - not only is he Black, meaning he has experienced the systemic racism rampant in our society, but also was diagnosed with ADHD, Asperger’s, anxiety. On top of all of this, Rushin incurred a Traumatic Brain Injury and two collapsed lungs after an almost lethal car accident in 2017, leaving him with PTSD as well. Due to his TBI combined with his autism, Rushin may have had disruptions in his vision and balance, leading to challenges in dealing with and processing motion, as well as “discomfort and even dizziness when scrolling on a computer screen or phone, or when in busy environments such as grocery stores, social settings, or sporting events.” Despite all of these tribulations, Rushin was a successful engineering student at Old Dominion University, musician, and poet.
However, on January 4, 2019, on the way to Panera Bread, “a car clipped his front bumper. The driver wouldn’t move from the intersection and kept sitting there, on the phone. Matthew tried to prompt him to pull off, but the man wouldn’t move.” Due to this, Matthew became extremely overwhelmed, driving out of the parking lot because of a possible PTSD flashback or a seizure. When he realized he should go back to the scene, after doing breathing exercises, “Matthew made a U-turn, and at that point appeared to partially lose consciousness,” causing him to hit another car due to pedal misapplication, and severely injuring the driver of the vehicle. It is critical to note that when Matthew was exiting his vehicle, a man began to yell at him, prompting echolalia, causing Matthew to slur his speech, and repeat “trying to kill myself”. After this autistic meltdown, which Terra Vance, from Neuroclastic, indicates are, “terrifying, semi-conscious experiences,” police arrived at the scene, and claimed that Matthew was trying to kill himself. However, there is no evidence of this claim, even after review of the body camera footage, but Matthew did tell them he was autistic. Our criminal justice system punishes “based on intention”, yet, later that night, Rushin was charged with 2nd degree attempted murder and ordered “to serve 10 years of a 50-year sentence”. This is just one of numerous stories.
Systemic Disparities Among Marginalized Communities:
Matthew Rushin stands as a living example of the outcome of a society designed against marginalized communities. Unadaptable and unable to feel sympathy towards the specific backgrounds and needs of each community, not only is the justice system, but society as a whole remains indifferent towards fighting against the disparities faced by the marginalized groups. However, with the changing societal atmosphere as a result of systemic flaws coming to light, activism is now more prevalent than ever. The access everyone obtains to the abundance of information and the realities of the marginalized can be obtained with the mere swipe of a finger, making it simple to not just educate ourselves, but to educate those around us.
Serving as an activist in today’s age means standing in the fight for all marginalized groups. The struggles that they endure, the histories that they live, speak volumes about the way they’re perceived in society. As individuals who have the potential to empower their voices and to build platforms for change, activists can go beyond their initial goals by setting stepping stones for other movements. Project Illuminate works to empower the voices of the neurodivergent by creating an educational platform that shows them that they obtain all the abilities to be forward thinkers and contributors in our world. But standing by the neurodivergent means advocating for the voices of all the marginalized groups. The Austistic Self Advocacy Network “is also in solidarity with self-advocates with physical disabilities, with people of color fighting racism, and with LGBT folks battling homophobia, bullying, and violence. In social justice circles, this way of thinking is known as “intersectional” activism.” So as we step into this fight for the neurodivergent, we also stand by the stories and missions of all marginalized communities.
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