From stigma to power: Empowering those with invisible disabilities in the Black community

By Elijah Qualls
AFRO Intern

Individuals with invisible disabilities are everywhere in society, but because of stigmatization of disabilities, people choose not to disclose for fear of being unfairly judged. That choice has effects in various fields such as work, school and even everyday life, especially for Black people who have enough preemptive labels placed on them as it is. 

Executive director of the Invisible Disability Association Jess Stainbrook explained to the AFRO that an invisible disability is any disability that may not be physically apparent. The list is incredibly expansive and includes autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, dyslexia, diabetes, epilepsy and depression, to name a few. 

“You’ll hear a lot of people refer to them as hidden disabilities,” Stainbrook said. “Well they’re not hidden. We’re not trying to hide them.”

When people elect not to share about their invisible disabilities, it causes others to conjure their own presumptions about the disability. It is an infinite cycle that feeds on itself. People don’t talk about it, which causes others to be afraid of it, which discourages more people from talking about it. 

“Many individuals do not disclose their epilepsy in the workplace because there is a misunderstanding of what epilepsy is,” said Bernice Martin Lee, the CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation. “Many people think that because it is a disorder that is abnormal activity in the brain, then it must cause cognitive impairment or intellectual disability and neither are the case. So, therefore, many people living with epilepsy in the African-American community do not disclose.” 

Epilepsy is not the only invisible disability to be stamped with a presumption of lower intelligence. Frank Latham is a member of the National Black Disability Coalition. He grew up with dyslexia and had to battle with labels placed on his cognitive ability. 

“I wish individuals with invisible disabilities, in particular, were given the benefit of the doubt of presumed competence, and that applies across the disability continuum. That is specifically relevant to individuals of color and even more specifically to African-American individuals,” Latham said. “There is an inherent bias that does not presume competence at the door.”

Martin Lee explained how the Epilepsy Foundation is working to advocate for individuals with invisible disabilities. 

“The counter to stigma is empowerment,” she said. “And that’s why we use the word ‘empowerment’ at the Epilepsy Foundation because when you empower people to talk about their epilepsy, it becomes organic that the stigma is broken down.”

Stainbrook, Martin Lee, and Latham all emphasized the importance of representation and self-advocacy in different spaces. Whether it is in school or, years down the road, at work, the conversations need to be had. 

“I don’t look like I’m a person who has a disability,” Latham said. “Oftentimes students are shocked when I share that with them, and I try to share that with all the students that I interact with because I think it’s a valuable opportunity to be able to say ‘I was you.’”