Description
Book SynopsisThe Resistance, Persistence and Resilience of Black Families Raising Children with Autism presents nuanced perspectives in the form of counternarratives of what Black families who have children with autism experience at the intersection of race, class, disability and gender. It intentionally centers the expertise of Black parents, challenging what is considered knowledge, whose knowledge counts, and how knowledge can be co-generated for learning, sharing and advocacy. The book speaks directly to Black parents on the autism journey. To right systemic racial inequities and to cultivate culturally responsive practices, it is critical for practitioners and professionals to understand what is known about Black families' experiences with autism in general and how these experiences differ because of our intersecting identities. University faculty and students in programs involving medicine, speech and language pathology, occupational therapy, nursing, political science, school psycho
Trade Review“This much-needed collaborative study provides a nuanced portrait of the challenges and successes of Black parents of children with autism. The parents’ narratives, skillfully interpreted through the lived experiences of the authors themselves, reveal the multiple marginalization experienced by families who must navigate the intersections of race, socioeconomic status, and disability. The book presents a powerful claim for such parents’ empowerment in a field that has been dominated by voices of privilege.”—Beth Harry, Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning, University of Miami; author of
Childhood Disability, Advocacy and Inclusion in the Caribbean: A Trinidad and Tobago Case Study (2019) and
Melanie, Bird with a Broken Wing: A Mother’s Story (2010)
“Written from the rich and loving, frustrated and joyous intersection where gender, disability and race intersect, documenting the barriers, the moments of laughter, the resistance and wit of Black mothers and fathers raising children with autism, crafted through collaborative inquiry and participatory passions,
The Resistance, Persistence and Resilience of Black Families Raising Children with Autism offers a beautiful GPS for navigating impossible systems, loving our children, battling the grotesque and banal forms of racism and ableism, resisting and joining with other Black families in fierce solidarities. This book is a story of race and motherhood, critical disability (in)justice, collaborative inquiry and a deeply complex and honest journey toward ‘just’ parenting. Filled with care and fears, courage and subversion, advocacy and sweet collaborations, we see the power of Black parents undeterred, mothers writing together and building a different tomorrow for children who deserve nothing less than ‘just’ childhoods.”—Michelle Fine, Distinguished Professor of Critical Psychology and Urban Education; Founding Faculty member of The Public Science Project, The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY); author of
Just Research in Contentious Times: Widening the Methodological Imagination (2017)
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations – Acknowledgments – Introduction: ¡Berta no ha muerto, Berta se ha multiplicado! Paving – Chapter One: Preserving the Affective Being: Reconsiderations of Affect from a Non-Western Perspective – Chapter Two: Indigenous Ecologies: The Relevance of Affect in Ecofeminist Movements – Chapter Three: On Violent Affects: A History of Extractivism and Criminalization in Central America – Chapter Four: From Outrage to Resistance: Social Movements in Honduras – Chapter Five: Affective Solidarity and a Politics of Care: Reflection and Action Beyond Borders – Chapter Six: On Mourning and Hope: A Transformational Path Toward Social Justice – Conclusion: Utopia: An Affective Work in Progress – Index.
