Accessibility and Disability Services and Student Disability Services joins The Mosaic Centerand all UMBC partners with honoring Black History Month.

Rediscover how some members of the Black Civil Rights Movement also played essential roles as activists in the US Disability Rights Movement, and paved the way for disability rights activists to influence social change and legislation. Many people with disabilities were part of both movements and continue to be today.

Dr. Sami Schalk presented at UMBC in March of 2023 on 504 and Beyond: Disability Politics and the Black Panther Partyvia the Dresher Center - in co-sponsorship with ADS and I3B.

Why Black Disabled History Matters by Dikko Yusef of WID provides a great summary.

Some of the intersectionality within the documentary  Crip Camp shows how intersectional being black and disabled can be - beyond the Black Panthers. Further back in history, learn new things about the famous Black figures who also had disabilities. For instance, Harriet Tubman lived with epilepsy and narcolepsy, a reminder that disability is both directly and indirectly linked to many forms of violence.

In the links described below, you may rediscover or learn for the first time about Black history  being made in this moment, and there is so much to learn from the past.  Research forays have been known to start at Brad Lomax, and end up at the Wild Zappers, a DC-based all black all deaf dance company - what new-to-you ancestral influencers and history-makers will become front-of-mind to you? The research of Dr. Stephanie Keeney Parks takes a racially nuanced approach to Autism via In A Different Key. In 2022 Megan Thee Stallion launched a website to support mental health.  Haben Girma remains an important advocate for disability inclusion.

Important figures in Black History:

• National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) has a Black History Bio for each day of February: (link)https://www.ndrn.org/resource/disability-rights-in-black/
• On the website for Respect Ability, an advocacy organization, you can find an article featuring the experiences and voices of current African-American celebrities who have disabilities. (link)https://www.respectability.org/2018/02/highlighting-african-americans-disabilities-honor-black-history-month/
• Learn about Black History heroes who are or were deaf or blind: (link)https://dcmp.org/learn/203-black-history-month

·       Enter “Black History” plus any disability (i.e. "autism," "dyslexia," etc.) into a search engine and explore more about the intersectionality of disability.

Explore Black History and Disability Rights:

The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) has a great article about the integral role Black disability rights activists played in securing rights for all US citizens with disabilities.  (link)https://www.ncld.org/news/honoring-black-history-month-unsung-heroes-of-the-disability-rights-movement/ For more on Brad Lomax, a leader in the 1977 protests that led to the implementation of section 504 of the rehabilitation act, see this NYT obituary (link) https:/www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/obituaries/brad-lomax-overlooked.html

Black Disabled and Proud: College Students with Disabilities is a website by the HBCU Disability Consortium. Their page titled “Black Lives Matter and Disability” speaks to the recent and daily making of Black history as it intersects with disability. (link)https://www.blackdisabledandproud.org/black-lives-matter.html The page includes links to thoughtful articles as well as self-care info.

The Disability Visibility Project’s Black Lives Matter page has podcasts (with transcripts) that explore the individual experiences of people who are actively contributing individually and/or organizing to raise awareness about being Black and having a  disability.  (link)https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/tag/black-lives-matter/  Click through on the posts and find things like Jen White Johnson’s Black Disability Lives Matter mural (link)https://jenwhitejohnson.com/Black-Disabled-Lives-Matter-Mural-Project 

The Zinn Education Project offers Teach The Black Freedom Struggle classes with ASL and transcripts via this link - with the reminder that violence in any format may create disability. If you are looking for UMBC-based disability resources - use these links:

• Student Disability Services: For ALL students - graduate and undergraduate, as well as Information for Faculty working with student accommodations
• Accessibility and Disability Services: Work Accommodation for Faculty, Staff and Student Employees as well as technical accessibility support
• Report Accessibility Concerns online 24/7 here

Photo credit: Unseen Histories downloaded from Unsplash.com 

Monday, February 10, 2025 · 12 - 1 PM

This workshop will be presented by Jake Weissmann, Vice President for Government Relations and Student Affairs and Dr. Laura Antkowiak, Professor and Director of the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program.  

UMBC students:  Join us for an informative and engaging event!  Lunch will be provided so come ready to engage, learn, and enjoy a meal. 

Organized by the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, the Center for Social Science Scholarship, the Department of Political Science, the Institute of Politics, the Office of Government Relations and Community Affairs, and the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program. Cosponsored by the Graduate Student Association and the Student Government Association. 

Or click this link to donate: Save a Swipe - Retriever Essentials

Each donated swipe will directly contribute to providing one "meal" to students in need. The deadline to donate is February 25th. Thank you for considering this request and we appreciate your support in helping us combat food insecurity at UMBC!

BEYA STEM Career Fair (FREE --Both In-Person or Virtual)

The Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program offers scientists and engineers from a wide variety of disciplines unique opportunities to conduct research in a wide range of topics relevant to the intelligence community.

The research is conducted by the postdocs, while working in partnership with a research advisor and collaborating with an advisor from the Intelligence Community. In partnership with the research advisor, the postdoc composes and submits a technical proposal that responds to a research opportunity identified at: Current Research Opportunities | IC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program

Award Details: 

• Annual stipends range from $78,000 to $82,000, depending on research location.
• Annual travel budget of $6,000
• Dedicated travel budget of $3,500 for year one and $2,500 for year 2
• Dislocation reimbursement of up to $3,500, based on relocation mileage
• Host institutions receive an annual laboratory budget of $5,000

Postdoc Eligibility: U.S. citizenship required; Ph.D. received within five years of the appointment start date.

Application Deadline: February 28, 2025

For additional program information, please visit: IC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program 

Attention PhD students! In Spring 2025, ACLS will place up to 16 PhDs as Leading Edge Fellows with social justice organizations for two-year fellowships. This year, our host organizations include Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (Washington DC), North Carolina Justice Center (Raleigh, NC), Open Communities (Evanston, IL) and more. See below for more information. 

Leading Edge Fellowships support recent PhDs in the humanities and interpretive social sciences as they work with social justice organizations across the country. Hosting organizations provide professional development opportunities and employee benefits to fellows, and draw on fellows’ scholarly perspectives and broad set of skills. Fellows receive stipends: for remote positions, $70,000 in year one, and $72,000 in year two; for in-person positions, $72,000 in year one, and $74,000 in year two. Relocation funds are available for in-person positions. All awardees receive access to health insurance and professional development funding, mentoring, and opportunities for professional development through ACLS and our alumni network. This initiative is made possible through the support of the Mellon Foundation. 

The deadline for applications is Wednesday, March 12th by 9:00pm ET. Applications will be accepted only through the ACLS online application system. Please visit https://www.acls.org/LeadingEdge for complete position descriptions, eligibility criteria, and other helpful information for applicants, including registration information for upcoming applicant webinars on February 10 and March 5. Applicants should not contact any of the hosting organizations directly but can write to leadingedge@acls.org with further questions.