Black Disabled Creatives and Funding Disability Rights and Justice
Gail Fuller, Disability & Philanthropy Forum
This August, Grantmakers in the Arts asks that cultural grantmakers look inward and listen outward, to invest in Black artists and communities, commit to listen, learn, and implement anti-racist practices, more widely amplify voices for change, and connect our work with the racial justice organizing. Throughout the month, GIA will share questions and proposals from our members on how cultural grantmaking can interrupt institutional and structural racism while building a more just funding ecosystem that prioritizes Black communities, organizations, and artists.
For our 2023 series, we invited Black philanthropists and creatives to offer a reflection and a call to action, responding to the expanded question: How can cultural grantmaking develop sustainable anti-racist practices while building a more just funding ecosystem that prioritizes Black communities, organizations, and artists? How do we encompass intersectionality to address the complex identities within Blackness?
Lois Curtis, an artist and disability rights activist with intellectual and developmental disabilities, was the lead plaintiff in Olmstead v. L.C., a landmark civil rights decision for disabled people. In that 1999 case, the United States Supreme Court ruled that “the unjustified segregation of people with disabilities was a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.” Lois’ legacy of both her work and her advocacy is reflective of how art and activism from Black disabled people has played a vital role in furthering civil rights and social justice movements.
Image is courtesy of the artist Jen White-Johnson
Description: Digital collage of a black disabled activist posing and staring softly and fiercely at camera, she is wearing a white blouse and a lilac gradient circle is haloed behind her head. The circle is framed with illustrated white orchids and the collage rests on an orange and yellow gradient.
Disabled people—especially those who are multi-marginalized—are all too often overlooked in creative spaces and excluded from support and funding opportunities. And we must recognize that race and disability are inextricably linked. There are 61 million adults in the United States with a disability, and one in four Black Americans have a disability. All of philanthropy—not only foundations focused on racial equity and justice—must start by fostering a sense of inclusion that respects and uplifts the lived experiences of Black disabled creatives.
The Disability & Philanthropy Forum’s research demonstrates that disability rights and social justice—the type of systemic change that Lois Curtis stood for—is grossly underfunded by philanthropy at only 0.1% of foundation giving. If funders want to meaningfully advance equity and justice, they must change their approach and fund disability rights and justice; and rethink their approach to funding Black disabled creatives and communities.
“Foundations should seek opportunities to fund arts and culture efforts led by Black disabled people.”
Foundations should seek opportunities to fund arts and culture efforts led by Black disabled people. Let’s take, for example, artist residencies. Funders can make the process inclusive by publicizing their residencies to Black artists and providing clear information about how to make requests for accommodations to ensure accessibility both during the application process and throughout the residency. Funders must also support the development of accessible creative spaces and showcase works from creatives with disabilities, such as the Black Disabled Virtual Showcase presented by Disability Pride Madison.
There is no single roadmap for the journey to disability inclusion, but here are some key actions that funders should consider:
Become active listeners, learn from what you hear, and implement changes from the feedback that Black disabled artists and communities share.
Implement anti-ableism and anti-racist practices throughout your organization.
Do not silo Black disabled creatives in only one aspect of your grantmaking when disability inclusion and racial justice impacts every issue like climate change and the impacts of environmental racism, which funders don’t alway connect with disability.
Learn from funders like the Ford and Mellon foundations that created the Disability Futures Fellows to “spotlight the work of disabled creatives across disciplines and geography and amplify their voices individually and collectively.”
Connect with the Disability Inclusion Fund, housed at Borealis Philanthropy, which is run by and for people with disabilities and committed to “disability justice movement-aligned funding including a participatory grantmaking process that involves members of the disability community to guide funding decisions.”
Hire Black and disabled staff and consultants and value the perspectives they share based on lived experiences.
“True equity will only emerge when our funding recognizes the intersection of race and disability rights...”
Philanthropy must ensure that the solutions it funds are based on engaging with the disability community. True equity will only emerge when our funding recognizes the intersection of race and disability rights by honoring the lived experiences of Black disabled advocates like Lois Curtis and the many Black disabled artists that are leading the way today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gail Fuller has had a long career in philanthropy and is the senior program and communications director for the Disability & Philanthropy Forum.
