Wed, 14 Jan 2004 -- Media Matters No. 40
African-Americans and disability research: worth news coverage

February is designated as "Black History Month." During February, the media spotlight is often on issues of importance to African-Americans, and whether or not we think that issues concerning racial minorities should be routinely covered by the media, the fact is that February offers researchers and project dissemination specialists an opportunity to focus light on studies, programs, projects and research pertaining to African-Americans with disabilities.

Last year during Black History Month, Ethel Briggs, executive director of the National Council on Disability, told students at the Harvard School of Public Health that African-Americans with disabilities faced socioeconomic, health, cultural, obstacles not encountered by white persons with disabilities; that prejudice and economic barriers deny African-Americans with disabilities full participation in the community.

Still, she noted, little research is focused on this subgroup -- and little is publicized.

African-Americans as a group are more likely to experience a shorter life expectancy and higher rates of chronic disease than other groups in the U.S., said Briggs. She noted that African-Americans with disabilities receive unequal treatment in major dimensions of the rehabilitation process -- that research indicated a larger percentage of African-Americans than other groups were not accepted for rehabilitative services. But she also mentioned some programs -- including health units that go into communities and providing transportation to community service providers -- that were being tried.

If your project conducted the research that Briggs mentioned, or if your research project has a specific minority component, such as a study of participation by African-Americans in independent living programs, you should use February to release the data -- even if the study is not new.

Even if your research is more general, you can shape a press release that highlights the implications for racial minorities with disabilities.

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