We are in the middle of Black History Month, when we celebrate the achievements of the African American community in every area of endeavor throughout our history. In a recent post on the Department of Health and Human Services blog, Melanie Fontes Rainer of the Office of Civil Rights reflected on recent efforts to ensure nondiscrimination based on race, color, or national origin in health care and human services, including access to key services that support community living for people with disabilities from minority communities. These efforts include removing barriers to health care and reproductive care, ensuring equal access to vaccines and telehealth, and strengthening the health care and direct support workforce to meet our diverse needs.

Within the NIDILRR grantee community, researchers and developers are investigating the experiences of African Americans and people from other marginalized and minoritized communities who are living with disabilities and addressing systemic barriers to community participation, health, and employment. Their teams include investigators and team leaders with lived experience at the intersection of disability and minority or marginalized status. Here are some of the current projects working in this space:

• Three new Equity Centers are focused on reducing disparities for people of color and other intersecting identities:
  • Community Living Equity Center (CLEC) is focused on reducing community living disparities faced by African Americans and other people of color with disabilities, including developing new, or locating available systems-change initiatives or other promising practices for reducing community living and participation disparities. Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Advancing Employment Equity for Multiply Marginalized People with Disabilities (LU2E-RRTC) generates new knowledge leading to a reduction of disparities in employment outcomes among the heterogenous population of people with disabilities whose identities intersect with those of other historically underserved populations, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. RRTC on Equity in Health and Functioning for Adults with Physical, Cognitive, Sensory, and Developmental Disabilities from Marginalized Communities identifies and addresses healthcare disparities experienced by individuals with disabilities from marginalized backgrounds such as African Americans, rural communities, low-income communities, and others. The project includes a series of interrelated research projects and activities designed around principles of cultural competence and cultural humility, and with the involvement of individuals with disabilities.
  • Community Living Equity Center (CLEC) is focused on reducing community living disparities faced by African Americans and other people of color with disabilities, including developing new, or locating available systems-change initiatives or other promising practices for reducing community living and participation disparities.
  • Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Advancing Employment Equity for Multiply Marginalized People with Disabilities (LU2E-RRTC) generates new knowledge leading to a reduction of disparities in employment outcomes among the heterogenous population of people with disabilities whose identities intersect with those of other historically underserved populations, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
    • RRTC on Equity in Health and Functioning for Adults with Physical, Cognitive, Sensory, and Developmental Disabilities from Marginalized Communities identifies and addresses healthcare disparities experienced by individuals with disabilities from marginalized backgrounds such as African Americans, rural communities, low-income communities, and others. The project includes a series of interrelated research projects and activities designed around principles of cultural competence and cultural humility, and with the involvement of individuals with disabilities.
• Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Program – Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) is building up the next generation of disability and rehabilitation research leaders. Young investigators from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other MSIs receive both interdisciplinary research and consumer-related experiences to deliver employment support interventions and/or participate in structured community-based settings with organizations representing individuals with disabilities.
• Racial and Ethnic Healthcare Disparities Associated with Multiple Chronic Conditions Among People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the United States is using national data sets to understand the racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare experiences and health outcomes associated with multiple chronic conditions among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Parents Taking Action eHealth Adaptation and Pilot for Latinx, Black, and Chinese Families of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder is addressing the disparities facing underserved racial and ethnic minority families by adopting an innovative microlearning concept in delivering bite-sized, culturally-tailored parent training content.
• Development and Evaluation of the Technology Career Development, Goal Persistence, and Job Placement Intervention Program (Tech-Jobs) for Black/African American College Students with Disabilities is developing and evaluating the utility of an online intervention package (Tech-Jobs) designed to help Black/African American college students with disabilities persist in completing technology degrees and find gainful employment and a pathway to middle-class life.
• National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities includes a project to adapt the Parenting Well intervention for parents with psychiatric disabilities, particularly racial and ethnic minority parents.
• Georgia Model Brain Injury System (GAMBIS) includes a collaborative project, identify predictors of successful rehabilitation outcomes that are amenable to treatment (i.e., personal resources, community resources, sociocultural variables) for individuals with traumatic brain injury from African American and other unserved populations.
• Minority Youth and Centers for Independent Living (MY-CIL) generates and shares new knowledge that empowers CILs to improve transition outcomes of out-of-school youth from minority backgrounds.

These are just a few examples of the current projects aiming to support the full participation of people with disabilities who also have lived experience in minority and marginalized communities. Explore more of these projects and their activities in the NIDILRR Program Database.