Hello.  My name is Adrianna A. Matthews. I am a recent graduate from The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Theatre and Dance. I received my Master of Fine Arts degree in May 2018, in the field of Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities. In addition, I also received a certification in Disabilities Studies from The University of Texas at Austin’s Master’s Portfolio program. Throughout my tenure attending The University of Texas at Austin as both a student and a Teaching and Project Assistant, I learned and discovered a lot about the complexities of being a black person and a graduate student with disabilities. I learned a lot about the trauma that takes place when having to negotiate between my wants, needs and desire to feel respected and valued as a black artist and wanting and needing to feel accommodated for my challenges as a student dealing and living with disabilities.           

Not being able to feel like I was obtaining both goals as a black artist and a graduate student made me feel diminished and empty throughout the majority of my experience in graduate school. Taking on the new identities as a black artist with disabilities and educator with disabilities made me feel limited and self-conscious about everything that I was trying to put out in the world. I didn’t feel whole in owning either identity. I consistently questioned my abilities to make good art, my abilities to teach, and my ability to feel, overall,  like I was adequately succeeding in my academic studies and desired profession to work full-time in higher education settings. I kept wondering to myself, “Why is it that I feel this way? Why is it so hard for me to accept and own these two identities? After all it’s not all of me, ‘it’s just one part of me’” (Matthews Applied Project).

I knew I had to dig deep to find the answers to these questions I had been having.  I even went as far as to do research on other black folks and people of color with disabilities who were attending college or graduate school, to learn about their personal experiences, in order to validate what was happening with mine. I also did research on white students with disabilities in college settings. Then my research just kept expanding and growing until I started to reflect back on my k-12 experiences dealing with invisible and undiagnosed disabilities. As a result, I broadened my research to wanting to learn about other black students and people of color’s K-12 experiences dealing with disability, compared to white students.        

I worked, volunteered, did personal interviews, took up course work, wrote one-woman show, focusing and building relationships with several organizations throughout Austin, Texas such as VSA Texas, the state organization on art and disability, Texas Center for Disability Studies and their E4 Texas project and program (TCDS), University of Texas at Austin Student Services for Disabilities (SSD) Blind and Visually Impaired Students of University of Texas (BVI) African and African Diaspora Black Studies Department (AADS), disABILITY Advocacy Student Coalition (DASC), Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired  (TSBVI), and most recently, Travis Association for the Blind Lighthouse (TAB), engaging with folks with a wide range of disabilities or experiences working with students and young adults who are differently abled.

Given the nature of today’s society, it is essential to identify complexities occurring within the intersectionality of race and disability in black communities. It is equally crucial that able-bodied teachers, artists and students learn to exercise patience and demonstrate a genuine level of empathy when working alongside individuals with disabilities, particularly black folks who have disabilities.

Here are my five tips on “Understanding the Complexities of Being a Black Person and a Graduate Student with Disabilities.”

1. Public and private K-12 education systems should offer and provide more access for black students and students of color to learn about disability awareness.
2. Disability should become a part of school curriculum, such as math, science, and English class etc. The term disability is universal amongst all communities within our society. Therefore, this terminology needs to be taught, learned, and discussed within classroom settings to both young children and adults to have a better understanding of its origin and background history.  
3. Doctors and Health Care Providers should explain what it means to have a disability and the specifics of each different type of disability to black families. Black families need to understand the complexities and limitations that come along with having a disability. In addition, black families need to be able to know how and where to find support in order to truly live a meaningful quality of life after learning about the challenges and conditions of their family’s circumstances living with disabilities.
4. Higher education systems should provide and train all administrative staff, teachers, teaching assistants, and assistant instructors on how to teach and work with students who have varying types of disabilities throughout their tenure working in any university setting.
5. Administrative staff and faculty members of higher education systems should offer more resources and provide more sufficient accommodations for their teaching assistants and assistant instructors who have disabilities. 

Thank you for your interest in attending my Webinar focusing on the experiences of my character BLACK GRADUATE STUDENT from my thesis presentation on Blackness, Higher Education and Unique Abilities: A One-Woman Show. I look forward to learning and engaging with all of you.