Mary Crossley, JD
Professor of Law
University of Pittsburgh
Abstract: Mary Crossley discusses research for her book, Embodied Injustice: Race, Disability, and Health. Recognizing that Black people and people with disabilities in the United States are distinctively disadvantaged in their encounters with the health care system, Crossley uses an interdisciplinary approach, weaving health research with social science, critical approaches, and personal stories, to portray the devastating effects of health injustice in America. She examines the sometimes-vexed relationship between racial justice and disability rights advocates and interrogates how higher disability prevalence among Black Americans reflects unjust social structures. For example, these groups share harsh histories of medical experimentation, eugenic sterilizations, and health care discrimination. Yet the similarities in inequities experienced by Black people and disabled people and the harms endured by people who are both Black and disabled have been largely unexplored. Crossley also suggests reforms to advance health equity for disabled people, Black people, and disabled Black people.
Sponsored by the David C. Frederick Honors College and Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures