Navigating the world as a black woman is like starting the game of life on hard mode. Obstacles have already been put in our way since before we were even born. Having to endure the racism, sexism, misogynoir and micro-aggressions is already tiring. Now imagine having to deal with all of that, while also having a disability. There is a worrying lack of representation of black women in all aspects of life and the media. This representation or visibility reduces to nearly zero when you consider the lives and lived experiences of disabled black women and femmes. Jay and Kym are two London based disabled black women who wanted to do something about this. Triple Cripples was born from a frustration of not seeing themselves anywhere. The name came about as a tongue in cheek comment upon the three layers of marginalisation they face, living life as disabled black women.
They consider Triple Cripples to be a necessary platform for disabled black and non-black women & femmes of colour. It is obvious, even from those on the outside, that the disability community has a glaring race problem. There is an ongoing issue of disability only being represented by the nearly all white majority - despite the world majority being non-white. Now be honest, apart from Ade Adepitan (it’s okay if you still need to Google him), can you think of a well-known non-white disabled person in any field? The black community also seems to have an issue with disability. Whether it is not even wanting to acknowledge that some black people are disabled and that it is okay, or simply trying to pray disabilities away or seeing them as a punishment from a higher power.