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One of the things I loved about my talk with @Square was that when we spoke about Neurodiversity and I said what was important to me in talking about Blackness and Neurodiversity there’s certain things I don’t want to discuss anymore.
I do NOT want to talk about disparities now.
I do NOT want to talk about disparities now.
Every time we sit down to talk about Neurodiversity and Blackness, we talk about the disparities in diagnosis band we essentially get to hear yet again about how Black people don’t believe in ADHD. It does absolutely nothing to support people currently living with ADHD.
We are living proof of the disparities in diagnosis. So much of the work that supposedly is Black focused is actually focused on getting white people to “understand” what it is like to be Black with ADHD. These disparities have been discussed ad nauseum, let’s move on.
I want to talk about how to cope with the isolation of being Black and neurodiverse. I want to talk about the guilt you feel when you can’t stay organized and clean and you feel like you’re reinforcing the vile stereotypes about Black people.
I want to talk about how much pressure there is to be twice as good and how hard it is to be twice as good when you have no access to the support you deserve. I want to have a discussion about Blackness and Neurodiversity that centers Blackness, not creates a spectacle around it.
I’m grateful that this organization was willing to listen and that we could have the talk that Black ADHD people deserve instead of them having to listen to shit they already know YET AGAIN. You can find info on disparities anywhere. I’m done with that part of the discussion.
If I can’t talk about Blackness and Neurodiversity in a way that centers Black people and not a watered down version that caters to white understanding versus assisting the Black people the talk is purporting to help, I won’t be showing up.
So the point of the thread here is to say that @Square heard me, listened, and saw the point and supported me. They’re doing it right. Kudos to them.
If you’re wondering why it would even be necessary to say this, you don’t really get how people will use you to SAY they have diversity while really not giving a shit about us. I literally had someone ask me how I could make white people care about my message. As if they don’t.
Sorry, I happen to think better of the many men and women I have met who certainly do care and support me and others and elevate their voices.
But even if they didn’t, this work would still need to be done. And we would find a way to do it.
But even if they didn’t, this work would still need to be done. And we would find a way to do it.
Men, women, persons, etc. sorry, mid rant and got sloppy with the gendering.
