Made Local with Mary Crossley, Presented by Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures

Recognizing that Black people and people with disabilities in the United States are distinctively disadvantaged in their encounters with the health care system, Embodied Injustice 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.

Author Mary Crossley takes stock of 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.

In her book, Crossley also suggests reforms to advance health equity for disabled people, Black people, and disabled Black people. This book lays a crucial foundation for intersectional, cross-movement advocacy to advance health justice in America.

Mary Crossley is a Professor of Law and John E. Murray Faculty Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She is a member of the Pennsylvania State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and is widely published on health-related inequity.