Disability Resource Center
African American Heritage Month
The Center For Accessible Living Celebrates African American Heritage Month
Famous African Americans with Disabilities
Audre Lorde - Poet, Activist (1934-1992)
Audre Lorde's family was from the Caribbean island of Grenada but she grew up in New York City.
After being married and raising two children, Lorde came out as a lesbian in 1971. Her writings and
lectures reflected her concern for the oppressed: women, gays and lesbians, and racial minorities.
When she underwent a mastectomy for breast cancer she refused to wear a prosthesis stating, "Either I love
my body one-breasted now, or remain forever alien to myself." Lorde won several awards for her writing.
"Blind Tom"
Wiggins (1849-1908)
Thomas Wiggins was a slave from Georgia who may have been autistic. From an early age he had the ability to
compose and play music and he toured concert halls in Europe and America as a musical oddity. Geneva Handy
Southall wrote a book about him entitled, "Blind Tom, The Black Pianist Composer: Continually Enslaved."
Harriet Tubman - Rescuer of Slaves (1820-1913)
Harriet Tubman was a slave born on a plantation in Maryland. When she was thirteen years old she threw
herself between a fellow slave and the plantation overseer who was about to whip him. The overseer struck
Harriet on the head. For the rest of her life she had a form of epilepsy. When she was 29 Harriet Tubman escaped
from slavery and dedicated the rest of her life to rescuing other slaves and to civil rights, including women's suffrage.
Other notable African Americans with Disabilities:
Famous people Learning Difficulties
Harry Belafonte - Singer, actor, entertainer
Magic Johnson - Professional athlete
Whoopi Goldberg - Actress
Famous people with Tourette Syndrome
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf - Professional athlete
Famous people with speech differences
James Earl Jones - Actor
Bob Love - Professional athlete
Curtis Pride - Professional athlete
Ron Harper - Professional athlete
Tiger Woods - Professional athlete
Bo Jackson - Professional athlete
Famous people with Visual Impairments
Stevie Wonder - Singer, Songwriter
Ray Charles - Singer, Songwriter
The Blind Boys of Alabama - Singers
Famous people with Respiratory Problems
Coolio - Singer
Famous people with Epilepsy
Danny Glover - Actor
If we have left out a famous African American with a disability, please contact the Center's webmaster.
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