William Edward Burghardt DuBois attacked injustice and worked against the racial discrimination against Africans. He was a socialist African-American who devoted his life towards studying the life and oppression faced by Africans and worked for their upliftment. He believed in inequality in society and condemned the prejudice of the whites against any section of society. “His singular greatness lay in his quest for the truth about his own people.” (Hynes, (n.d)). Here, using DuBois’s ideas, the hazards faced by the disabled and how he would have approached them, are being discussed. The socio-cultural and economic barriers that the disabled people face would surely be the factors that he would shed light on.
Sources say that disabled persons make up quite a large proportion of the working-class population, of about 12-16 percent. Disability accounts for every kind of physical and psychological disability. This category is one that has always suffered social prejudice the most. They are alienated for reasons they are not responsible for. Getting work is very difficult for them. Only about forty percent of the disabled get employed, and the payment that they get is almost fifty percent lower than a general payment. As for the people who get disabled during work, only one in six get employed again. Many of them do not even receive proper education because their families abandon them. (Burchardth, 2000).
It is a known fact that disabled people are not considered equal by others in society. It is found that almost eighty percent of all disabled persons live in isolation and they face physical, cultural and social barriers which affect their education, health and employment. They are considered useless and cursed by God. In many places, these helpless people are killed, abandoned, and at times disabled children are even thrown into rivers. A negative stigma attached to them, stop them from overcoming their disabilities and succeeding in life. A sad part of such barriers and negative stigma is that it adds to their disabilities causing mental depressions. To quote an incident; Audrey Robinson was a 50 year old woman, a stroke survivor visibly disabled. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided to consult a doctor who she knew was an expert. But the doctor’s attitude towards her depressed her. He made her wait for two hours and was impatient.
DuBois would probably find it most disgusting when people approach the disabled with charity. It should be understood that nothing irritates the disadvantaged people more than the charity and sympathetic talks by others. They are not seen as equals among other people. Instead, they are given concession in everything that they do. For example, every public transport bus reserves a seat for the disabled. It is ironic that none of them ever use that particular seat. It gives them a feeling that they are considered inferior to others.
What they need is equal opportunity in all walks of life, including education and employment which are the basic requirements to succeeding in life. They would prefer to be talked to in the same way as to others avoiding any kind of sympathy because they are as good as or even better than many other people with no disability. Take the example of Helen Keller, the girl who was deaf and blind. She became a world-renowned author and speaker. DuBois would probably remind everyone that anyone can get disabled at any time in their lives. An accident on the road, at the workplace, or disease can cause disabilities to anyone.
References
- Hynes, Gerald, C. (n.d.). A biographical sketch of W E B DuBois: Introduction.
- Burchardth, Tania. (2000). Enduring economic exclusion: disabled people income and work. Joseph Rown Tree Foundation.