Spotlighting Intersectional Changemaking: Researcher Explores Black Disabled Experiences in the UK

News
At Disability Rights UK, we advocate for intersectional social justice work and therefore want to use our platform to uplift lived-experience research confronting overlapping oppressions and driving tangible justice. Emediong Jumbo, a PhD researcher at King’s College London is doing just that by amplifying the voices of Black Disabled people with non-visible disabilities in the UK.

Emediong’s project is based on lived experience and grounded in Disability Justice, Black Feminism, and Anti-Racism. The research confronts systemic erasure and reimagines equity through lived experience. 

Why This Research Is Essential? 

Black Disabled people in the UK face unique barriers at the intersection of racism and ableism—yet their stories are chronically absent from disability advocacy, academic research, and policy-making. This exclusion perpetuates harmful gaps in healthcare, employment, and social support.  

Emediong’s work is critical because it: 

  • Centers Intersectionality: Most disability studies focus on white experiences, while race-focused research often overlooks disability. This project bridges that divide. 
  • Challenges Invisibility: Non-visible disabilities (e.g., chronic pain, neurodivergence) are already stigmatised; layered with anti-Blackness, these experiences are further marginalised. 
  • Informs Real-World Change: Findings will equip activists, policymakers, and service providers to address systemic barriers with culturally competent solutions. 
  • Builds Collective Power: By documenting resistance and resilience, the project fosters solidarity among Black Disabled communities. 
  • Centres Coproduction: By grounding this research in coproduction, Emediong is at the forefront of coproductive intersectionality research; a rarely explored research method! 

Join the Study: Share Your Story 

Emediong invites eligible participants to contribute through: 

1. One-to-One Interviews 

  • 1 hour, £30 Amazon voucher. 
  • Questions co-created with lived-experience peer researchers. 

2. Focus Groups (Photo-Elicitation Method) 

  • Two sessions: Training + discussion. 
  • Take photos reflecting your experiences, then explore their meaning collectively. 
  • Compensation provided; equipment available if needed. 

Eligibility 

  • Self-identify as Black British/African/Caribbean/any Black ethnic identity. 
  • Self-identify as having a non-visible disability (e.g., chronic illness, neurodivergence, energy-limiting condition). 
  • Live in the UK. 

Take Part & Shape the Narrative  

Sign up to this groundbreaking research exploring the experiences of Black Disabled people with non-visible disabilities, using this online form.

Ethically approved by King’s College London.