One of the top books for Christian non-fiction in 2024, Lamar Hardwick joins Rohadi on the show to talk about his latest book and the topic: How Ableism Fuels Racism. This eye opening connection between disability and racism will shift paradigms for listeners. This episode is released as full hour long conversation. We begin the conversation surrounding the historical formation of white supremacy in America, tied to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and connect the dots to the root source of anti-Blackness: ableism. As soon as white supremacy becomes about bodies, something must be developed to build an understanding certain bodies (white) are more valuable than others (Black and Indigenous). What those factors are ranging from intellect to supposed inherent biological traits, are built on the ruse of “disability”. We interrogate not only historical formation but how the same factors remain at play in the present with the policing of Black bodies including other intersections like health and faith. This conversation ends with a cursory view on the theological underpinnings of ableist theology that not only look at contributing bodies of work from Black or brown traditions as inferior, but also how the disabled Christ is sanitized to accommodate white superiority and thought.
About Pastor Lamar Hardwick:
? Publishers Weekly starred review
“Marshaling fine-grained historical detail and scrupulous analysis, Hardwick persuades.”–Publishers Weekly
Lamar Hardwick lives in the Atlanta region and is a Black autistic pastor and disability scholar speaking and writing at the intersection of disability, race, and religion. How Ableism Fuels Racism engages Christian communities in critical conversations about race by addressing issues of ableism–the idea that certain bodies are better than others–and the disability discrimination fueled by this perspective are the root causes of racial bias and injustice in American culture and in the church. He calls the church into action to address the deep-seated issues of ableism that started it all and offering practical steps to help readers dismantle ableism and racism both in attitude and practice.
Find him online at his website: https://autismpastor.com/ or Instagram.
Faith in a Fresh Vibe is available on all podcast platforms. Find host Rohadi online at Instagram (@rohadi.nagassar) or his website (www.rohadi.com).
