Chapter 5: Caring for those who are not always Cared About: Black Mother Educators Ensuring Access for Black Students With Dis/Ability

In this autoethnographic self-study, I drew from the tenet of voice within womanist theory and disability studies in education (DSE) to address Black mother educators who care for and about Black children/students with and without dis/Abilities. In this chapter, I discuss my praxis of valuing humanity and spirit as an asset pedagogy of care and of radical love implement within my daily roles. I share my journey to and through the academy as a Black daughter, mother, and educator with a dis/Ability who is spiritually striving to transform academic life (Dillard, 2006). I tell my story and share the research of Black mother educators, myself included, that map onto our accumulated knowledge of caring and radical love praxis for Black children/students with and without dis/Abilities in education. I argue that the voices of Black mother educators matter, and must be centered in the process of disrupting master narratives at the intersections of race, gender, and dis/Ability.