Staking the tent at the margins: Using disability justice to expand the theory and praxis of social equity in public administration

Abstract

As the need to expand and deepen the focus of social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion (SJDEI) continues to grow, it is incumbent upon the practitioners, scholars, and students of public administration to build and sustain a social equity theory and praxis that is broad and inclusive of all the communities, complexities, and nuances of SJDEI work. We write this editorial with an intention to expand social equity theory and praxis to create space for intersectionality. In particular, our editorial focuses on the inclusion of people with disabilities and the need for centering a disability justice perspective in public administration. This imperative stems from many needs, notably that people with disabilities are the largest minority group, globally and in the United States, yet are often overlooked in the scholarship and practices of public administration.

Acknowledgements

The intellectual, emotional, and communal support of each colleague listed in the byline was essential to making this manuscript possible. With respect to authorship, we acknowledge that Chordiya and Dolamore contributed equally to the development of this work and share first authorship. We acknowledge Love, Protonentis, Borry, Stern and Whitebread for their perspectives and contributions in making this manuscript complete. We also want to acknowledge the participants of the NASPAA 2021 Charette on Including People with Disabilities in Public Administration for engaging with openness, courage, and collaboration on the need to have deeper conversations about people with disabilities and centering them in the social equity work of public administration.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 We acknowledge that social justice language is emergent and constantly evolving with times and social justice movement work. In this work, we generally use person-first language (i.e., people with disabilities) to reflect terminology used in the disability justice community. We acknowledge there this is a critical role for both person-first language (PFL) and identity-first language (IFL) when discussing disability(ies) reflecting different models of disabilities (Ferrigon, 2019; Dunn & Andrews, 2015). PFL distinguishes the person first (e.g., person with autism) while IFL distinguishes the identity (e.g., autistic person). The shift from IFL toward PFL reflects efforts to respectfully remove offensive, stereotypical, and outdated terminology (AUCD) though concerns remain that PFL can promote ableism (Liebowitz, 2015). We recognize that the decision to choose PFL or IFL is deeply personal and should be determined by the individual, especially in those communities that prefer IFL as a form of resistance (Brown, 2011b). We further acknowledge the nuance, layered complexity, and politics of disability identity and avoid use of euphemisms such as “special needs” or “differently abled” except where they are used as a proper noun (see, Brown, 2013).

2 Multiply [muhl-tuh-plee] marginalized is the term of art used by Collins (2008) to describe the compounding effects of oppression experienced by some individuals with multiple identities that experience domination.

3 Throughout we follow the example of Catalano et al. (2018) and use the terminology trans* to indicate the broad array of gender diversity within the category of “trans-ness,” including but not limited to transgender men and women, trans-masculine, trans-feminine, non-binary, gender fluid, genderqueer, and agender individuals.

4 We acknowledge Resmaa Menakem (2017) and his work on somatic abolitionism for offering this nuanced language of ‘bodies of color’ that we humbly adopt and adapt in this manuscript. We find deep alignment in Menakem’s approach in focusing on ‘bodies of color’ while referring to racism and white body supremacy and the disability justice approach that focuses on collective liberation of all bodyminds.

5 We use the language of ‘disability diverse’ throughout to amplify that the experience of disability is neither uniform nor is the disability community a homogenous community- disability is diverse. Please refer to “Limitation 3: A Lack of Recognition of Disability Diversity” discussed on pages 14–15 for a more detailed explanation of ‘disability diversity’.

6 Important to note that in some countries, conventions carry the force of law, though this is not always the case.

7 The profound connection between structural oppression and collective, intergenerational trauma necessitates disability justice integration especially the experiences of individuals at the intersection of multiply marginalized social identities. Consider that researchers have found that structural racism is a leading cause of more severe and longer in duration depression among Black adults in the US (see Hankerson et al., 2022). However, researchers also find that systemic barriers in BIPOC communities result in under diagnosis, thereby limiting access to support services, compared to their white peers (Bailey et al., 2019). This dual reality demands consideration in the social equity spaces of public administration.

8 In Table 1, we have intentionally included the original language of disability justice leaders to keep the original ideas and words intact. We encourage readers to obtain a copy of Skin, Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement is Our People (A Disability Justice Primer) for further reading.

9 This approach differs significantly from Skocpol’s (1991) “targeting within universalism.” Whereas Skocpol argues for creating universal programs that begin at the center and eventually work toward targeting the margins, targeted universalism approach to social equity centers the margins from the outset.

10 Publish or Perish is a search engine which offers a widespread, interdisciplinary look at all scholastic materials contributed in the social sciences. It is comprehensive in that it accesses peer-reviewed journals not reported in other similar databases and has been used by other PA scholars for identifying journal content and to conduct bibliometric analysis (see Fernandez et al., 2015).

11 The top five journals were identified on April 20, 2022 using the Google Scholar Metrics for “Public Policy & Administration” journals (Google Scholar Metrics, 2022). Three mission specific journals were selected to reflect areas with existing ties to disability including accommodations in education, intersectional theory, and workplace accommodations. The three selections were the Journal of Public Affairs Education for the scholarship of teaching and learning; Administrative Theory & Praxis for scholarship on theory; and Review of Public Personnel Administration for personnel administration.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rashmi Chordiya

Rashmi Chordiya (She|Her) is an assistant professor of public administration at Seattle University's Institute of Public Service. She is interested in bridging critical academic scholarship and social justice movement visions and theories to support the practice of liberatory justice in public service and administrative contexts. Her peer-reviewed journal articles are published in prestigious public administration journals. Her upcoming book is entitled Beyond Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Dreaming Liberatory Justice in Public and Nonprofit Organizations.

Stephanie Dolamore

Stephanie Dolamore is Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. She teaches using American Sign Language and English for the bilingual Master of Public Administration program for D/deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students. Her research explores the intersection of social equity, disability justice, and organizational culture in the public sector.

Jeannine M. Love

Jeannine M. Love is a Professor of Public Administration and Director of the Political Science and Social Justice Studies programs at Roosevelt University. Her research focuses on integrative processes that foster radical democracy–in governance, social movements, organizations, and the classroom. She brings this theoretical lens to her teaching, facilitating open and inclusive spaces in the classroom, and grounding course content in examinations of racial, social, disability, and economic justice.

Erin L. Borry

Erin L. Borry (she/her) is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research interests include rules, red tape, social equity, and public administration in pop culture. Her work has been published in Public Administration Review, Public Administration, Public Management Review, Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, and Journal of Public Affairs Education, among others.

Adana Protonentis

Adana Protonentis (She| Her) is a community educator, parent advocate, convener, and scholar. Her work focuses on harnessing the power of narrative to create a more inclusive, just, and equitable community. A seasoned professional speaker and facilitator, Adana has a unique talent for making complex and emotionally charged subjects accessible to diverse audiences. Adana’s expertise lies in applying an intersectional lens to social equity issues, resulting in a nuanced and comprehensive analysis and the development of innovative solutions. Her peer-reviewed journal articles are published in prestigious public administration journals.

Brendan Stern

Brendan Stern is a tenured associate professor of American politics at Gallaudet University. He is also the executive director of the Center for Democracy in Deaf America, which is committed to developing healthy democratic skills and habits by fostering disagreement, debate, and civic engagement through American Sign Language (ASL). He earned his M.A. in American politics from American University, and his second M.A. and Ph.D. in American politics with a concentration in Political Theory from the Catholic University of America.

Geoffrey Whitebread

Geoffrey Whitebread is an assistant professor of public administration and MPA program director at Gallaudet University. His research explores intersectionality, social equity, and inclusion in the public sector. He has a multi-disciplinary interest in matters directly affecting the Deaf community, including pedagogy and communication.