Jump to Main ContentJump to Primary Navigation

Black, Female and Privileged?

I am a disabled black woman. From that very short sentence alone, you can tell that the cards have been stacked against me. There is a lot that I have to deal with in my life: Sexism, racism and ableism, coupled along with the other crap that everyone has to deal with, day in and day out. It truly is a wonder how I make it out of bed in the morning, at all.

However, my life is not all doom and gloom. I have actually had quite a privileged upbringing, especially considering the circumstances of my birth.

I could have become another statistic you see on the television asking you to give money to the forever poor “African child.”

I was born in Nigeria, and thanks to poor sanitation, I contracted polio. That could have been it for me, I could have just as easily died. Or even if I lived, the future would not have been bright, it would definitely not have been Orange. I could have become another statistic you see on the television asking you to give money to the forever poor "African child."