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Intersectionality plays a significant role in schools today in the way that students of color are treated and educated, and how those two things relate to disability. There is a long-standing history of this occurring, too. Non-white children have statistically been overrepresented in spaces held for people with disabilities. In the 1970s, people started to fight to correct some of the inequities students of color faced regarding being labeled with disabilities. In 1971, the court case Johnson v. San Francisco Unified School District fought the school district's "dumping" of black children into special education classes. In 1972, Larry P. v Riles sought to do the same for the overrepresentation of Hispanic children in special education classrooms. Throughout the early 1970s, lawsuits were brought against bigoted education practices that led to overrepresentation. There were cases in California (1970) and Arizona (1972) that argued the unfairness of testing Spanish-speaking kids and Native American kids who spoke their native language with English tests. Unfortunately, even with the plaintiffs in these court cases being successful, there are still many inequities that black and brown students face in the realm of intersectionality, where race and disability are concerned. (Blanchett et al., 2009).

There are a lot of assumptions that are made about the communities of people of color that can lead to the unjust overrepresentation of children from those communities in special education spaces. There has been a resegregation of schools over the past few decades, and large numbers of children of color go to school where most children look like them. Many of these communities live in low-income neighborhoods or below the poverty line. There is a systemic norm of assuming a lack of ability because they come from communities with less money. This is accompanied by an assumed lack of intelligence by the system. The lack of intelligence is shown to be confirmed at times based on IQ tests, which are made to represent the norm of people with privilege and status. Whether the tests are not in the language the child primarily speaks or represents them culturally, the student is taking a test with the odds stacked against them. IDEA (2004) introduced the practice of Response to Intervention (RtI) as a way to move away from these biased tests. A lack of equitable education can also lead to people assuming that non-white students have disabilities. The quality of teachers and teachers with advanced degrees is significantly lower in some of these lower-income school districts. Because the students aren't being taught the information that more privileged, mostly white communities are being taught, it is sometimes assumed that students from those communities have disabilities. (Blanchett et al., 2009).

# data[].attributes.body
There are a lot of assumptions that are made about the communities of people of color that can lead to the unjust overrepresentation of children from those communities in special education spaces. There has been a resegregation of schools over the past few decades, and large numbers of children of color go to school where most children look like them. Many of these communities live in low-income neighborhoods or below the poverty line. There is a systemic norm of assuming a lack of ability because they come from communities with less money. This is accompanied by an assumed lack of intelligence by the system. The lack of intelligence is shown to be confirmed at times based on IQ tests, which are made to represent the norm of people with privilege and status. Whether the tests are not in the language the child primarily speaks or represents them culturally, the student is taking a test with the odds stacked against them. IDEA (2004) introduced the practice of Response to Intervention (RtI) as a way to move away from these biased tests. A lack of equitable education can also lead to people assuming that non-white students have disabilities. The quality of teachers and teachers with advanced degrees is significantly lower in some of these lower-income school districts. Because the students aren't being taught the information that more privileged, mostly white communities are being taught, it is sometimes assumed that students from those communities have disabilities. (Blanchett et al., 2009).

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Blanchett, W. J., Klingner, J. K., & Harry, B. (2009). The Intersection of Race, Culture, Language, and Disability: Implications for Urban Education. Urban Education, 44(4), 389–409. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085909338686

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As I mentioned in my epistemological timeline, growing up in a small-minded, mid-sized city like Cincinnati made me aware of many inequities that did not exist in my suburban neighborhood. It made me seek opportunities to interact with communities outside my own. In doing so, I feel like I have become more familiar with intersecting communities and cultures. I continue to listen and learn the best I can to increase my understanding of other communities and their cultures. This continues in the classroom, where I try to understand the communities my students come from. Several other aspects of myself help me in the classroom, too, though. I think my roles within my family, my background as a performer, and the parts about me that are unique all inform my relationship with students, teaching, and learning.

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I have a strong connection to my family. I am close to my parents and incredibly close to my sister. I also just became an uncle. The importance of loving, caring relationships has been invaluable in my life. Any success I have had at anything in life has come due, in part, to the love and support from my family and, at times, the sacrifices they have made. I try to provide the same support, care, and love as a teacher. I sacrifice my time and energy both in class and in extracurriculars to try to give them the best educational experience possible, especially when I know they do not have access to much love and support from other areas in their lives. I look at the sacrifices I make as an investment in their overall well-being to give them a fulfilling childhood and prepare them for adulthood.

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My background in performing has helped me become more empathetic and think about other people's perspectives. This learning has occurred through playing other characters on stage, working with people from different communities than mine, and seeing the art they produce. Theatre is just an expressive form of storytelling. Seeing the art from non-CIS, non-male, non-white, and non-straight performers has broadened my understanding of different people and intersectionality. This empathy is extended into the classroom. I try to understand the backgrounds of the students I work with and use that knowledge to educate them appropriately.

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I have always been a little different, which has made me look out for the underdog. I have a pigmentation condition called Piebaldism that causes parts of my hair and skin to lack pigment and appear white. Because this made me different from the other kids growing up, I was fairly familiar with the bullies at school. This experience makes me hypervigilant to any incident where a student is disrespected for any reason today. If a student mistreats another student for any reason, especially regarding race, gender, or disability, I not only try to end it, but I also hope to implement conflict resolution strategies that will educate the wrongdoer to avoid doing that wrong in the future.