How Ableism Fuels Racism: Dismantling the Hierarchy of Bodies in the Church by Lamar Hardwick (paperback)

As a Black autistic pastor and disability scholar, Lamar Hardwick lives at the intersections of disability, race, and religion. In How Ableism Fuels Racism, he helps Christian communities engage in critical conversations about race by addressing issues of ableism.

Hardwick believes that 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. Drawing on historical records, biblical interpretation, and disability studies, he examines how ableism has perpetuated both disability and racial discrimination. He calls the church to address deep-seated issues of ableism and offers practical steps for dismantling ableism and racism in attitude and practice.