Black on the Spectrum

I made this piece shortly after the death of Ryan Gainer, a nonverbal autistic teen who was fatally shot while in a state of distress by responding officers. BIPOC individuals fall at the intersection of two marginalized identities. In the U.S., black people are 2.9x more likely to be killed by the police than white people. Autistics are 7x more lively to have negative police encounters with police than their neurotypical peers. A 2021 report published by the Ruderman Family Foundation, found that almost half of the people who die at the hands of police have some kind of disability. Comprehensive mental health and neurodiversity training can strengthen our social safety net, and keep other kids like Ryan safe during moments of crisis.