Social experiment reveals racist treatment of people with disabilities

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A popular content creator’s recent video of a social experiment exposed racial disparities in how people with disabilities are treated by the general public.

The video showed two men in the stunt, appearing as blind as they reached out to pedestrians as they set off for a walk. Based on the results, pedestrians were more willing to help and touch the white man than his black counterpart. The two actors in the clip behaved similarly, ranging from help with their shoes to support while walking down a busy shopping aisle, but each delivered vastly different results.

The social media influencer who posted the video series, BARRY TV, has millions of followers on sites including YouTube and TikTok, in addition to the more than 400,000 he has on Instagram. The France-based content creator is known for posting his videos exposing everyday people’s racial feelings.

The video gained traction on social platforms for the blatant display of racism towards the black person. As part of the experiment involved grabbing a passerby in an attempt to see if they would allow the physical interaction, more people were welcoming of the “blind” white man’s hand as opposed to the black man’s hand, with one person pushing him away and laughing at him.

Although this was a false storyline that showed how black people with disabilities are subjected to hostility when engaging in casual settings, the systemic impact of these actions and feelings is not so unfathomable.

Disability discrimination affects people of color in and beyond the health care industry. To combat these issues, national studies, such as its impact on children by the California Health Report, have raised awareness, while advocates seek to uplift black people with mental and/or physical disabilities.

People with disabilities are more at risk of being disadvantaged when they are abused because of their blackness. Racial disparities surrounding people with disabilities are not a new phenomenon, but one that needs to be addressed in policies and general awareness of how people treat marginalized groups.

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