Symposium on Conscious Law Enforcement & Inclusive Practices
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Criminalized Twice: The Intersection of Race, Disability, and Policing
Working Session Description
Black and Brown disabled individuals are disproportionately policed, arrested, and incarcerated—caught at the deadly crossroads of racial profiling and ableism. This powerful discussion unpacks the systemic forces behind these injustices and challenges the public to rethink its role in shaping perceptions of “dangerousness.” How do racial and disability biases fuel criminalization? What can communities do—both with and without law enforcement—to drive meaningful change? Join us for a critical conversation that moves beyond awareness to action, calling on all of us to dismantle the structures that uphold these injustices.
Working Session Call-To-Action
We must develop a community approach to reduce the footprint and significantly decrease adverse interactions between black and brown disabled bodies and law enforcement.
We must acknowledge our collective responsibility in sustaining the harmful perception that Blackness and disability equate to danger—and commit to dismantling these narratives through intentional action and truth-telling.
Presenter(s)
Dr. Kay Coghill
Dr. KáLyn “Kay” Coghill (they/them) is a neurodivergent and chronically ill distinguished educator, activist, practitioner in the gender-based violence space, and scholar who has received multiple accolades for their contributions. They serve as a lecturer at Virginia Commonwealth University, Randolph Macon College, and CUNY Hunter College. Their courses concentrate on online gender-based violence, digital resistance, and the interdisciplinary fields of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies. Dr. Coghill’s work encompasses interdisciplinary scholarship, community organizing, and abortion doula care, focusing on critical issues, including misogynoir, race, technology, disability justice, and gender-based violence in digital spaces such as social media sites. Their research extends to examining artificial intelligence in facilitating sexual harm online, ethical technology considerations, Black popular culture, and forms of digital resistance.
Furthermore, they serve as a consultant for the Institute For Research on Male Supremacism, Penn State University, and various other organizations, contributing their extensive expertise to research projects, community management, and digital strategy work. As a practitioner of Hoodrat Scholarship™ (coined by them), Dr. Coghill effectively connects academia with the streets, prioritizing knowledge that is accessible and community-oriented. Their activism includes conducting digital humanities workshops, researching harm reduction tactics utilized by Black women and femmes online, providing content moderation services for social media platforms like Bluesky, supporting Richmond youth through sister circles, and holding board positions with the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project. Dr. Coghill is also a research fellow at VCU’s Digital Sociology Lab, the AI Futures Lab, and CUNY The Graduate School’s OEPI Program. Their work has been presented at national conferences such as the American Society of Criminology, Black Women’s Studies Association, National Women’s Studies Association, and the American Studies Association. Their dissertation research has been featured in Essence magazine, Glitch UK, and UN Women.
Dr. Danielle Wallace
Dr. Danielle Wallace is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University and received her PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago. Dr. Wallace studies disability and policing, focusing on the disparate and discriminatory ways in which police treat disabled individuals. Dr. Wallace also studies racial bias and racial profiling in policing.
Moderators(s)
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