Disability and Collective Care in Charlotte Forten’s Civil War Writings

This chapter draws upon Black disability studies, theories of care, and eco-crip theory to analyze the writings of Charlotte L. Forten Grimké, an educator, activist, and writer from the Civil War era. Forten's journals express her complex feelings of anguish and joy about her lived experiences as a Black-disabled woman, offering unique insights into the debilitating nature of racial prejudice and new methods for situating chronic illnesses within Black disability studies. This article offers close readings of Forten's depictions of the natural environment, arguing these spaces can be best described as disability landscapes—spaces that afford a minimum level of care and survival for disabled and chronically ill individuals. With this claim, the article attests that Forten's writings represent collective care not as a privilege, but as a fundamental right amid racial, gendered, and ableist oppression.