Baynton believed that disabilities has been used to justify discrimination to other non-white groups, through attributing the idea of disability to them. This was especially seen during the 1904 world fair, where there were displays of individuals with disabilities and non-white individuals in "America freak shows".

Because of this history, Baynton argues that non-white groups distanced themselves from disability as a means of accessing certain rights and freedoms, but in doing this these groups left unquestioned ableism and ableism as a system of oppression.