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- [Interviewer] Now, do you see
the record button in the corner?
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Up in the corner it should say
"Recording," and so-
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- [Leroy] Yep.
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- [Interviewer] Okay, cool.
And then I'm gonna mute myself
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while you introduce yourself.
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You're going to tap on the table
or make a noise before you start.
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- [Leroy] Okay.
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Hello, my name is Leroy Franklin Moore, Jr.
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and I live in Berkeley, California.
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I am an author, activist, founder
of many organizations,
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founder of Krip Hop Music with a K, too.
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Back in the day, I had a nonprofit called
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Disability Advocates
of Minorities Organization,
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and I also helped to start
what's called Sins Invalid.
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I'm a journalist with POOR Magazine,
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and yeah, just an activist and a writer
of many books.
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The latest book is Black Disabled Ancestors.
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And I'm also a lecturer
on college campuses.
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- [Interviewer] Alright, Leroy, thank you.
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Okay, so the first question is
tell of your first memory realizing
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that there were accessibility issues,
discrimination, or lack of inclusion.
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What is your personal story or connection
to the Americans with Disabilities Act?
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What do you remember about the day
that it was signed, if applicable,
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and what was the impact on you
and on others?
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- [Leroy] So the first example that
I realized that there was discrimination
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was back in the early '80s
when me and two other Black disabled boys
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decided to a letter campaign,
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and this was before computers
so we had to write.
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So we did a letter campaign
to a lot of Black organizations
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and Black theatres at the time
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asking why there was no
Black disabled people on TV or anywhere.
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So that was the first time
that I, you know, put it on my shoulders
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and challenged the system.
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So the other time when I realized
that there was a lack of accessibility
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is when I was attending my father's
activist meetings in the early '80s,
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and they were talking
about police brutality
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and other stuff that happens
to Black community.
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And when I left that meeting,
I was approached by a disabled group
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that wanted me to join their group to
talk about, to advocate about curb cuts.
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And I asked them, "Well, you know,
I just left a meeting with my father,
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"and they were talking
about police brutality,
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"and a lot of Black disabled people
can't enjoy the curb cuts.
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"They can't go outside, because
they're getting shot by the police."
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And then the group said,
"Well, we can't deal with that.
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"We're dealing with curb cuts."
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So that's when I really found out, like,
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wow, this is two different worlds
and two different issues.
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So that's the first time that I
found out there's, you know, difference.
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And with the ADA, you know,
when the ADA was signed
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and that picture was everywhere,
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once again, I looked at the picture
and I was like,
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"Huh. Nobody looks like me."
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And back in the late '90s,
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I had an organization called Disability
Advocates of Minorities Organization,
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and we had tons of copies
of the cover of the ADA,
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and we put on the top of the ADA
who is, what is missing from this picture.
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And, of course, we all knew the answer
is people of color,
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so, you know, that was the first statement
that I made about the ADA.
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You know, it was like where is
people of color in the picture of the ADA?
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- [Interviewer] Yay!
Beautiful, thank you.
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- [Leroy] Yeah.
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- [Interviewer] The present.
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Has the ADA made a difference?
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Tell us about your a-ha moment
that told you that the ADA
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is or is not making a difference.
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And to what extent, based on your passions
and areas of expertise, where do you see
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or not see the impact of the ADA?
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- [Leroy] So, yeah, of course the ADA
has made a difference in society,
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in, you know, the global society.
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You know, you can see it with
accessibility in public places.
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You can see it in communication, you know,
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especially during these social network
life we're living in
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with Google and Twitter, you know,
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all are making their products
more accessible, so that's good.
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You know, we see a little-
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We're in the airlines a lot,
but, you know, yes, we see it.
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And the place that it needs more growth
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is, of course, people of color