1
00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:02,650
So,

2
00:00:02,760 --> 00:00:04,560
My name is Michelle Nario - Redmond

3
00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:06,320
I am a social psychologist and

4
00:00:06,370 --> 00:00:08,380
I teach at Hiram College

5
00:00:08,519 --> 00:00:11,404
in psychology and biomedical
humanities program

6
00:00:11,437 --> 00:00:15,727
and I just wrote a book on ableism
the causes and consequences

7
00:00:15,727 --> 00:00:18,967
of disability prejudice.
My first memory

8
00:00:18,967 --> 00:00:21,267
and I'll just back up and say in 1990,

9
00:00:21,267 --> 00:00:23,730
when the ADA passed 
I was in graduate school,

10
00:00:25,099 --> 00:00:33,134
in Kansas, and disability prejudice,
the ADA or anything

11
00:00:33,134 --> 00:00:38,954
related to disability issues 
were completely off my radar,

12
00:00:40,054 --> 00:00:43,578
and I worked at a place 
where one of the pioneers

13
00:00:43,578 --> 00:00:46,756
of disability studies worked, 
Beatrice Wright,

14
00:00:46,756 --> 00:00:50,396
and I hadn't yet to have a class with her.

15
00:00:50,396 --> 00:00:53,876
It really wasn't until 1995,
which was five years later,

16
00:00:53,876 --> 00:00:58,566
when my daughter was born,
Sierra, with spina bifida,

17
00:00:58,566 --> 00:01:03,394
that I became aware 
of disability and found the work

18
00:01:03,394 --> 00:01:08,862
of Carol Gill and Simi Linton
and began to educate myself

19
00:01:08,862 --> 00:01:15,348
on disability studies and its scope,
and the first memory I have of

20
00:01:15,348 --> 00:01:22,571
confronting inaccessible spaces
was a few years later, when we enrolled

21
00:01:22,571 --> 00:01:26,520
my daughter Sierra in a preschool,
at a catholic preschool,

22
00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:31,915
right down the road; and it just didn't
even dawn on me that we would have to

23
00:01:31,915 --> 00:01:36,388
work so hard for her to be accommodated
as a preschooler,

24
00:01:36,472 --> 00:01:41,209
and it was really a function of
the fact that the building was older,

25
00:01:41,252 --> 00:01:47,109
there were steps, and they really didn't
know, nor did they need to legally know,

26
00:01:47,142 --> 00:01:52,554
about reasonable accommodations 
and civil rights of their students,

27
00:01:52,554 --> 00:02:00,755
because they were a private facility and
weren't subject to the ADA's rules.

28
00:02:00,812 --> 00:02:05,303
So... it became clear to me that 
we needed to find a new preschool,

29
00:02:05,303 --> 00:02:09,911
and luckily we found a private,
another private place. It wasn't

30
00:02:09,911 --> 00:02:12,946
a public school, but it 
was a music school settlement

31
00:02:12,946 --> 00:02:16,407
and they had resources
and they were already operating

32
00:02:16,407 --> 00:02:21,566
under a sort of set of presumptions
about the value of diversity

33
00:02:21,566 --> 00:02:26,928
and diverse perspectives,
and we didn't really have to ask for much,

34
00:02:26,928 --> 00:02:31,654
because they bent over backwards
to include my daughter

35
00:02:31,654 --> 00:02:37,356
in a typical classroom, with her peers,
her preschool peers, music classes,

36
00:02:37,356 --> 00:02:41,947
there were so many eclectic
movement classes,

37
00:02:41,947 --> 00:02:48,049
and they even purchased
equipment for their exercise room

38
00:02:48,049 --> 00:02:52,868
and movement room
that would be useful to her among others,

39
00:02:52,868 --> 00:02:58,063
and she has since grown up to become
this teacher and has applied

40
00:02:58,063 --> 00:03:01,595
to work there as a preschool teacher.
So, I think it would be really

41
00:03:01,595 --> 00:03:08,320
amazing, if she came full circle. 
But, I guess, to stance the broader

42
00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:14,915
question about being frustrated and aware 
of inaccessibility and lack of inclusion,

43
00:03:14,915 --> 00:03:21,512
we were in a district that, when she then,
was about to move to preschool, I

44
00:03:21,512 --> 00:03:27,059
knew that she wouldn't probably be able to
go to a private school, not only because

45
00:03:27,059 --> 00:03:31,585
of the financial cost, but because 
they would not have to think about

46
00:03:31,585 --> 00:03:35,981
best practices and the law when
it came to accommodating

47
00:03:35,981 --> 00:03:39,133
their students with disabilities,
and so I knew we would be

48
00:03:39,133 --> 00:03:43,971
looking at the public school, and the 
public school in our neighborhood

49
00:03:43,971 --> 00:03:49,384
was not accessible. We went to visit it,
the playground had a little house

50
00:03:49,384 --> 00:03:52,254
that she wouldn't have been 
able to get into,

51
00:03:52,254 --> 00:03:55,876
and it was really disheartening
and so it came at a time

52
00:03:55,876 --> 00:03:58,393
when we were already looking
for other opportunities,

53
00:03:58,393 --> 00:04:01,573
and my husband got an opportunity
to move us as a family

54
00:04:01,573 --> 00:04:04,079
to the West Coast
of Portland of Oregon, and

55
00:04:04,079 --> 00:04:10,507
so the way I...we had to
navigate her early educational experiences

56
00:04:10,574 --> 00:04:17,591
was to only look at spaces and schools
that were in districts that were new,

57
00:04:17,591 --> 00:04:23,109
so that had buildings 
and had training in terms of

58
00:04:23,178 --> 00:04:26,369
accommodating their diverse students
and their disabled students,

59
00:04:26,369 --> 00:04:31,262
because just having the brief experiences
that I did with the preschool

60
00:04:31,319 --> 00:04:38,810
and IEP meetings that were going to
require me to fight at every juncture

61
00:04:38,868 --> 00:04:42,941
for her basic rights 
to show what she knows

62
00:04:42,976 --> 00:04:47,312
and participate and recognize herself
as a valuable contributor

63
00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,910
to the school community.
We're not going to be forthcoming

64
00:04:50,943 --> 00:04:54,411
without a fight, 
and so we narrowed our search

65
00:04:54,454 --> 00:04:57,194
to a district,
and thank God we had the opportunity

66
00:04:57,221 --> 00:05:02,445
and the resources to do this,
that was pretty known for their

67
00:05:02,513 --> 00:05:04,012
inclusivity.

68
00:05:04,095 --> 00:05:07,731
We did that also when we came back 
to the Cleveland, Ohio area.

69
00:05:07,806 --> 00:05:12,412
We were able to avoid all districts
that weren't at the cutting edge

70
00:05:12,412 --> 00:05:16,514
of full inclusion and proof of excellence
and had newer buildings

71
00:05:16,514 --> 00:05:19,623
that could accommodate those 
with disabilities,

72
00:05:19,623 --> 00:05:25,967
but I guess that that was my earliest
memory of how, 'Oh, we have a road

73
00:05:25,967 --> 00:05:32,468
ahead of us and we have to take it upon
ourselves to either continue to fight

74
00:05:32,468 --> 00:05:40,316
battles that had already been won, 
legislatively or find spaces, places

75
00:05:40,379 --> 00:05:42,982
and organizations that were ahead
of the curve

76
00:05:42,982 --> 00:05:50,434
in terms of implementing, monitoring and 
just execute the basic civil rights

77
00:05:50,484 --> 00:05:53,618
of their various constituents

78
00:05:53,736 --> 00:05:58,568
The impact that all of that has had on me 
is to just be able to communicate

79
00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,284
with other parents and students 
with disabilities

80
00:06:02,334 --> 00:06:09,035
about not only knowing their rights but
knowing how to get those rights

81
00:06:09,086 --> 00:06:18,638
how to advocate for ensuring that those 
rights are addressed, are met.

82
00:06:18,638 --> 00:06:21,099
I think the ADA has made 
a huge difference

83
00:06:21,099 --> 00:06:24,755
and the aha moment was even when I was
collating information for this book

84
00:06:24,807 --> 00:06:28,922
on disability prejudice. I realized that 
when I was a kid,

85
00:06:28,956 --> 00:06:33,693
when I was growing up in the 60's and 
70's, people with disabilities weren't

86
00:06:33,693 --> 00:06:39,357
able to do any of the things that we took 
for granted as kids: go to the movies

87
00:06:39,432 --> 00:06:44,474
go to restaurants, go to visit a friend,
at a friend's house, or invite

88
00:06:44,546 --> 00:06:47,559
others to your birthday parties.

89
00:06:47,559 --> 00:06:54,992
And, since the ADA passed in 1990, 
it wasn't an immediate set of changes,

90
00:06:55,011 --> 00:07:01,662
as, you know, there has been significant
progress made, particularly in public

91
00:07:01,662 --> 00:07:07,910
spaces and in employment settings, 
where there are even employers

92
00:07:07,959 --> 00:07:13,827
who are part of an organization 
of inclusive excellence, who

93
00:07:13,876 --> 00:07:18,677
recognize that disabled employees are 
actually more reliable and

94
00:07:18,724 --> 00:07:23,145
have less turnover and are worth
investing in and promoting.

95
00:07:23,229 --> 00:07:28,810
But, there are still so many places, 
small businesses, educational institutions

96
00:07:28,937 --> 00:07:40,893
that are not carrying out the basic, 
sort of gains and practices that the ADA

97
00:07:40,893 --> 00:07:45,131
has made possible .There's just way too 
much variation, and I think part of that

98
00:07:45,232 --> 00:07:48,983
is just a lack of education in 
terms of what

99
00:07:49,135 --> 00:07:54,635
is reasonable and what is necessary

100
00:07:54,711 --> 00:07:56,933
in terms of accommodating your citizenry

101
00:07:57,008 --> 00:08:01,185
and lack of resources in some cases but

102
00:08:01,260 --> 00:08:03,633
also a lot of misinformation about whether

103
00:08:03,734 --> 00:08:08,236
or not it's worth it. You know, 
the ADA is going to

104
00:08:08,293 --> 00:08:12,462
be 30 here in July. We're 
celebrating around

105
00:08:12,544 --> 00:08:15,543
the country and we are still fighting

106
00:08:15,543 --> 00:08:19,813
for businesses to do what they should have

107
00:08:19,914 --> 00:08:22,316
done 30 years ago, those that have been

108
00:08:22,392 --> 00:08:25,493
around this long. They have not, they have

109
00:08:25,563 --> 00:08:27,769
have waited for complaints or they have

110
00:08:27,846 --> 00:08:31,416
failed to do but the bare minimum in

111
00:08:31,466 --> 00:08:34,871
terms of recruiting the largest minority

112
00:08:34,922 --> 00:08:37,693
I work in the education sphere and to me,

113
00:08:37,792 --> 00:08:40,220
we could be doing so much more with

114
00:08:40,318 --> 00:08:42,820
advertising and recruiting for those kinds

115
00:08:42,943 --> 00:08:45,621
of students that we tend to really, at

116
00:08:45,697 --> 00:08:49,244
least my institution, do well to retain

117
00:08:49,395 --> 00:08:52,944
because we're a small, intimate college,

118
00:08:53,019 --> 00:08:55,847
Hiram College. And, and for 
years I've tried to sort of

119
00:08:55,922 --> 00:08:59,624
encourage us to consider more universally

120
00:08:59,723 --> 00:09:02,348
designed approaches, but also approaches

121
00:09:02,451 --> 00:09:06,949
that do more than the bare minimum
when it comes to housing and

122
00:09:07,022 --> 00:09:09,600
extracurricular accommodations for

123
00:09:09,678 --> 00:09:12,398
students to who use mobility devices. For

124
00:09:12,525 --> 00:09:15,424
example, my daughter ended up having to be

125
00:09:15,577 --> 00:09:18,251
carried in her chair, to various club

126
00:09:18,449 --> 00:09:20,556
meetings while she was on the Hiram

127
00:09:20,653 --> 00:09:24,503
College campus. She was told that, 
during the

128
00:09:24,554 --> 00:09:28,102
winter, when the ice storms came, that

129
00:09:28,141 --> 00:09:31,767
they couldn't transport her up the long

130
00:09:31,767 --> 00:09:33,617
hill, while they were
telling everyone

131
00:09:33,617 --> 00:09:37,324
else to walk like a penguin, and we had

132
00:09:37,324 --> 00:09:41,271
vans to do this. We had to file with the

133
00:09:41,271 --> 00:09:45,332
Ohio Disability Rights Commission and

134
00:09:45,408 --> 00:09:48,242
request that the school thinks about other

135
00:09:48,242 --> 00:09:50,506
ways of accommodating her, should there

136
00:09:50,506 --> 00:09:52,558
be a storm, an ice storm, and she can't

137
00:09:52,558 --> 00:09:55,057
get up to campus.
And the solution

138
00:09:55,057 --> 00:09:57,787
was to have her move to a
new dorm.

139
00:09:57,787 --> 00:10:00,012
You can't just do that over night.

140
00:10:00,012 --> 00:10:01,862
You can't just move all your bedding

141
00:10:01,862 --> 00:10:03,923
and all your bathroom supplies

142
00:10:03,923 --> 00:10:06,787
and your whole... you know at the moment's

143
00:10:06,787 --> 00:10:09,125
notice, when the weather changes

144
00:10:09,125 --> 00:10:11,005
and so it has been my experience that

145
00:10:11,005 --> 00:10:15,474
still a lot of places have done
the bare minimum approach

146
00:10:15,364 --> 00:10:17,815
and think that that's all they need to do

147
00:10:17,822 --> 00:10:22,162
when instead, they could be following more

148
00:10:22,162 --> 00:10:26,022
of the latest practices and 
implementation's science

149
00:10:26,022 --> 00:10:29,142
and making it easier for people to

150
00:10:29,142 --> 00:10:31,719
register concerns or complaints. And

151
00:10:31,719 --> 00:10:33,829
they often don't even need to file a

152
00:10:33,829 --> 00:10:36,930
formal complaint issue, if you 
approach a business or

153
00:10:36,930 --> 00:10:39,856
your educational institution 
with an issue.

154
00:10:39,856 --> 00:10:45,131
Often times, progressive thinkers that 
recognize the value of

155
00:10:45,131 --> 00:10:49,191
customers with disabilities frequenting
their businesses or

156
00:10:49,155 --> 00:10:52,056
diversifying their faculty or their
student body

157
00:10:52,056 --> 00:11:00,839
will simply not be aware that they have
failed to accommodate or

158
00:11:00,839 --> 00:11:05,113
make accessible various programs
and spaces.

159
00:11:05,113 --> 00:11:09,378
And that can be as simple as asking.
But a lot of times a lot more

160
00:11:09,378 --> 00:11:12,150
has to be done, you have to document
you have

161
00:11:12,150 --> 00:11:14,909
to make sure your emails go to
multiple people

162
00:11:14,909 --> 00:11:21,332
and make the business case of why 
surveying your policies

163
00:11:21,332 --> 00:11:23,933
to see whether they are biases or whether

164
00:11:23,933 --> 00:11:26,205
there is discrimination in filing of

165
00:11:26,205 --> 00:11:29,038
complaints or even you have a title

166
00:11:29,038 --> 00:11:33,154
of, you know, an officer on campus
or ADA - cooridnator

167
00:11:33,154 --> 00:11:36,203
so that you can let students
with disabilities know

168
00:11:36,203 --> 00:11:38,603
who may have not proper documentation

169
00:11:38,603 --> 00:11:40,472
how they can go about making sure that

170
00:11:40,472 --> 00:11:42,671
they get what they need to show

171
00:11:42,671 --> 00:11:46,701
what they know, before they fail classes

172
00:11:46,701 --> 00:11:49,231
because they haven't knocked at the door

173
00:11:49,142 --> 00:11:52,395
of disability services and provided proof

174
00:11:52,395 --> 00:11:54,891
that they have a particular condition

175
00:11:54,891 --> 00:11:57,320
So I know, I am sort of rambling a bit,

176
00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:01,550
but I just, just wasn't aware of how much

177
00:12:01,550 --> 00:12:04,958
further we need to go when it comes to

178
00:12:04,958 --> 00:12:08,958
surveying and making sure that the ADA

179
00:12:08,958 --> 00:12:12,958
is being implemented and just because

180
00:12:12,958 --> 00:12:15,740
a law passes doesn't mean again

181
00:12:15,740 --> 00:12:18,905
that it is just going to happen

182
00:12:18,905 --> 00:12:22,101
you have to have allies and acitivists

183
00:12:22,101 --> 00:12:23,697
and insiders working very hard

184
00:12:23,697 --> 00:12:26,396
to make sure that people are recognizing

185
00:12:26,396 --> 00:12:28,864
the value of legislation

186
00:12:28,864 --> 00:12:31,585
which I think, still people are under

187
00:12:31,585 --> 00:12:34,276
the assumption that it applies to

188
00:12:34,276 --> 00:12:36,277
people who identify with disabilities but

189
00:12:36,277 --> 00:12:39,824
I don't think that was even neccesserely

190
00:12:39,824 --> 00:12:42,371
even the intent of the ADA

191
00:12:42,371 --> 00:12:45,954
I think it recognizes that people flow

192
00:12:45,954 --> 00:12:48,194
in and out of abilities and the extent to

193
00:12:48,194 --> 00:12:51,954
which they are excluded or discriminated

194
00:12:51,954 --> 00:12:55,408
against, because of their abilities is

195
00:12:55,408 --> 00:12:58,117
really what this legislation was about

196
00:12:58,117 --> 00:13:01,077
even having a record of having a

197
00:13:01,077 --> 00:13:03,272
condition that maybe you no longer have

198
00:13:03,272 --> 00:13:06,786
or you had it temporarily can mean that

199
00:13:06,786 --> 00:13:09,933
you might be excluded. If you applied for

200
00:13:09,933 --> 00:13:12,505
jobs recently, you know, many places

201
00:13:12,505 --> 00:13:14,770
require a statement. You have to indicate

202
00:13:14,770 --> 00:13:17,478
based on strict definitions whether you

203
00:13:17,478 --> 00:13:21,238
have limitations in these major life

204
00:13:21,238 --> 00:13:23,527
activities that will qualify you as a

205
00:13:23,527 --> 00:13:25,801
disabled person and I want to believe that

206
00:13:25,801 --> 00:13:27,703
they are asking those questions, so that

207
00:13:27,703 --> 00:13:30,761
they can mindfully recruit people with

208
00:13:30,761 --> 00:13:33,962
disabilities to join their ranks, their

209
00:13:33,962 --> 00:13:36,351
staffing, but sometimes I think what

210
00:13:36,351 --> 00:13:39,136
prevents people from using that

211
00:13:39,136 --> 00:13:42,231
information to disqualify candidates

212
00:13:42,231 --> 00:13:44,042
so there has to be checks and balances

213
00:13:44,042 --> 00:13:46,107
and accountabilities when it comes to

214
00:13:46,107 --> 00:13:49,499
making sure your civil rights legislation

215
00:13:49,499 --> 00:13:53,177
doesn't put all of the owners on the

216
00:13:53,177 --> 00:13:57,747
group itself to file and follow through

217
00:13:57,747 --> 00:14:00,968
and figure out which parts of the ADA are

218
00:14:00,968 --> 00:14:03,448
being violated. You know that can be

219
00:14:03,448 --> 00:14:05,792
really discouraging when all you want to

220
00:14:05,792 --> 00:14:08,905
do is go out and you know, go to the beach

221
00:14:08,905 --> 00:14:11,457
and find out which beaches are accessible

222
00:14:11,457 --> 00:14:14,082
or whether there is, you know, a mobility

223
00:14:14,082 --> 00:14:17,279
devices that are availible via the sand or

224
00:14:17,279 --> 00:14:20,119
you just want to go camping or you just

225
00:14:20,119 --> 00:14:22,209
want to go frequent people who are

226
00:14:22,209 --> 00:14:24,769
minorities on businesses or disabilities

227
00:14:24,769 --> 00:14:27,471
on businesses and some of this is out

228
00:14:27,471 --> 00:14:29,415
there and I tried to promote it through

229
00:14:29,415 --> 00:14:32,533
books and activists pages, 
but there is just so

230
00:14:32,533 --> 00:14:34,922
much that we can do to leverage more of

231
00:14:34,922 --> 00:14:39,466
these ways of monitoring and implementing

232
00:14:39,466 --> 00:14:43,146
and taking access to 
the next level whether

233
00:14:43,146 --> 00:14:47,029
for the disabled community pro forma or

234
00:14:47,029 --> 00:14:51,193
proper or for anyone who uses strollers

235
00:14:51,193 --> 00:14:54,228
who might carry a lot of materials in

236
00:14:54,228 --> 00:14:56,578
their hands could benefit from a push

237
00:14:56,578 --> 00:14:59,992
button. I think we need all to do a better

238
00:14:59,992 --> 00:15:03,287
job at making the business and the

239
00:15:03,287 --> 00:15:08,822
other benefit cases for improving our ADA

240
00:15:08,822 --> 00:15:14,143
access. Where my passions lie of late is

241
00:15:14,143 --> 00:15:17,923
in getting out the votes because we know

242
00:15:17,923 --> 00:15:19,791
that disabled people have been

243
00:15:19,791 --> 00:15:22,301
disenfranchised from the vote and from

244
00:15:22,301 --> 00:15:24,283
parenting and from all kinds of other

245
00:15:24,283 --> 00:15:27,477
basic human rights but
this being an election

246
00:15:27,477 --> 00:15:30,104
year there is all kinds of folks working

247
00:15:30,104 --> 00:15:33,913
to crip the vote, #cripthevote Alice Wong

248
00:15:33,913 --> 00:15:36,553
and others who have been trying to make

249
00:15:36,553 --> 00:15:39,776
sure that candidates for president and for

250
00:15:39,776 --> 00:15:41,842
congressional offices and even local

251
00:15:41,842 --> 00:15:44,843
campaigns are expressing what their stance

252
00:15:44,843 --> 00:15:47,755
is on the ADA and on disability rights and

253
00:15:47,755 --> 00:15:50,306
human rights and hold, for the first

254
00:15:50,306 --> 00:15:52,409
time we've seen some traction on that.

255
00:15:52,409 --> 00:15:55,609
But what people don't realize is how many

256
00:15:55,609 --> 00:15:58,808
places are not accessible to voters with

257
00:15:58,808 --> 00:16:00,483
disabilities either
because they use

258
00:16:00,483 --> 00:16:02,285
assisted technologies that don't

259
00:16:02,285 --> 00:16:04,830
inter-phase with the electronic equipment

260
00:16:04,830 --> 00:16:08,155
or they can't get accessible
transportation

261
00:16:08,155 --> 00:16:10,289
or the place itself is simply inaccessible

262
00:16:10,289 --> 00:16:14,305
or they are institutionalized and barred

263
00:16:14,305 --> 00:16:17,699
from voting because of that and so the

264
00:16:17,699 --> 00:16:19,606
center for American progress has been

265
00:16:19,606 --> 00:16:23,653
publishing some of the numbers, like over

266
00:16:23,653 --> 00:16:25,918
60% of polling places are considered

267
00:16:25,918 --> 00:16:29,406
inaccessible. That's a problem. So voting

268
00:16:29,406 --> 00:16:33,486
by mail may benefit a lot of groups if

269
00:16:33,486 --> 00:16:36,157
you think of some of that in the future.

270
00:16:36,157 --> 00:16:38,423
And then the second big issue we should

271
00:16:38,423 --> 00:16:41,495
follow up on that not many people know

272
00:16:41,495 --> 00:16:44,778
about and that I am not even so clear as

273
00:16:44,778 --> 00:16:49,754
how is the ADA serves the population of

274
00:16:49,754 --> 00:16:52,630
people who are incarcerated in jails and

275
00:16:52,630 --> 00:16:55,861
in prisons and in institutions. I know the

276
00:16:55,861 --> 00:17:00,752
ADA amendments have been 2009 done a

277
00:17:00,752 --> 00:17:05,638
better job of successfully helping folks

278
00:17:05,638 --> 00:17:08,790
litigate when they are isolated and there

279
00:17:08,790 --> 00:17:10,778
for not included because of their

280
00:17:10,778 --> 00:17:14,498
institutionalized placements, but I also

281
00:17:14,498 --> 00:17:18,928
I am aware that not many people know about

282
00:17:18,928 --> 00:17:22,066
the number, the sheer numbers of people

283
00:17:22,066 --> 00:17:24,736
with disabilities visible and a lot of

284
00:17:24,736 --> 00:17:28,212
invisible who are incarcerated
and who have been

285
00:17:28,212 --> 00:17:35,200
caught up in that system of jailing and

286
00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,932
aren't getting what they need inside or

287
00:17:37,932 --> 00:17:40,708
should have never been incarcerated to

288
00:17:40,708 --> 00:17:43,374
begin with because maybe they experience

289
00:17:43,374 --> 00:17:46,730
a condition that was misunderstood from

290
00:17:46,730 --> 00:17:49,479
the outset and so instead of deescalating

291
00:17:49,479 --> 00:17:54,210
a situation. Police need more training, we

292
00:17:54,210 --> 00:17:57,039
need to make the public more aware of how

293
00:17:57,039 --> 00:18:01,377
many people are languishing in the

294
00:18:01,377 --> 00:18:04,460
institutions where they are not only not

295
00:18:04,460 --> 00:18:07,374
productive, but you know what a waste of

296
00:18:07,374 --> 00:18:09,903
human capital. So, as we think about

297
00:18:09,903 --> 00:18:12,084
the black lives matter movement and the

298
00:18:12,084 --> 00:18:14,582
opportunities for intersectionality, I

299
00:18:14,582 --> 00:18:18,744
think the opportunities for allies of all

300
00:18:18,744 --> 00:18:21,526
kinds of civil rights groups need to come

301
00:18:21,526 --> 00:18:24,756
together and really leverage their powers

302
00:18:24,756 --> 00:18:27,640
to begin to think about not necessarily

303
00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:31,642
just defunding police or the decarcerating

304
00:18:31,642 --> 00:18:35,482
institutions but recognizing how many

305
00:18:35,482 --> 00:18:38,696
people of color have disabilities, 
how many

306
00:18:38,696 --> 00:18:42,475
women, and how many are incarcerated with

307
00:18:42,475 --> 00:18:46,793
disabilities that may not 
even belong there

308
00:18:46,793 --> 00:18:49,710
so there is so much to be done on those

309
00:18:49,710 --> 00:18:54,203
two funds alone. And, clearly employment,
you know that

310
00:18:54,203 --> 00:18:58,051
people are still way under employed but I

311
00:18:58,051 --> 00:19:01,493
know there are folks working to improve

312
00:19:01,493 --> 00:19:05,414
that and I am trying to work with those

313
00:19:05,414 --> 00:19:08,731
organizations to araise awareness about

314
00:19:08,731 --> 00:19:10,834
how they can do better in terms of

315
00:19:10,834 --> 00:19:15,235
their work force and retaining
and recruiting actively

316
00:19:15,235 --> 00:19:18,311
professionals who, you know, they may not

317
00:19:18,311 --> 00:19:21,781
consider as a valuable resource but gosh

318
00:19:21,781 --> 00:19:23,634
people with disabilities 
are some of the

319
00:19:23,634 --> 00:19:25,834
most creative folks because they have to

320
00:19:25,834 --> 00:19:28,508
figure out how navigate and they do have

321
00:19:28,508 --> 00:19:31,949
persepctives that are normally based on

322
00:19:31,949 --> 00:19:34,535
maybe their particular
impairment experinces

323
00:19:34,535 --> 00:19:37,245
but having to navigate the world that

324
00:19:37,245 --> 00:19:40,316
isn't accessible, how to find the backdoor

325
00:19:40,316 --> 00:19:43,919
how to find the policies and so there is a

326
00:19:43,919 --> 00:19:46,892
lot of resilience to be found there, too.

327
00:19:46,892 --> 00:19:51,941
We need to be asking community members to

328
00:19:51,941 --> 00:19:56,350
confront ableism when they see it and part

329
00:19:56,350 --> 00:19:58,816
of that is educating people on the various

330
00:19:58,816 --> 00:20:02,969
forms that disability prejudice
and discrimination can take.

331
00:20:02,969 --> 00:20:05,662
There is an interesting moment right now

332
00:20:05,662 --> 00:20:08,588
with regard to anti-racism frameworks

333
00:20:08,588 --> 00:20:10,982
that are getting a lot of traction and

334
00:20:10,982 --> 00:20:14,473
people are beginning to, at least
educational institutions,

335
00:20:14,473 --> 00:20:19,008
start teaching circles where many of us

336
00:20:19,008 --> 00:20:21,800
are reading Ibram Kendis book how to be an

337
00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,155
anit-racist, how to first recognize when

338
00:20:25,155 --> 00:20:27,215
prejudice and discrimination exist on the

339
00:20:27,215 --> 00:20:30,045
bases of race, that we could also be doing

340
00:20:30,045 --> 00:20:32,796
with books related to disability prejudice

341
00:20:32,796 --> 00:20:35,174
and ableism but I really think the moment

342
00:20:35,174 --> 00:20:38,092
is now to consider some of the things at

343
00:20:38,092 --> 00:20:41,446
the same time because I think we may loose

344
00:20:41,446 --> 00:20:44,805
nuances of people who are confronting

345
00:20:44,805 --> 00:20:47,188
multiple oppressions. Though, I am just

346
00:20:47,188 --> 00:20:49,455
bringing that up because I know there is a

347
00:20:49,455 --> 00:20:52,138
lot of folks at my school now thinking

348
00:20:52,138 --> 00:20:56,740
about that we review policies to find out

349
00:20:56,740 --> 00:20:59,813
whether our syllabi are discriminatory

350
00:20:59,813 --> 00:21:03,256
whether our policies 
for recruitment may have

351
00:21:03,256 --> 00:21:06,207
things embedded or cooked into the

352
00:21:06,207 --> 00:21:08,998
algorithms that are unintentionally

353
00:21:08,998 --> 00:21:13,282
excluding or failing to retain or promote

354
00:21:13,282 --> 00:21:16,887
those with disabilities
at our institutions

355
00:21:16,887 --> 00:21:19,275
and so, when I think about the next steps

356
00:21:19,275 --> 00:21:22,466
what people can do I come
back to, you know

357
00:21:22,466 --> 00:21:25,418
when people say something and they may

358
00:21:25,418 --> 00:21:28,004
just not know, they are not familiar

359
00:21:28,004 --> 00:21:30,953
perhaps with folks with 
various disabilities

360
00:21:30,953 --> 00:21:34,183
and we know that contact with people who

361
00:21:34,183 --> 00:21:36,570
experienced disabilities and differences

362
00:21:36,570 --> 00:21:39,361
is what makes people less prejudice

363
00:21:39,361 --> 00:21:41,459
they become much more aware of the

364
00:21:41,459 --> 00:21:45,148
whole person and our stereotypes are not

365
00:21:45,148 --> 00:21:48,058
generalize-able and how if they listened

366
00:21:48,058 --> 00:21:50,329
to the voices of disabled people they can

367
00:21:50,329 --> 00:21:53,077
hear first hand what is problematic and

368
00:21:53,077 --> 00:21:56,590
we need to be doing by allowing folks with

369
00:21:56,590 --> 00:22:01,534
disabilities to speak, to be heard and

370
00:22:01,534 --> 00:22:03,457
then to support their agendas and not

371
00:22:03,457 --> 00:22:08,098
necessarily just take over. 
So, the confrontation

372
00:22:08,098 --> 00:22:10,712
literature is all about not necessarily

373
00:22:10,712 --> 00:22:12,738
saying: "Hey, you are a jerk.
You just said

374
00:22:12,738 --> 00:22:15,886
something racist or ableist" and putting

375
00:22:15,886 --> 00:22:18,969
people on their defensive heels. That we

376
00:22:18,969 --> 00:22:22,053
can do this in ways that actually open up

377
00:22:22,053 --> 00:22:24,280
dialogues and that we should be

378
00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:26,671
encouraging difficult dialogues and brave

379
00:22:26,671 --> 00:22:30,114
conversations around what we can do

380
00:22:30,114 --> 00:22:33,110
locally in our houses, in our communities

381
00:22:33,110 --> 00:22:36,397
in our schools and organizations to make

382
00:22:36,397 --> 00:22:39,213
one change, to make one difference: to ask

383
00:22:39,213 --> 00:22:43,099
what is our policy, do we know whether all

384
00:22:43,099 --> 00:22:46,281
of our employees know what their rights

385
00:22:46,281 --> 00:22:48,746
are, should we be scheduling regular

386
00:22:48,746 --> 00:22:52,004
meetings with the ADA coordinator, so that

387
00:22:52,004 --> 00:22:56,395
folks know how to find information and how

388
00:22:56,395 --> 00:22:58,425
to request a accommodation. Would it be

389
00:22:58,425 --> 00:23:01,415
great if parents went into an IEP Meeting

390
00:23:01,415 --> 00:23:03,841
at their schools, knowing what their kids

391
00:23:03,841 --> 00:23:06,267
got as accommodations. I think people are

392
00:23:06,267 --> 00:23:09,701
so non forthcoming at organizations with

393
00:23:09,701 --> 00:23:13,550
the things that they view as
special privileges that are

394
00:23:13,550 --> 00:23:16,142
only for those who, quote on quote, need

395
00:23:16,142 --> 00:23:18,891
it or deserve it. And when we look at

396
00:23:18,891 --> 00:23:22,498
disability rights as special privileges,

397
00:23:22,498 --> 00:23:25,782
we don't see them as civil rights that are

398
00:23:25,782 --> 00:23:30,845
required to be met and so we could be much

399
00:23:30,845 --> 00:23:33,516
more transparent about making sure our

400
00:23:33,516 --> 00:23:36,512
websites are not only 
accessible to navigate

401
00:23:36,512 --> 00:23:41,413
if you have a sensory or other impairments

402
00:23:41,413 --> 00:23:43,763
but to make explicit what the policy is

403
00:23:43,763 --> 00:23:46,230
for requesting a accommodations, how you

404
00:23:46,230 --> 00:23:53,513
not be fired for disclosing for example

405
00:23:53,513 --> 00:23:58,460
how we can confront things in
non-aggressive way.

406
00:23:58,460 --> 00:24:01,333
To ask people when they say something

407
00:24:01,333 --> 00:24:04,738
pejorative or maybe just outdated, you

408
00:24:04,738 --> 00:24:07,981
know, the word "handicap" is still out

409
00:24:07,981 --> 00:24:12,837
there i call it "handicrap", the word

410
00:24:12,837 --> 00:24:16,161
"special"' and we can just ask " what do

411
00:24:16,161 --> 00:24:19,165
you mean by that, what do you mean that

412
00:24:19,165 --> 00:24:21,998
they can't do that or that you curious

413
00:24:21,998 --> 00:24:25,490
about how they have sex, can you tell me

414
00:24:25,490 --> 00:24:27,804
more about why you think that and it can

415
00:24:27,804 --> 00:24:29,829
start a dialogue and that is something we

416
00:24:29,829 --> 00:24:33,674
can all do. I am still working hard to

417
00:24:33,674 --> 00:24:36,342
make my own home accessible to my 24 year

418
00:24:36,342 --> 00:24:39,120
old. We did construction to modify the

419
00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:41,537
house when we first bought it is a single

420
00:24:41,537 --> 00:24:44,958
level so that she feel like she was a part

421
00:24:44,958 --> 00:24:47,215
of the family and 
be able to get to all

422
00:24:47,215 --> 00:24:50,289
parts of the kitchen and her bathroom but

423
00:24:50,289 --> 00:24:52,969
there you know the laundry room has one

424
00:24:52,969 --> 00:24:55,546
step that we are still negotiating how to

425
00:24:55,546 --> 00:24:58,104
make sure that she can get into garage but

426
00:24:58,104 --> 00:25:00,072
things like where we put things in the

427
00:25:00,072 --> 00:25:02,058
refrigerator. You know if you have a

428
00:25:02,058 --> 00:25:04,002
wheelchair user in your
family or someone

429
00:25:04,002 --> 00:25:06,271
who is a little person who may have a

430
00:25:06,271 --> 00:25:09,926
congenital or an otherwise amputated limb

431
00:25:09,926 --> 00:25:12,189
and we put things on shelves without even

432
00:25:12,189 --> 00:25:14,978
thinking about who can access the shelf

433
00:25:14,978 --> 00:25:17,917
and my other child who happens to be abled

434
00:25:17,917 --> 00:25:20,248
bodied would, you know, before dinner try

435
00:25:20,248 --> 00:25:23,467
to get a snack and before we could even

436
00:25:23,467 --> 00:25:25,269
say "no" he was out the door with the

437
00:25:25,269 --> 00:25:27,494
snack. My daughter would have to come in

438
00:25:27,494 --> 00:25:30,813
and say "Can I, can you get something of

439
00:25:30,813 --> 00:25:33,081
the top shelf from me and then we would

440
00:25:33,081 --> 00:25:35,106
say, you know, why don't you wait until

441
00:25:35,106 --> 00:25:37,422
dinner time and we have to be mindful

442
00:25:37,422 --> 00:25:39,290
about which drawers we want to put her

443
00:25:39,290 --> 00:25:43,217
things into. She can not
feel like a second

444
00:25:43,217 --> 00:25:47,884
class citizen in her own family space and

445
00:25:47,884 --> 00:25:50,753
those are some things that we can remind

446
00:25:50,753 --> 00:25:54,072
our peers who have kids with disabilities

447
00:25:54,072 --> 00:25:56,177
as we try to go on and educated another

448
00:25:56,177 --> 00:25:58,639
parents in our parenting roles and our

449
00:25:58,639 --> 00:26:02,209
roles as educators and who are diversity

450
00:26:02,209 --> 00:26:04,762
committees. Our diversity committee now is

451
00:26:04,762 --> 00:26:07,388
taking on accessibility as part of our

452
00:26:07,388 --> 00:26:11,492
mental and trying to
convince others that we

453
00:26:11,492 --> 00:26:14,051
need to be doing ongoing data collection

454
00:26:14,051 --> 00:26:16,071
to benchmark, I think a lot of people are

455
00:26:16,071 --> 00:26:19,256
afraid of data that might say "your campus

456
00:26:19,256 --> 00:26:21,614
climate isn't the most accessible" but

457
00:26:21,614 --> 00:26:26,076
unless you name the thing, 
unless you document the thing

458
00:26:26,076 --> 00:26:29,031
that is perhaps of concern of a less then

459
00:26:29,031 --> 00:26:31,666
fully inclusive or accessible, you can't

460
00:26:31,666 --> 00:26:33,853
make progress. And, I think people

461
00:26:33,853 --> 00:26:36,304
appreciate, you know, the one in four

462
00:26:36,304 --> 00:26:38,093
or five people with disabilities and

463
00:26:38,093 --> 00:26:40,535
their families appreciate when people say

464
00:26:40,535 --> 00:26:42,655
"we are not there yet, but this is what we

465
00:26:42,655 --> 00:26:45,818
are doing and in a short term we will have

466
00:26:45,818 --> 00:26:49,321
reviewed our handbooks so that at least

467
00:26:49,321 --> 00:26:52,867
this is done by this year and next year we

468
00:26:52,867 --> 00:26:55,674
are going to advertise for positions in

469
00:26:55,674 --> 00:26:58,549
places to increase the number of disabled

470
00:26:58,549 --> 00:27:01,097
people on our staff, because students need

471
00:27:01,097 --> 00:27:03,265
mentors. They need to see people that look

472
00:27:03,265 --> 00:27:05,872
like them and then have similar challenges

473
00:27:05,872 --> 00:27:09,189
so that they know what is possible, so I

474
00:27:09,189 --> 00:27:11,581
just sort of conclude by 
saying my daughter,

475
00:27:11,581 --> 00:27:14,173
you know, made it through preschool and

476
00:27:14,173 --> 00:27:16,035
has been in several different kinds of

477
00:27:16,035 --> 00:27:18,991
spaces on college campuses that aren't so

478
00:27:18,991 --> 00:27:24,576
accessilble and that are. She is working

479
00:27:24,576 --> 00:27:26,667
in the education as a preschool teacher

480
00:27:26,667 --> 00:27:30,027
herself. But since
the covid-19 outbreak

481
00:27:30,027 --> 00:27:32,422
she was laid off, she was furloughed from

482
00:27:32,422 --> 00:27:37,414
her brand new job. And, of late she is

483
00:27:37,414 --> 00:27:40,474
putting resumes back out and there must be

484
00:27:40,474 --> 00:27:42,940
something about the pandemic now where not

485
00:27:42,940 --> 00:27:47,586
many people are wanting to go back to work

486
00:27:47,586 --> 00:27:49,864
in close encounters with kids. She is

487
00:27:49,864 --> 00:27:52,245
getting one interview after another and so

488
00:27:52,245 --> 00:27:55,498
she may end up with multiple offers now

489
00:27:55,498 --> 00:27:58,168
and I remind her to tell the folks that

490
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
preschools when they get someone like her

491
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
on their staff so many students gravited

492
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
toward her because 
she has this visible signs

493
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of her disability, her wheelchair and if

494
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you can educate the youngs,
the preschoolers and show them

495
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
people of all abilities can be teachers

496
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and parents and ongoing learners, you know

497
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they tend to even those kids with behavior

498
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
problems com to her. They see as this

499
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
beacon of hope, I think, that is a real

500
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
cue for employers who ever gets my

501
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
daughter as a teacher is going to be lucky.