Countdown to #ADA35: Inspiring the Next Generation To Be As Involved As Judith Heumann!

Article in ABLENEWS on Judy Heumann: https://ablenews.com/ada-35-in...

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Here's your host, Alex Garrett. Well, I have an interesting
update here for the adaptability side of One leg up
with Alex Garrett, because earlier today I had seen about
three or four people able bodied by the way, walking
on through the ADA gate claiming their metro card didn't work,

(00:26):
their Omni card didn't work. It wasn't. I don't know
if it was true or not, but all I saw
I were three or four able body people walking through
that ADA door. And then you know, when I was
trying to go through, Oh you can't and unless you
pay your fare. I mean, well four people went through
claiming to have paid their fare, but we don't really know.

(00:50):
So I was a little bit steamed up because you know,
it's not just me, it's other people disabilities that need
that gait, and clearly there is an abuse of it
time and time again. And you know, I was talking
to an off duty cop and I love law enforcement,
but I was mentioning how I noticed this across the

(01:11):
city that people duck under they don't face consequences. They
use the ADA door right behind you know, Gabby and I.
They don't face consequences. Well, he did try and assure
me that those who try and fairbea get ticketed. I
don't know true that is. I want to believe that's true.
I want to believe the MTA truly is cracking down

(01:33):
on this. But what would you do if you saw
three or four able bodied people walking through the ADA door,
wouldn't you say something? Or my little bit nuts I
think he would say something as well. And speaking of
saying something, there has to be a highlight of advocates
this week in the ADA space, in the you know,

(01:56):
disability rights space. And while I don't always feel the
most qualified to speak out for those disabilities, because let's
face it, I don't have the same experience as some
people disabilities do. But I love that there are advocates
out there that not only have had the experience a

(02:17):
disabled person, but spoke out fought for the rights of
the disability community. And I want to turn to someone
I know that was very important to doctor Chris Rosa
and the Viscardi School student and alumni, and has written
on in Able News by Warrenshaw, who is at Disability

(02:40):
NYC dot com. That's Disability NYC dot com. I want
to highlight Judith Human, Judy Human, because when she had passed.
I saw tons of people from Viscardi and elsewhere remembering
her very fun and so I figure, let me put

(03:03):
that what's written on Facebook and enable news to audio
so that they live on through this podcast and maybe
for eternity on this podcast the word said about Judith
Human because I know she made such an impact, far

(03:29):
more than maybe people can understand. But here's what Chris
Rose has said about the passing of Judy Human. Our

(03:51):
hearts are heavy upon learning the news of the passing
of Judy Human, which was in twenty twenty three. By
the way the disability community, he has lost a disability
rights to giant and a trailblazer who has influenced generations
mine included and will continue to for many years to come.
As Justin Dark Junior was seen as the father of

(04:13):
the ADA, Judy is often referred to as the mother
of the disability rights movement. Through her many interviews as
a subject of the curriically acclaimed and award winning documentary
Crip Camp A Disability Revolution, and the author of Being
Human h eu m A and n, an unrepentant memoir

(04:35):
of a disability rights activist, Judy brought real life stories
and perspective to the mainstream. We were honored, Doctor Rosa
goes on to write when she accepted our twenty twenty
Henry Vviscardi Achievement Awards, one of our twenty twenty Henry
Viscardi Achievement Awards. And as the Viscardi Center continues its

(04:57):
work to expand on opportunities to share the narratives of
individuals with disabilities as well as empowered children and adults
who paved the way for historic changes, Judy will be
central for her role and I'm sure she'll be included
in the Disability Museum coming to the Viscardi Center this fall.

(05:17):
By the way, and as she alluded to in Being Human,
Judy shed light on the fact that we are all human.
As humans, we feel we will deeply feel her loss,
but also remember and cherish her triumphs that change the
world for all of us. And so I'm mentioning doctor

(05:37):
I'm mentioning Judith Human because I know how important she
was to doctor Chris Rosa and to the disability movement
as well as the Viscardi Center. And I would alert
people to if you haven't already, read the able news

(06:01):
about Judy Human from Warren Shaw, As he writes, many
are called, but few are chosen. Judy Human was chosen.
Born in nineteen forty seven to immigrants who fled the Nazis,
Human grew up in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, and contracted polio

(06:22):
after just eighteen months old. Human's parents went to bat
for her repeatedly during her childhood. They saw to it
that she got a meaningful education and that she actively
socialized not only with non disabled kids at home in Brooklyn,
but also with disabled kids at Camp Jenid, one of

(06:44):
the most generative sources for disabled activists. There, she joined
other leaders to Be to Be, including Bobby Lynn, Frieda Tanks,
and Kip Watson. Human actually wont to be a public
school teacher, warren Shaw writes, but the Board of ed
refused to give her a teaching license because she was

(07:07):
unable to walk. They actually came out and said, so
Human's license rejection became a cause celebrite. It's easy to
say that she marked. She made a good symbol. She'd
obliviously been treated unfairly, and she was extremely articulate, a petite,

(07:28):
hippy looking young woman in a wheelchair. But no one
then could have predicted that she would go on to
become one of the most important disability activists in the
history of the world. Human later co founded Disabled in
Action DIA, the first truly militant disability rights group that

(07:53):
put on spectacular acts of civil disabedions, including blocking traffic
on Madison Avenue to protest Dixon's veto of the nineteen
seventy two Rehabilitation Act, picketing the United State Palsy Telethon,
and members throwing themselves in front of buses for failing
to provide weelchair access. That is a lot to unpack there,

(08:18):
and thank god, a lot of the buses are chisible today. However,
sometimes the ramp doesn't work, sometimes the escalator does not work,
but the elevator does not work in these certain subway
stations for periods of time, and soon enough, and so

(08:40):
there's still work to be done. But boy, they really
trailblazed for those disabilities. Soon enough, she was lorered away
to California, where she joined Ed Roberts and the Rolling
Quads at Berkeley, helping pioneer the Center for Independent Living.
In nineteen seventy seven, Human helped lead the nationwide protests

(09:03):
regarding the Section five or four regulations, including the nearly
month long occupation of the federal building in San Francisco. See,
this is to me the right way to protest. It's
not rioting, it's not firebombing anybody. It's simply saying, hey, no,

(09:28):
we deserve rights too. It's not what we see on
the television today. You know, after the peaceful protesters leave
and then all of a sudden, all the rioters. No. No,
this was actually a good use, if you will, to
get the message across. Now. When we were in Washington,
d C. No one would think to occupy the capitol.

(09:55):
But it's evolved since then. People want to hear people
what isities talk about how important funding is. But I
guess in nineteen seventy seven and earlier they didn't want
to hear it. So there had to been some kind
of civil disobedience, which Human as Warrenshaw and doctor Rosa
Wright have, has clearly made her mark on. Even after

(10:23):
she has passed. Human Help believed the nationwide protests regarding
the Section five before regulations, and then she played an
integral role in the passage of both the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act IDEA and Americans with Disabilities Act, which
turns thirty five this Saturday. She co founded the World

(10:44):
on Disability and served as advisor to President Clinton and Obama,
the World Bank and Global Partnership for Disability and Development.
And that is I think what we still need in
our federal and local government. I loved when Victor Khalisi
was the commissioner for the Office of People Disabilities here

(11:07):
in New York City. That was a great liaison between
the disabled community and the city. We don't really have
those kind of liaisons now that are truly making weaves,
if you will. And then the Center for Independent of
New York, who held a Mayro candidate forum, did a

(11:29):
great job in being a liaison between the disabled community
and local government. But on the national level, thank god,
there are individual organizations that are doing the work, like
the Digestive Disease National Coalition, like I understand that the
Alzheimer's Association does lobbying there and other organizations Spinderfit Association

(11:56):
that make their voice heard because right now, there doesn't
seem to be one singular person that can be that
liaison to the city, to the how do you say,
the federal government, And maybe that's why we're seeing all

(12:19):
these cuts be made because there's not a strong enough
advocate to step in there and say, hey, wait a minute,
before you eradicate medicaid in the way you want to,
let's focus on those who truly need it. There's nobody
saying that right now in Washington. But Judy Human and

(12:41):
doctor Viscardi were able to go in there and be
advisors to these presidents of the United States of America.
That's what we're missing today. There's not enough of an
ear being had in Washington, and maybe there ought to be.

(13:02):
Maybe there ought to be that next doctor v Judy
Human that could be inspired, that can continually make those
trips to Washington, make those trips to Albany. I think
one of the closest people who definitely has the Year
of Albany is Joe Salonica. I have to say that

(13:22):
at Viscardi, but I'd love to see the Center for
Independence Disabled New Yorkers team up on a national scale.

Speaker 2 (13:31):
And hold more forums, more town halls with those in
office to see not only how they're going to help
disabled people, but also.

Speaker 1 (13:42):
Be a voice to the tax paid congressmen and women.
That was also why I love to go into Washington.
We talked with those who we pay our taxes to
whose taxes pay their salaries. We had a seat at
the table for that. We need more seats at the
table for that, because that would be building off what

(14:05):
Judy Human did many many years ago. And I obviously
think doctor Chris Rose is doing an incredible job at
the Viscardi Center, and I'd love to see Viscardi Center
continually partnering with those that have an ear in Washington,

(14:28):
with those that have an ear to the city, and
with those that have and you're in Nasau County, because
the more liaisons, the more representatives. I don't want to
say lobbyists, because what we were doing in DC was
not lobbying. Okay, you were lobbying to keep the funding,
but we're really just telling them because lobbying, to me

(14:49):
sounds a lot more radical than what we were doing,
which is just sitting in the office of Senator Schumer,
of Senator Booker, of Congressman and Andrew stating our case,
not in a belligerent, you know, verbally aggressive way, just

(15:12):
simply laying out the facts. And maybe they hurt us
because a week after that the funding was saved in
that budget. Now, of course, the big beautiful bill upends
a lot of this and I hope there could be
some kind of amendments to this bill that will help

(15:35):
people who are losing, especially the Americans that might be
losing Medicaid and other funding needed. But we need that
ear in Washington again. We need that Judy Human and
doctor v Ear. Maybe President Jumpes War want to have

(16:00):
that ear, but we need it. We need someone to
come alongside and make inroads with the White House and say, hey,
we exist too, we're here, We're celebrating thirty five years

(16:21):
of the ADA. Hear us out and that would really
be continuing the legacy to the human left behind. And
then in two thousand and nine, in Shaw Rights, she
was instrumental in advocating for ratification of the United Nations

(16:44):
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and International
Treaty Modern ADA. Sadly, the US Senate ratification was scuttled
in twenty twelve, but as of twenty twenty five, more
than one hundred and sixty countries have signed on why
aren't we at that seat of the table, Hey, we're

(17:04):
gonna pull out of UNSCO. Let's talk about joining the
Convention on the Rights of people with disabilities brought to
you by the United Nations. I don't necessarily agree with
staying in UNSCO either, but here's a cause of the
United Nations is got right. Here's a cause they've got right.

(17:31):
And so maybe someone will to write a letter. Maybe
I can write a letter and say, hey, Americans have
one leg up for people with disabilities, and to join
this Rights a Person's Disabilities Convention. That's the way to
do it. Shaw writes, New Yorkers justly take pride in

(17:57):
our homegrown star, Judy Human, who created a record accomplishment
that may one day be equal but will never be surpassed.
But I'm inspired if Judy Newman could have inroads to
the President of the United States Clinton and Obama, and

(18:17):
if doctor Viscarti could have inroads with Carter, as I say,
the eisendew administration, that's when he started the Viscardis and
of course George A. W. Bush, whom doctor v was
very instrumental in getting the ADA passed. Along with Judy Human.
Then we can pick up those legacies and have those

(18:40):
of disabilities by having more of an ear in Washington.
And if that requires me writing a letter saying Hey,
uh Marco Rubio, I see you dropped out of UNSCO.
Let's talk about this, Secretary of Rubio, Let's talk about

(19:00):
this Convention on the Rights of Personal Disabilities and maybe
we can join the more than one hundred and sixty
other countries that have signed on to this convention. That
would be really incredible. So what do we got? What

(19:23):
do you think? Alex at ALEXDNYC dot com. One leg
Up Alex dot com. I'm ready, guys, I'm ready to
pick up that liaison mantle and I need your help.
That would be awesome if we all continue to do
what Judy Human did and sign up to be part

(19:44):
of events like the d DNC Public Forum, like other
trips to DC, get more involved. Because one thing to
pick it and complain and just bad mouth Trump all
the time instead of really seeing what's going on with
why they want to cut what they want to cut.

(20:08):
But it's another thing to truly make inroads and say, hey,
I know I've been speaking out against this, but really
we want to partner with whomever is in the White
House at any given day to help us have one
leg up. And I told you this before. There were

(20:28):
three organizations at the DDNC that were praising Make America
Healthy Again. Three that are typically on the left side
of things, you would think, but they were praising what
RFK Junior was doing for their organizations. That was pretty impressive.

(20:49):
So we can get more people in the ears of
Human Health Services and the White House to truly switch
things in a direction that could be a bit all
people with disabilities that will be better for it. We
can honestly line the streets in protests and with the signs,

(21:11):
and I think what they did in the seventies was
so needed and in the nineties was so needed. But
now we have a seat at the table. Now we
have to grow that seat. Now we have to enhance
that seat. And how do we do it. We pick

(21:31):
up the mantle of where doctor Viscardi, Judith Human doctor
Chris Rosa continues to carry and just build up that
connection to Washington even more than before, Even more so
would a Republican president. It shouldn't be a time to

(21:56):
yell and scream. You could do that, or you could say, hey,
you know what, we gotta get this guy on our side.
If you're so unhappy with what Trump's doing right now,
get him on your side. Be an ear and maybe
he'll listen. Maybe who's ever in office, whether you're for

(22:17):
or against him, just need that understanding, need that ear
and that sort of partnership like Judith human had struck
in the White House. Yes they were both Democratic presidents,
but that doesn't mean now is the time to not

(22:39):
reach across the aisle. If you are in the Democratic
Party and if you're in the Republican Party, now it's
the time to cross the aisle. Talk to those disabilities,
make yourself available to listen to why people disabilities are
so upset. The problem is we're all stuck in our corner.
Look at what just happened. The House, you know, halted,

(23:04):
adjourned after they didn't want to vote on Epstein. This
is how insanely divided they are. It's not just on Epstein.
They're afraid to reach across the aisle on anything, and
that includes disability rights. It's clear thinking about this now,
they are both sides who don't want to meet because

(23:28):
they're afraid of retribution if you do it with the
other side. That's not how we should operate. That's not
how we should operate. The way things should be, especially
as after eighty eight thirty five. To continue growing accessibility
in America is to just not be afraid to go

(23:52):
to these offices of both the Republicans and just remind
the Democrats also, But to shout and scream at a
Republican that doesn't make sense at the moment, because that
will not make them listen to you. We've got to

(24:15):
make meetings, We've got to schedule events forums. You know,
I have plawed Sydney for doing that mayoral forum. Then
they did protests outside of Nicole Moley Talkers's office. Why
not make a forum with her? Why not invite her
to a forum to get the Republican perspective, the Republican angle. Yes,

(24:39):
Judy Human work with Democrats, but you don't think she
was on the other side work in the Republicans too.
I'm sure she was. When you're watching and you co
mingle like that, you build connections with both sides. It's
how things get done and not the lobbying rah rah
in your face, way and ay, hey have a meeting.

(25:01):
Here's why we're upset with the way you voted, or
if your on the Republican side and you want to
know why you voted this way and how can we
change your mind. And on the Democrat side you say, look,
we know your your kind of hands are tied right

(25:21):
now because Republicans have the uh, the majority. But you
could do that Obama and Christie hug all over again,
just by reaching out to your colleagues across the aisle.
They're all afraid to cross the aisle. That Obama Christie

(25:42):
hugging after Hurricane Sandy changed everything because it wasn't a
moment of unity for a lot of people. It was say, hey,
why are you hugging them? Why are you hugging each other?
You're supposed to hate each other. What was a beautiful
moment has now been the cornerstone to the divide we
have where nobody wants to meet. There are some bipartisan efforts,

(26:08):
but not where it counts. And here is where it counts.
To continue the work of doctor Viscardi and Judith Human
and doctor Rosa and Joe Salonica and all the kids
that have graduated from the Viscardi School, the mission is

(26:29):
worth fighting for. I had seen that mission for twenty
nine years now. I joined Viscardi twenty nine years ago.
I met Gaby twenty nine years ago, and it took
a long time to get my proverbial head of my
ass talking about politics and sports, to realize what was

(26:50):
really going on, what really was mattering to me, because
leaning into the disability space was a little bit of
a foreign concept at the time. But now, after going

(27:11):
to Washington, after seeing the struggles Gaby goes through when
we commute through New York City, after seeing how my
friend's funding is in trouble, I feel like I have
a stake in the fight to support those even if
I don't utilize the services and the disability A because

(27:32):
I'm working and that disqualifies me from a lot of
different things, but B because I do believe disability should
be for those who truly need it, and I don't
have those experiences that those in the power wheelchair or

(27:54):
manual wheelchair have. But seeing those experiences now upfront and
watching it and letting it sink in has impacted me,
and so I see why there's a need for the
not the next year of Humani human, but the next

(28:18):
on oriage. May be inspired by Judith human be inspired
by doctor Viscarti, by Chris Rosa. I remember two thousand
nine we went to Albany and they continue to But
it was interesting to go to Albany and continue to
fight for funding for the Viscari School. If you don't
know already, Discardi's a forty two oh one state funded
school and they need to keep that funding and fight

(28:40):
for that funding every year, and they do it a
damn good job of it. But these things don't continue
if there isn't a push, if there isn't that ear
to Albany and Washington. And I don't believe this big,
beautiful bill would have been past if more ears were

(29:03):
where you know, we're hearing the message, if more congressmen
and women took the time to truly sit down with
the disabled community and say, hey, do these do you
agree with these? Let's do a survey, let's do a poll, whatever.

(29:26):
And I'm sure it took a lot of strength to
the two Republicans that said no to this bill, a
lot of courage. But from where I said, I see
the problem. The Obama Christy hug changed everything, and now
both parties and a lot of entities are afraid to

(29:47):
cross the aisle because it might look like they're cozying up. Well,
let's freaking cozy up and make a difference. I don't
care what it looks like. If the disabled community meets
with a you know Steve, and Steve Cleese would understand,
I believe, so I can't use him as an example,

(30:07):
but with a uh, with the there you go, Marjorie
Taylor Green meet with her, me with Nicole bole Takis.
Don't just stand there and protests and be active. I
think they'd rather hear from the example of community from

(30:30):
us than be yelled at by us. That's not accomplishing anything.
And to those on the Republican aisle who are afraid
to look a certain way because you're meeting with those
who might feel and vote Democrat, then change that mindset too.
Judith Human, I believe change minds, and we can do

(30:52):
that today for those who truly need one leg up
on life.