DISABILITY RIGHTS LEADER
FATHER OF INDEPENDENT LIVING
MACARTHUR FELLOWS (“GENIUS GRANT”) RECIPIENT
GOOGLE DOODLE HONOREE
“The greatest lesson of the civil rights movement is that the moment you let others speak for you, you lose.” – Ed Roberts
Every field, every group has its hero. The exceptional person you can’t help but notice. The person who leaves you wondering how did she accomplish that? What do I do to be more like him? Ed Roberts (born Edward Verne Roberts) was such a person. His accomplishments are historic. But few of us are willing and able to do what it takes to become a national hero. There is usually a personal cost to achieve that level of accomplishment especially when your body refuses to cooperate due to a disability.
You’re not going to find a listing of all his accomplishments here. You can do that on your own. Google him. Watch the inspirational and entertaining 60 Minutes segment. If it wasn’t for his stubbornness and persistence there would have been generations of people with disabilities with little option but to accept low paying jobs or be institutionalized. He firmly planted the seeds of discontent and demanded options.
SAY “THANK YOU ED” FOR:
- Colleges having an office for people with disabilities
- Our communities having independent living centers dedicated to helping with housing, acquiring benefits, getting a ramp to our front doors, accessible transportation and on and on. … Giving people with disabilities choices and control of their lives.
- Programs that help leave the nursing home that used to be the only option and get the needed supports to live a fulfilling life in the community.
- Paratransit to go to work and medical appoints and even to the movie theater.
He didn’t do it alone. There were other early leaders in the disability rights movement such as Judith “Judy” Heumann. We continue to enjoy the fruits of their victories with little to no effort of our own. However, a sad and disturbing lesson that history has taught us time and time again – Your Rights Can Be Taken Away! So if we pretend that the fight is over and that people with disabilities have secured their rights forever, we are begging history for another lesson.
…By Maria Samuels