TODAY THE NATION CELEBRATES THE LIFE AND WORK OF ONE OF THE COUNTRY?S PREMIER CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS?THE REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1968, DR. KING LED THE NATOIN IN ITS REEVELALUATION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN?AND TO WHAT LENGTHS GOVERNMENT SHOULD GO TO ENSURE AND PROTECT OUR HUMAN RIGHTS.
IN THE 1960?S CIVIL RIGHTS WAS GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD TO BE A BLACK AND WHITE ISSUE?AS AFRICAN AMERICANS STRUGGLED FOR THE SAME RIGHTS AND PRIVLEDGES AS WHITES.
SINCE THEN, HOWEVER, CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS HAVE EXPANDED BEYOND SKIN COLOR TO INCLUDE AGE, SEX, PHYSICAL ABILITY AND MORE.
EVERY DAY THIS WEEK, NHPR?S DAN GORENSTEIN WILL PRESENT THE STORY OF SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY THESE LAWS.
In commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., New Hampshire Public Radio looks at civil rights law. The 1960?s struggle that helped Blacks secure rights also help raise awareness to other groups whose rights had been ignored. This week, NHPR?s Dan Gorenstein talks with individuals about how their lives have been affected by this body of legislation. Today New Hampshire state representative Carol Williams talks about physical disability discrimination. Executive director of the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights, Katharine Daly, introduces physical disability law.
Track 12
3:23 what I think happened throughout the nation, as people who are concerned about the population of people with disabilities grew and became more vocal, is that gradually they realized a national piece of legislation was needed in this area. The ADA was passed in ?90. Bush signed it into law. And that is a very far reaching statute
WHEN THE AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT BECAME LAW CAROL WILLIAMS WAS 53 YEARS OLD. AT THAT TIME SHE HAD BEEN LIVING WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS FOR 30 YEARS.
Track 3
:43 I didn?t start out using a wheel chair. I used a cane, then a walker, etc, to a manual chair, now to a power chair over a period of years.
SHE USED TO WORK FOR THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA PHSYCIATRIC WARD. SHE COULD STILL DRIVE HERSELF TO WORK EVERY MORNING. BUT INCREASINGLY, WALKING GOT HARDER.
5:33 when I told them I was having these difficulties, they decided to modify my work?
3:11 ? they said, that a psychiatric patient may get out of control and my safety would be in jepordy. I felt that was probably not true. But at the time, there were no laws to help me.
5:33 what they gave me was an empty desk, a telephone, and nothing to do. So I started to find little things to do. And finally they told me they were going to have to eliminate that position b/c I wasn?t doing anything. I was devastated, and asked them what I needed to do. And they were very helpful, explaining how I could apply for early disability retirement and that would give me a little income. So I took early retirement thinking this was a good thing. And then a few months later I actually could have stayed at work. I didn?t know that.
WHAT WILLIAMS DIDN?T KNOW WAS THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAD BECOME LAW.
7:20 I could have fought that they needed to modify my job, as a need to accommodate me as a person with a disability.
EMPLOYERS ARE NOW REQUIRED TO ACCOMMODATE WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES. THE LAW WOULD HAVE SAVED WILLIAMS? JOB.
7:44 It?s so painful, it?s very difficult discussing it, I was angry with myself for not being aware this was about to occur, or being a little more judgemental about the word my employer was giving me. And angry that they took advantage of a situation where I was very vulnerable.
WILLIAMS SUFFERED A 34 THOUSAND DOLLAR LOSS OF INCOME. THE MONEY DIDN?T COMPARE THOUGH, TO THE LOSS OF DIGNITY.
Track 4
:09 At that point I felt I was just taking up space, I have nothing to contribute, and I am producing nothing. I am not wanted?It was extremely painful for a year or two, until I decided that I was going to learn as much as I could about the ADA, and I was going to spend the rest of my life advocating.
Track 5
:01 I decided to find a social life, and things to do, on public transportation. I oculd go visit stores and find out which ones are not accesible. Could I get into all the stores, all the restaurants, what places aren?t accessible to me. It was a deliberate move.
:50 And so I decided to take on the transportation agency?
3:21 ?the driver refusing em to board, or lying the lift wasn?t working, or them not repairing the lift. That was all in violation.
5:46 I felt like I was becoming empowered, that people were getting educated, that I was getting educated, that I realized that I still had something to give, that I knew a lot about. Something that a lot of people were not aware about.
8:30 that?s my mission, that?s what I do now. I explain the law to people? when I go to a store and I say your store is not accessible, and thye say I don?t have the money to fix it, they think it?s a ten thousand dollar job. And I tell them they need a buzzer, and when I ring it, they can come out and serve me. That?s compliance, a 25-dollar buzzer. But some businesses they have been led to believe they have to spend thousands of dollars, b/c of the horror stories they have heard.
6:26it?s a great piece of legislation that has absolutely no way to enforce it. It is terrific, it says I have to be able to enter a place of public accommodation, but if that resturant, store, or town hall doesn?t want to change it, my only recourse is to sue. Which is absolutely ridiculous.
11:00 I tell people we are all temporarily able bodied people. Every single humena being gets to be disabled. At a different time in your life, knees, bad back, everybody gets it, so if you go with that concept, compliance should be easy.
9:18 we went ot a book store, if you moved this over, we can get in and buy books, and he said, ?how often do you buy books? And the other part of the story, I might see one wheelchair come in here a year, why do I want to go through all that. One wheel chair, that could be me. I am not worth moving a few books around.
7:21 people see us as broken, not quite worth as much? how are you today, patting me on the head. Someone asked me, having you been in a wheel chair all your life, yes, 16 years, what did you do before that, I used to be a standup comedian. And to me, that b/c they ask me that question, it makes me think I couldn?t have done anything prior. SO I give them an answer that is just as ludicrious. They believed me. This gentlemen believed me.
7:02people really think I am forcing them to do something, I am not forcing anybody to do anything, I want ot participate in my life, that?s the bottom line.
9:52 we will have to be in compliance, b/c I am going to be at the meeting, I am going to be at the statehouse, I am going to be at the movie theatre. So I tell people with disabilities don?t stay in the house, go out there.
Carol Williams is a three term Democratic State Representative from Manchester. For NHPR News, I'm DG
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