barriers – mamasmunchkin

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and How He Helped the Disabled

January 21, 2013 by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Today is the day of observance for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. He worked tirelessly for the civil rights of African-Americans in the 1960’s.

What some people may not realize is that he did a lot for disabled people as well. If it weren’t for the barriers he broke down, I don’t think the disabled population, at that time would have even had the courage to fight for the rights we enjoy today.

Yes, as I have said before, I realize that such things as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) could and should be improved but, I also realize that there are a lot of people with a disability who lived before laws like the ADA were in existence and their lives had even more obstacles than what we face today.

In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s struggle to help African-American people get the rights they deserve and be treated as human beings, he also helped disabled people get that much closer to the rights and lives we deserve the opportunity to enjoy. I know in his “I Have a Dream” speech, he spoke of those who not only had a different skin color and religion but, I believe he was also planting the seeds for those who have other barriers, so that they too could live free from discrimination.

Happy Birthday Dr. King and thank you for being such an advocate for the human race as a whole.

Thanks for reading..

A Little Presidential History…

November 26, 2012 by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Since we recently had a Presidential election, I was thinking about people in history that have impacted the disability world. I started to think about Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was the 32nd President of the United States. He used a wheelchair, but tried to hide the fact that he had Polio from the public. My guess is that he did so because he was afraid of the reception he would get from people about his disability.

Then, I started to think about how this is not something that would probably be hidden today for a few reasons. First, I would hope that the climate toward people having a disability has changed. If there was a candidate who had a disability, he (or she) would not feel like their disability was something that needed to be hidden in order to even be seriously considered for the highest position in the country. Second, a lot of people feel like their disability limits them from achieving their goals. In my opinion, being the President of the United States is like achieving the American dream to some. If it is possible for someone with a disability to attain this goal, maybe someone else would see this as the motivation they need to achieve their own goals. Also, I feel like if we had a President with a disability now, he or she would be out in public. As a result, maybe more people would realize that having a disability is not as uncommon as they might think it is anymore. It would also be a good example, demonstrating that people who are disabled participate in everyday things just like anyone else.

FDR did many things for this country that ended up in the history books I studied when I was in school. While I do remember his disability also being mentioned, I believe that he started bringing down a tremendous barrier with out really intending to or realizing what he was doing.

What is your favorite piece of history that shows others overcoming stereotypes?

Thanks for reading..

National Disability Employment Awareness Month

October 8, 2012 by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

It has been a really long day, but, I was so excited when I saw a post from TCM (the cable channel) on Facebook, I had to add a post to the blog. October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. I will be talking about that in some future posts this month but, think it is equally important that a cable channel will spend some time highlighting the lives of people who live with a disability.

I am so excited because TCM is going to show a series of movies every Tuesday on the topic of disability as it has been portrayed in films. I have written about disability and the media before but, I am hopeful that this showing of different films will be representative of different disabilities and the impact they have, not only on the people who live with the disability but, also on those people whose lives are touched by those with the disability.

I know that through history people who are disabled have not had it easy. They have paved the way for many of us who are going through life today. Though there is still lots of work to be done in many aspects of the barriers that the disabled face, hopefully, this series will bring some positive exposure to those who a lot of the time get no exposure at all.

Thanks for reading..

In case you would like to see the lineup of films, here is the link

http://www.tcm.com/2012/projectedImage/films.html