Advocates and Activists

My name is Frances and I am a person with a disability. I am proud to be a member of such a diverse and wonderful group of people.

It has been quite a journey for me to both recognize and embrace my disability identity. I have an invisible disability. Before college, disability was not something that was often discussed.  I had no community of individuals who understood my disability, beyond my own family. I never knew that I could identify as a person with a disability and I had to community to identify with even if I did.

Going to college was the first time that I met and identified with a group of individuals with disabilities. Together, we started a student disability group. Through that experience, I learned that no matter how different our disabilities, people with disabilities have far more that unites us than divides us. We all face struggles and live in a world that is often is discriminatory towards people with disabilities. We are underestimated and overlooked. We are disempowered and often denied our civil rights. It is only by joining together, by organizing, by educating, and by advocating that we can change this status.  As I became more interested and involved in running a disability student group, I began to realize how much I care about disability rights. I felt that I was part of a movement for change and that knowledge was both exciting and empowering. I had found my passion.

Interning with the American Association of People with Disabilities is the next step on my journey to becoming a disability rights advocate. This first week of orientation has been an eye-opening experience for me. I have had to chance to meet so many amazing speakers and mentors. They all have a different history and background in disability. Hearing their stories and experiences made me realize that there are so many different ways and paths to being involved in the disability rights movement.

Yet the people I have learned the very most from this week are my fellow interns. As I get to know each one of them, I see how many gifts and how much spirit they bring to the world. I see their humor, their kindness, their growing confidence, their honesty, and their strength. It makes me wonder how anyone can see disability as something inherently negative or as something lacking. People with disabilities bring greater diversity and new perspectives to the world and that is beautiful.

 I do not think I have ever experienced so much honesty and acceptance in a week as I have this week. So I will be honest in return when I say that I've done more laughing and crying this week than I have in a long time. It has been the very best kind of laughing and the most healing kind of crying. I feel so fortunate to get to meet all of these people, who are all part of the disability rights movement, whether they know it yet or not.

We have been told often this week that we are the future of this movement. We are becoming advocates and activists. The disability rights movement has a very long way to go, but my fellow interns give me faith that the future will be bright.

D.C.--Capital of Accessible America

As a wheelchair user, my definition of freedom may differ, at times, from that of other young women my age. Sure--I dream of backpacking solo across Europe, road-tripping across the States in a beat up old Volkswagen, or even living in a different country for a year like any other girl does. But to me, freedom also means successfully catching the bus to meet a friend at the movies or just navigating the city while running errands without having problems navigating steps or lack of elevators. Simple successes such as these can be just as meaningful to individuals with disabilities as the grand ones are, such as traveling around the world alone. In many ways, they are more important because these successes are the essence of our everyday lives--they are not just some fantastic adventures, they are the fundamental activities that allow us to live, learn, and work on a day-to-day basis. 

In the city of Washington D.C., I have felt more free than I have in a very long time. No, i am not zip-lining across the Amazon, but I can run to Target without having to rely on someone else to give me a ride. I can shop downtown without needing a ready "plan of attack" for when there are suddenly no curb cuts at the end of the block. The city's infrastructure is the best on the East Coast, in my opinion, with its public transit system's accessibility and ease of use second to none. 

Many major Eastern cities are largely historical and, although efforts to preserve their histories are important and justified, they unfortunately clash most of the time with the equally important need to make these beautiful cities accessible to America's largest minority: individuals with disabilities.          


In D.C. however this is not the case. I have never encountered a lack of curb cuts in any part of the city, and I have never missed out on any of the sightseeing activities, including the beautiful and extensive monuments and museums that the city is home to. Although it is one of my favorite neighborhoods in D.C., I have encountered some problems with Georgetown. A lot of the shops and restaurants here are flanked with at least a couple of steps at the entrance--although many offer outdoor seating. But, there are still plenty of wonderful places to visit, shop, and eat in Georgetown, and it's one of my favorite places for adventures on relaxed Sunday mornings. If you're in the mood for Turkish (I always am!), check out Cafe Divan; their Yorgurtlu Kebab is to die for!

I love living in this beautiful, hip, and exciting city and even have a great time just walking and exploring Foggy Bottom. 

I guess it makes sense that our "land of the free's" capital is the place where I have felt the most free. 


Keep it up, DC! As we as a nation progress, I hope that other U.S. cities look to you as inspiration. 


--Liz H. 

Week 1

At 11 PM tonight it will be exactly one week since I touched down in Washington DC. My "entrée" into the city was quite cinematic: a midnight taxi ride over the Potomac River and past the magnificently lit Lincoln and Washington memorials. Since then, the week slid by like Apollo Ono on ice and I know that my two months here will go even faster.

I am here in Washington DC as part of the American Association for People with Disabilities (AAPD) Summer Internship Program. I am one of 29 participants in this program that is designed to provide students with disabilities with the experience of living and working in the nation's capital. There are many elements that make this program unique. The first is that we are fortunate to have generous funders. Most students are resource-poor as it is, but when you also add on the extra expenses that many people with disabilities have, moving across country to work in an unpaid internship would be prohibitively expensive for most of us. Fortunately, AAPD pays for our transportation to and from DC, provides us with a living stipend and has put us up in George Washington University's beautiful, spacious and ACCESSIBLE apartments.

The second critical element of this program has been the opportunity to interact with highly accomplished professionals from the private, public and nonprofit sectors. Some of these have included Mark Perriello (the President and CEO of AAPD), Rebecca Cokley (Director of Priority Placement for Public Engagement, White House Presidential Personnel Office), Fred Maahs (Director of Community Investment, National Partnerships and Vice President, Comcast Foundation), Joyce Bender (Board Chair of AAPD and President and CEO of Bender Consulting Services) and Dick Thornburgh (former Governor of Pennsylvania, Atty. Gen. of the United States under the Reagan and George HW Bush administrations and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations). I was especially excited to meet Maggie Roffee (Senior Corporate Relations Manager, US Business Leadership Network), who will be my official mentor this summer. She previously worked at the office where I will be interning (Office of Disability Employment Policy, Department of Labor), she has already begun to connect me with people doing disability-related work in Brazil (which is an interest of mine) and she has a great energetic and enthusiastic spirit. I’m glad we were paired up and I look forward to our mentoring sessions.

However, as amazing as the first two are, the third element of the AAPD program is perhaps the most significant…Stay tuned for next week’s post to find out more (quite a cliff-hanger, I know). 

Perhaps Dreams Do Come True.

DC...

Being here, has been a dream of mine since I was a newly formed disability activist in my junior and senior year at The Evergreen State College. Most of my conversations back then consisted of me raising my voice to the explain the injustices that the disability rights community faced. My friends liked to joke, "next time we see Jess, her fist will be punching the air, 'DISABILITY!'"

Needless to say, my fire hadn't tamed by the time I entered graduate school. In fact, it expanded and rose higher. Searing and sharp. During the first semester, a nondisabled classmate asked if nondisabled allies could belong to disability culture? I answered by bringing my fist down on the table and declaring, "No." While my fire had expanded, my perspective hadn't.

Fast forward two years...

I was working at a fast food restaurant as a cashier and dishwasher in a small town in New Hampshire. It had taken me several months to find the job. I had considered it, "my last resort" (I'm ashamed of such thinking now. Out of all the jobs I have ever had, my time in fast-food work has taught me the most). Despite my efforts to continue to find a "real job", to advance myself, my world was becoming increasingly smaller. Yet my understandings of the world and people began to grow. Even though I felt I was growing there was critical piece missing in my life. For a year and five months I was completely cut off from the disability community. My cell phone, a thin tether to the culture and people I loved.

I knew where I wanted to be, but didn't know how to get to that place. I had exhausted my knowledge of how to get from point A to point B.

In many ways my journey to D.C. was a gamble. I had absolutely nothing to lose, so when I came across AAPD summer internship opportunity (via google),  I rolled the dice. What was one more time? I hadn't expected an outcome. That in many ways, was what the world of employment had been teaching me for the better part of two years. But the workforce wasn't factoring in my fire every time it rejected me. Admittedly, it had become a quiet fire, but a fire nonetheless. I watched those dice roll for miles--for days--and when they finally landed I sucked in a breath. And I stared at those dice, until the point of seeming rude, but I continued staring. I couldn't help it.

Luck was on my side. AAPD was on my side.

Today I'm writing from DC. Five years after my initial desire to work on disability issues in DC. I'd like to think that I am a more poised activist, that this opportunity came at the right time.

So, what is being an AAPD intern like? Well, I won't tell you everything, I'll allow some surprise for future interns, but I will say that it is an experience unlike any other internship. You'll be introduced to individuals, who will later make you say to yourself, "Did I really just meet him or her?!" And you can reply, "Yes, yes I did." The speakers that AAPD provides are tremendous, well-known, and forgive my lack of professional terminology...COOL!!! Take advantage of the first weekend to get to know the metro system. This is also the best way to bond with your roommates. Trust me, if you can survive the metro together you can conquer anything together. Plus, you'll find out important things about them, like how they are fantastic beings. My favorite part of the internship is the reminder of the strong nature/force that disability represents as community, culture and identity.

It is important to know that AAPD is invested in ensuring great opportunities for PWD. This internship is the beginning piece, the platform.

Everything that I will do this summer and all of the knowledge that AAPD provided during the orientation, gives me a foundation. While the platform/foundation is great. My goal this summer is to create ground for myself.

So far, my dream has become my reality. And I intend to keep living it. I'll take my chances.

First Week

Robert Stewart                                                                                                            6/3/12

Ahh my first week of the internship is winding down.  Its been quite a transition, but I am feeling good.

My experience began in earnest on Sunday, when I moved into the dorms.  After spending the day with my fiancee, I traveled to GW, where I got my key and went to my dorm.  And for a person whose has just graduated college, its one nice dorm to help with the transition to the adult world!  The common area is massive, which an incredible view.  My room also feels big, with a comfortable bed to sleep on.  Over the next couple days I met my roommates and unpacked and organized my things.  Soon I was ready to go.

The last few days have involved very interesting discussions.  We have talked about how to survive in the adult world and of the civil rights issues facing the disabled community.  I feel these talks have really enlightened me on a whole range of issues.  Our group has been described as the next generation of activists.  After those talks, I truly am feeling energized about being one!

I have also met some really cool people. I usually am a little awkward and sky, but I feel very comfortable and have enjoyed immensely the conversations and social experiences I have had these last few days!  I cant wait to see what happens the rest of the summer and beyond.   

The one complaint I have is just how tired I feel at the end of the day!  I have found that when I return to the dorms, I just suddenly feel extremely tired.   After finishing my dinner, showing, and doing some homework, I don’t feel a nice tired, but I just…I could fall asleep on the floor.  I am hopeful that if I do more exercise around the house, I will rally for a few hours. 

In short, I have had a great beginning to the AAPD experience.  I wonder what will happen next.

To be or not to be...

Let me first begin my entry by introducing myself: My name is Krystan and I am originally from Long Island, NY but I am currently working on my Masters degree from Temple University in Communications Management so I live in Philadelphia. I have been to DC before and I am absolutely thrilled to be here again! For this summer I will be working at the Department of Homeland Security in the Civil Liberties Office.

Well, suffice to say, this week has been a whirlwind. I can’t believe it has already been a week to be honest with you. I learned a lot from the AAPD orientation, especially about networking; which is something I struggle with. Although we had many inspiring speakers and had group presentations on the Book No Pity I feel like it would be more relevant1 for me to share my experiences of traveling to and within D.C.

It has only been about a year since I had to start using a wheelchair more frequently so all of this traveling/shopping in a wheelchair is all a relatively new experience for me. When I traveled for the first time across state lines in my wheelchair I am not over exaggerating when I say I looked like a hobo. Everything was hanging on my chair rather precariously via bungee cord. It was sad. It was slightly embassing but I really didn’t know how to travel with my chair and luggage. So, I did what had to be done. This time when I traveled I shipped some boxes ahead of me and bought a hiking pack that I strapped to the back of my chair. I used the tent pole strings to attach my crutches on as well. Now, I am not a genius and I did not come up with this solution on my own. I read about it on a blog for people with Cerebral Palsy who travel. The hiking pack solution made me feel much better and it also made me realize that I have a whole community of people with disabilities at my fingertips.

Apparently this community has been around for years, I mean the ADA was passed when I was in first grade but my whole life ha been spent separating myself, as best I can, from the disability community but this experience of figuring out how to travel to DC comfortably opened my eyes to the fact that I am part of this community. I am part of this group that has to accomplish things differently. I need the help from this community to figure out how to do life with a disability. This week at AAPD’s orientation showed me that this community needs me. I’m not sure what my place will be in it yet but being that we are the most marginalized group in America, being that we still face discriminations that are easily seen as appalling when aimed at another group not one person in the disability community can afford to waste their gifts by not doing something to change our current position in society

Hello all,

This is Carrie DC Hall which is why I named my blog D.C. in D.C.,I like to start off my introduction with a little humor just so you know what I am like in person! I attend Kent State University in Kent, Ohio and I am pursuing an Associate degree in Science, in which I will have this fall, a Bachelor degree in Computer Science with a concentration in Network Security and a Minor in Applied Math. I have reached my Junior year in college and it is such an amazing honor for AAPD to allow me this summer to intern at the USDA (Department of Agriculture). At orientation we met a lot of really important people who are very well recognized in DC and I really enjoyed, appreciated and learned a lot from them so I also have to thank AAPD for having them come to give us some advice. This is my first time ever in Washington and it has been an "interesting" 1st week!

During orientation I met some of the coolest people with all different types of backgrounds from different schools in different states, so I definitely have some new life long friends! In addition, I have somewhat mastered the Metro system (don't quote me on that just yet) and can get around on foot pretty good as well. Now, to the "interesting" part: Interestingly enough, my bank back home IS NOT a bank here in DC so as I went off venturing to find one that I could cash my check at I happened to get caught in the rain, actually a thunderstorm and without the Ohio State hoodie I left at orientation and NO umbrella! But in turn, again, I have learned to get around the area because that said occurrence. I can get to some pretty cool shopping centers too such as Pentagon City and Columbia Heights. I start my internship early Monday morning so it's going to be a pretty light weekend, hopefully me and some of my new friends can do a little sight seeing tomorrow but my roommate's dad told me I have plenty of time to check out all the museums and historical sites so take my time. Thank God for that because this was a long week and I need some good rest!

I intend on this blog being very information on my experiences because I really want to make this trip a memorable one so don't expect any of these blogs following this one to be brief! I do want you all to enjoy it because I am going to give 110% everyday of my internship and having fun as well. Thanks again Dana, Mark, Margaret and the whole AAPD organization for this opportunity and I will represent this organization to the very best of my capability!

Until next time, God Bless and have a wonderful week!