Negative and erroneous attitudes, held by the general
population, still plague people with disabilities throughout
North America. These attitudes too frequently diminish the
quality of their day-to-day experiences and rob them of job
and career opportunities.
In
this issue, I want to draw attention to the important work
that is being done by the many people with disabilities who
are out there making a living as entertainers, performers
and speakers. Appearing on stages and screens, by the very
nature of their jobs, they are regularly seen by dozens,
hundreds, sometimes thousands of people at a time. By the
very public nature of their work, they are in a position to
greatly influence how non-disabled people in their audiences
will view people with disabilities in the future. Similarly,
they also influence how audience members with disabilities
will view themselves in the future.
Some
folks are engaged in their career because of their
disability – using their disability in a positive way, they
inspire and educate their non-disabled audiences and
effectively dismantle attitudinal barriers. Similarly, they
inspire, hearten and invoke pride in audience members with
disabilities. Some folks, on the other hand, are engaged in
their careers despite their disabilities – forging ahead
with their careers, regardless of their disability and
simply adapting to any impact that their disability may have
on them. However quiet these folks may be about their
disabilities, those who are aware of them are also likely to
gain a more positive attitude towards people with
disabilities in general.
With
Hollywood in its back yard, the government of California
“gets it”. It understands that people with disabilities,
positively elevated in the public eye, can improve attitudes
and consequently improve employment opportunities. Through
its annual Media Access Awards, the State of California
“recognizes those in the entertainment industry who hire
and/or accurately portray people with disabilities, using
the power of their medium to accelerate public awareness and
understanding, thereby enhancing employment opportunities
for all people with disabilities.” Through its Media Access
Office, California also provides a casting liaison service
that represents over 900 performers with disabilities and
provides script consultation on disability-related issues
and themes. See:
http://www.edd.ca.gov/mediaaccessawards/default.asp
Now,
playing a regular role in the popular series “Deadwood”, our
friend Geri Jewel has been a pioneer in opening up
television roles for people with disabilities. In her role
as Cousin Geri in the NBC sitcom “The Facts of Life”, she
was the first person with a disability to have a regular
role on a prime time series. I have spoken with people with
people without disabilities who have been impressed and
educated by her performances through the years. I have
spoken with people with disabilities who have told me about
the pride and inspiration that they drew from seeing Geri
perform on screen or in person. I honestly can’t imagine the
countless number of people who must have been impacted by
her life and work over the years. (You may want to visit her
new website at
http://www.gerijewell.com)
For
any of us who are working to make our workplaces more
inclusive of people with disabilities, we need to understand
this powerful impact that talented people with disabilities
can have from the stage or screen. I want to suggest that we
should all be looking for creative ways to bring speakers
and performers with disabilities into our organizations and
communities.
Do you
work for a large company? Can you take the lead in
establishing an annual opportunity to showcase the talent of
a performer or speaker with a disability? It has been my
pleasure, over the past several years, to work with the
Diversity Office at Lockheed Martin in California’s Silicon
Valley. Every year, in conjunction with National Disability
Employment Awareness Month, they have a special lunch-time
event for their employees. That event features a top-notch
speaker or entertainer with a disability. Does your company
use management consultants or motivational speakers? Why not
do a little digging and see if there isn’t a professional
with a disability that fits the bill. As a start, look at
what these three folks have to offer:
Do you
work for a community-based organization? Look in to the
possibility of holding an annual event that features
entertainers with disabilities. Every year, the World
Institute on Disability (WID) in Oakland, California hosts a
gala event featuring an amazing lineup of performers with
disabilities. Their annual “Ever Widening Circle” event, in
addition to raising funds for WID, brings a talented array
of dancers, comedians, and musicians to a San Francisco bay
area audience. This past year, over 400 people attended.
http://www.wid.org/ewc/
Think
big! Think collaboratively! Use your entertainers or
speakers to the best advantage. Share the costs and share
the resource. Look for speakers or entertainers who can
address several audiences during their trip. See if you can
combine a luncheon address at the Chamber of Commerce, an
afternoon with seminar with local businesses and an evening
appearance for a group of disability-related organizations.
It
isn’t always easy to locate speakers and entertainers with
disabilities so we have dedicated a page on our website to
listing as many as we can. Take some time to browse through
them. You will likely be amazed at the talent there. As you
do so, give some thought to how you might be able to bring
one or more of them to your company, your town, or your next
conference. See
http://www.diversityworld.com/Disability/speak.htm
We
know that over 5000 people read this newsletter each month.
What if each of our readers took the initiative to support
the work of entertainers and speakers with disabilities, in
some way, by an average of $100 over the next six months? We
would positively improve the disability-related perceptions
of thousands of people and we would inject over half a
million dollars into this important industry. Let’s do it.
Let’s get creative!
~ Rob McInnes
© Rob McInnes, Diversity World, January, 2007
(If not used for commercial purposes, this article may be
reproduced, all or in part, providing it is credited to "Rob
McInnes, Diversity World - www.diversityworld.com". If
included in a newsletter or other publication, we would
appreciate receiving a copy.)
RESOURCE:
VSA arts
RESOURCE:
Society for Disability Arts and Culture
RESOURCE:
REPORT:
T
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