Think. That is wonderful with social distancing its great to see we can get it done and it was an honor truly to read your book it is a running theme people who should know say i had no idea people joining the conversation tonight on what your fight has been about and the changes you have made to give People Perspective compare and contrast what it was like as a young person coming into the world with a disability and what it is like now. On the one hand the difference is very significant because i had polio 1929 in brooklyn just the beginning of television and to recognize the Important Role so there were no lies that protected the rights of disabled people there werent that were protecting the rights of other minorities there werent that were protecting the rights of other minorities point it was unusual but people were looking at disability as a medical issue and not carrying it so there wasnt a lot of activity going on to look at discrimination as that componen component. So the beginning of my life as jewish german refugees after my father left the marines at the end of the war and we lost relatives. So when they got married they were looking to set up a family and then my mother was pregnant and in 1949 she was eight months pregnant and then i father opened a Grocery Stores everything was thrown up in the air. While they didnt know any other families they had no idea what was about to happen. But they decided they wanted me prior to my birth. Because i couldnt walk and they said it was a fire hazard but then then when i was nine years old in between i only had a few times a week so today we have laws on the books that make what would happen to me then ill legal so in 1975 there was an important law in the area of education , 1973 section 504 and to give Additional Information its different in many ways i would say specifically because of all the antidiscrimination laws and affirmative action laws people had more opportunities that they did but looking at discrimination against any group when society discriminated based on religion or race or disability so what has been happening is to organize more to become empowered and reaching out into general society. We want to be equal members in the community. And the movement itself moving away from the medical model and social justice. Its interesting that you say that in the first place you were not just to find of the ability or disability and the things they say they want . And that hit me that i just want my privacy everybody hears a teenager say get out of my room but the ability to have the boyfriend and girlfriend sexually exist in the world and how we look at people with disabilities whether they are physical mental or emotional or otherwise we are quick to almost try to turn them into children and flatten them and make them simplistic and it taught me there is a really rich interior life in a person who wants to be heard and deserves to be heard at the heart of your argument. We shape that very well and some of those issues its equally difficult for disabled people to talk about themselves typically we grow up in families as opposed to a particular race or gender a mother or grandmother or and or uncle i didnt know any disabled people until i started to go to segregated classes at nine years old. Both those other experiences that i could think about and talk about what i was beginning to feel as i got older that children cant why couldnt they have those same expectations . And equally important so as you grow older people say what do you want to be when you grow up . But we did want to be something when we grew up. And the comment that you paid treating people as children that say very powerful because even today it would not be uncommon and people dont talk to me. And for those that were there to assist me. What does she want and that happens all the time and then going back to the earlier question things are very different and very the same. The absence of disability of advertising in journalism continues to marginalize that and that is a very important issue not just a physical disability but depression and anxiety or bipolar diabetes, epilepsy hundreds of disabilities although its improving we still find that people do not want to identify because of the stigma and how they are treated we dont want to hang out with other disabled people but learning about the commonality and the differences. Now you know with the pandemic dealing with africanamericans and latinos dying in higher rates and talk about those underlying conditions which are diabetes, hypertension, obey so people are at greater risk not getting the services that they need or for other reasons but i do hope one of the outcomes of this tragedy is we are able to have more indepth discussions about why its so important this community according to the federal government another 56 Million People and according to the who and royal bank at least 15 percent of the World Population 1 billion people have disabilities so to do a combination of things so me as i was growing up and how i experienced life but also to get people to start thinking more if they have a disability to their people and their families or friends and what type of dialogue do we really need to be having to ensure that disability across communities to learn more about and what we can do to help break down the barriers and look at what discrimination is and watching that. Part of what people know is what is in the culture, talked about, and taught and africanamericans a Civil Rights Movement is what i grew up on and Popular Culture thinking of gay rights, womens movemen movement, even if youre not paying attention you know the basic pinpoints of whats happening and you point out in the book of people you thought would say i had no idea and honestly i had no idea your plate lasted for weeks or months and you say decades so what on why are we not a right aware of the fight around disability the same way of other movements . I know there is the decision not to talk about it as much and for whatever reason people do not put people in the Disability Group for that protected class thinking this is america and the fight over the era i cannot think of the last time i have seen a Major Television disability rights they are the villain are the tragic antihero there never the best person in the movie. Im dating myself this is in the seventies but he doesnt really have a disability so there are positive messages by nondisabled people is a whole other issue so the issues of why not is a combination one is to acquire the disabilities themselves somebody like myself or whomever and i know how they do it. They dont really know what it is what we are doing but they also dont think about themselves and their future and the reason i say that i said i dont use the word able body i use nondisabled because it implies im not able and to tell somebody that i have a disability that something they should understand so the terminology of people maybe its not intentional that the term that we use i think that is an issue i also think as you were discussing not seeing and learning about disabilities in the way people are characterized that also leaves people who have questions afraid of asking them so things have gotten better in the following way to go down the street i use a motorized wheelchair so children are curious that they havent seen one so in some cases they want to ask a question so a child want to ask a question the parents pull the child away and distract them and then they never asked the question. This is not true of everybody some people do not like to be asked but i really dont mind and i really want to engage them plus were on the same high level. [laughter] i am definitely drawn to them because a look at their eyes especially boys. Little girls not so much that the parents that are cool about it where the batteries are where the chair is plugged in and all these others please stop embarrassing me dont ask any more questions. That people have logical questions we are not the majority of people in society like blind or deaf or hard of hearing people need to understand and literally one of the biggest issues people dont see themselves acquiring a disability. But as people get older with their sight and hearing and ability to communicate as they have other memory issues and we tend to look at marginalizing people if you look at whats going on right now with the pandemic some of the highest areas of death acquiring the virus are not even in institution they are in the institution because homes are not accessible they dont want to buy homes that are accessible we dont look at the needs for personal assistance. I cant go the bathroom or do all these things but if i can have someone help me so of people become invested in their future not only my future but in your own what are we preparing for not in a negative way but in a positive way what does one need to do to stay in their community . And be willing to look at more those difficult sessions so you are in charge as long as you can be in charge for other people that you know and respect but ultimately people dont want to think about it. They are afraid and another thing that has stood out your parents told were told put her into an institution and they said absolutely not. But there is a moment where geraldo goes to willowbrook i have never seen anything more upsetting or dehumanizing workers, children covered in their own feces, no time to feed that it was a storehouse that Charles Dickens couldnt even imagine in this was shocking to me. In pennsylvania there was an institution i believe in the philadelphia area which is equivalent to willowbrook one of the things you can see happening now People Living in the nursing homes, some of them are quite large but 30 or 40 or 50 people not only are those programs bad for the individual person but also for the community because they continue to perpetuate people need to be out of sigh sight, out of mind and they are not treated as individuals and to look at this issue of People Living in these facilities people need to live where they were or be able to be in apartments or other places and it should be that congregate living programs after geraldo was given the keys at willowbrook and i went with a nine and a reporter a friend of mine was one of the doctors and when we got there they were not going to let me in. They wanted me to sign a paper that if i got injured i would not sue them. Of course i wouldnt sign a paper like that. It was a horrifying experience and then with the state department i was in mexico and the employees came to visit the institution called Disability Rights International working on issues of Mental Health. Is the first time they found the state department has ever gone and visited and one an institution like this the smell of urine was so overpowering. And people were not playing around naked like in willowbrook but there was no activity going on, and many many People Living there. That people are afraid in this country thats whats going on right now instead of looking at moving people into the community expeditiously. On so many levels of stories that you tell the people should understand that being disabled is exhausting not because of the disability but other people the unnecessary hardship, going through the medical review with a doctor who tries to understand if you are a teacher if youre on a plane and they wont let you on the plane 1 million times over you have that conversation to advocate for afraid something will happen to them arent you afraid something will happen to everybody . Have to prepare yourself for battle every day. If you go back and listen maybe its different but really as a woman its something you really want to go away things have gotten better but just to hop up and hit you in the face and you dont know how to answer it. So sometimes it is okay i will completely come back but in other situations we really need to measure what you say and do you say it to. I think it gets challenging and it makes me angry and sad how much has happened. So i cry a lot and a friend of mine the other day also said the same thing which has nothing to do with a disability but sometimes when shes really angry she cries. When a group of 150 people have taken over because of the said regulations with the discrimination of those disabled people comparable to the portion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and to be exhausting to congressman came to the building to hold hearings with a representative of the Health Education of welfare under the Carter Administration he sat in the front and he kept shaking his head and there was something about what happened when he was doing that i completely lost it. At the end i said i wish you would shake stop shaking your head like you understand what i am saying because you dont and the audience applauded. I wasnt crying but i had tears but we showed it all over the world people applied all the time and the reason is not because of what i did but its what they want to do the number of times to confront what people are doing or saying to understand or we dont need it and wherever it may be that is what people need to really understand not just about disability but discrimination and overall. Discrimination hurts it can result in death or a non equal treatment and lack of education but we all need to have a better understanding of whats our vision is one of the parts of the but that is important is trying to remember how i fell in these incidences and one of the things that i hear from people around the world is how reading the book is their story and that is very powerful and the comment you are making and those people say we didnt know the story so the question is why . Because people didnt really want to if youre willing to take the time to read the book and watch the movie you get a better understanding but of course reading the book and watching the film will not change the world. Those who are writing books 28 yearold black lesbian was Cerebral Palsy and upstate new york who is funny and smart and other people like that. So to say to local television stations why are we not seeing more the disability . This is an important question. Talk about where we are now it takes three or four president s and then talk about where we are today. Do you thank you are hopeful or fearful to be stripped away . You say things go back and forth do you feel it will swing back to protecting the rights or swinging away . I feel the movement has gotten stronger. None of the situation we were living in had occurred yet. I am very afraid about the Lasting Impact of the pandemic across the board. And what i know our community is fighting for which protects our rights and the rights of others that is an important part of the changes over the years the conference for civil rights which is a Broad National organization including the organization of the International Disability alliance on the International Level an Important Convention coming out of the United States that the persons with disabilities and has been ratified 176 countries so that particular treaty we must fight for and not allow governance to push back against these protections and our community is more at the table than it was in the past so right now we are playing senator caseys office is doing an amazing job fighting for the rights of disabled individuals especially Mental Health disabilities so from my perspective a champion making sure the voice of disabled people are engaged all the time with those weekly telephone calls and those that say i am concerned very much , we do have a better ability to fight those changes that some people may want and i dont think in the fall with the election to make some changes because they are not represented by someone. I was watching camp and they were showing you as a teenage girl with your friends and then what you went on to do with your life you always wonder if there is a moment of all the people in the world and you truly have been that person with disability rights so what was said about judy that made you the person at the forefront of so many of these rights . In their own way they learned about it stepbystep to address what was happening so thats definitely part of it. To the camp experience and others i was born in philadelphia but i grew up in brooklyn and i do talk about if i wasnt born in brooklyn if you can make it any argue can make it anywhere. So i had to Say Something when things were going on i thought were wrong i had to try to do something. I never met a person i didnt want to work with so to me, we each play a different role but that i have other friends who were great writers so when we come together we make a great team and thats why any Movement Goes forward and then to be adversely affected by discrimination with the bond between enough people that only complain about the problem but for me it is recognizing solutions dont happen overnight like with legislation getting it implemented in getting them to understand what is wrong with antisemitism what is wrong with all of these Different Things to me that is a challenge i love working with people who try to make change. Whatever categories we are in we are all beneficiaries of the work you have done its an honor to spend some time even socially distant to spend some time with you and other people can ask questions but for my own behalf thank you for what you have done and i have learned so much going forward. Visit me ends philadelphia someday thank you very much. We appreciate you doing this. It has been a joy. You say that the be careful what you ask for. [laughter] enjoy the rest of the night. We have a ton of questions that have come in and unfortunately we can only get to a handful of them so i will just jump right in here the first question that people want to ask is how do you wrestle with the urge to advocate and change the world or just trying to live your life are the teachable moments . My husband says the same thing all the time. But i am driven and yes sometimes i get frustrated how long it takes to make change in how people in many cases just dont get it and therefore just dont understand why its important for disabled people to have jobs. Or someone that is able to do their job can get the accommodation that they need i am jewish and one thing they have done over the last 20 years its called the Womens Foundation but one of which has been in that Orthodox Forum and then develop discussions that allow us within our communities for what we need to learn and the changes that need to be go on and institutions. Because as of the things i said earlier sometimes is difficult to say you are upset with their thinking and then to be strategic about how you talk with people about some of these issues going forward. And sometimes i just check out. What does checking out mean . Spend more time with my husband im not good at being idle or still so theater or a ballet and many of those you have to focus on that. More questions. I found it very interesting the black panthers helped you out did the relationship and you are afterwards . It depends in organizing the demonstration i was a member of the black panthers that the relationship continuing i would say to be supportive of the work going on of the Disability Community that is always important that the center for independent living which started in the early seventies very much worked with all types of organizations in the issue of discrimination and support for different groups and then they could come to us so at that time it was an important period of learning and then with those demonstrations it lasted 28 days. There was support for it it wasnt just the black panthers that supported us actually the gray panthers and the Memorial Church where ministers create activist and real social justice and chavez and others and other labor unions that was very supportive taking a group of 20 people to washington we could not have done that by ourselves no movement what can get what they need unless they get more people supporting and thats the principle that we will continue to work on. I have no idea. Otherwise it would have been sustained but those different camps around the United States because of the regular camps thats another interesting point today there are all types of camps with technology or theater or going to a jewish summer camp what they were learning was about culture and songs in that nature but none of that was considered a part of the camp. People were not thinking this is a great opportunity what were the problems or solutions but then young people will say what should we do . One thing i always tell them to way to get permission from other people so lets Work Together for what you believe in a move forward with that. Thats exactly what we did. We didnt know a lot we were looking at television and learning about the Civil Rights Movement and the marches and the boycotts and rosa parks and mlk and we were learning that people believed in what they were doing and would fight as long as they had to to make changes that were positive in the community and those were important things trying to emulate in our own wa way. So i feel we are very thankful for Lessons Learned over the years and now working more collaboratively with other movements that pays off. Throughout the course of the book for families to play the essentially role what would you give to advocates of disabilities that dont have the support of their families and how do you overcome the fear to advocate . I appreciate the fact you acknowledge the fear but it is completely appropriate and i believe that in some ways one can be afraid legitimately with the situation that you are in. Its very important to try to speak with other disabled people but someone experiencing discrimination to try to learn from them what does it mean to be fearful or overcome it i dont mean overcome the fear but address the problem. So for me an example is i was in new york, going to a restaurant, i had a couple other friends that had disabilities but we had a place because for more than one wheelchair but then we were told we couldnt stay and said we had to leave. That was one of these moments at first i was afraid but thats the way to say we cant be here then will i leave . Know. What do i do . I said call the police. He didnt. So we stayed and we had dinner. But we wanted to prove a point was it because i was with other people and we could talk about it together . Yes. Absolutely. Because it is still happening but the point that you made about not having a family that is supportive one is understanding why they are not but on the other hand do whats right for you. And im sure youve had discussions with them may be other adults who had children with disabilities or learning from the other parent but at the end of the day finding other people you can relate to and talk to and keep fighting for what you believe in to help you move along the way and be the person you want to be. Thank you. People have written in to say thank you they were moved by the film and the book went to acknowledge that people from various communities that are saying that and thinking you from the bottom of their heart. One or two more questions you address this already but looking for a specific moment you are an inspiration to me. When did you start to realize that change is going to happen you would have to lead it . I never see myself as a leader my mother was a leader one of the situations that i finally got to go to school at nine years old that only in segregated classrooms and then my mother learned those that use wheelchairs could not walk up and down steps my mother organized with another mother. Im sure she was afraid and didnt know what she was doing that then began to realize working together things can happen so my motto has been even if im doing something on the spot i was there by myself but i always talk to people. I appreciate the fact people are resonating to my story but at the end of the day whats important is people recognize to take change we all play a different role and its important to be in touch with each other and supportive of each other that it feels for us at that moment and to take on more responsibilities. Circling back to the beginning of the book and your talk do you have any experiences with children your age the age of nine . And at four years old my father would bring me and pick me up friday afternoon. And then parents became advocates but my parents said i wasnt going to say it over the weekend because nothing happens over the weekend so my father picks me up on friday i get there early monday morning. Now i remember at that time that had a little bit of an impact on me because we are seeing other adults with disabilities and some of the people that mightve been the first time. What was the question again . [laughter] it went right out of my head. That. Of time five years old 29 years old i was with my brothers and neighbors i went to Hebrew School with my family it was a small synagogue and then he started and there is an incident in the book and at that time there was no such thing as a motorized wheelchair none of those were accessible so people were always pushing my wheelchair because i was not Strong Enough to push my own. So the issue of what didnt come into play later on but then to have a bedroom and a bathroom belt on the back of the house but it wasnt very big so i can get to the closet. So even picking up my close that was difficult because she had two other kids and she was my mother and she knew what she wanted me to wear. So those experiences of go to the closet and pick out what you want to wear. I didnt have that ability to get into the argument. One of the issues with special classes was a time when we could make more decisions on her own and say what did you want to wear. The Little Things like that are very important learning how to make choices and decisions or even how to argue with an adult. Those are all very important things in one of the points discussed earlier when you watch it you will see part of the Group DiscussionNancy Rosenblum in particular dont have that level of independence is not just physical that one of the reasons why its important parents of disabled children to talk about these issues. So that you are not allencompassing in your childs life and to ensure ageappropriate can make decisions. Those are very important