The Ins and Outs of Mainstream Life

Two contrasting stories caught my attention this week.  One exemplifies the continuing efforts to include people with disabilities in mainstream life through various media forms.  The other dramatizes the fact that, in reality, people with disabilities are often excluded, or forgotten, from mainstream life.

The good news is that Archie has a new girl friend...and she has a disability.  After more than 70 years, the venerable Archie comic strip has finally added a person with a disability to the gang from Riverside.  Her name is Harper, cousin of Veronica (my favorite was always Betty.  Stop me when I've exceeded the nerd quotient) and she uses a wheelchair.  She is described as having a spunky personality and, according to the Archie Comics people, does not let her disability define her.  Good for you, Arch!

When we move away, however, from the colorful pages of a comic book to the black and white pages of real life, we see news that is not as positive.  According to the National Council on Disability, as reported in a recent article in Disability Scoop, serious barriers continue to jeopardize the well-being of people with disabilities in the wake of disasters and other emergency situations.  Many 911 systems are still unavailable by text.  Shelters and televised emergency announcements often lack sign-language interpreters for those who are deaf.  Broadcast alerts feature language that is unclear for individuals with intellectual disabilities.  Evacuation maps and websites with emergency information are inaccessible to people with sight impairments.  Said Jeff Rosen, chair of the National Council on Disability, "The concerns of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs in emergency situations are frequently overlooked, minimized or not even recognized until after the fact."  The agency is recommending that several federal agencies work together to establish guidelines for communicating with people with disabilities in emergency situations.  They are also suggesting more oversight, training and collaboration with the disability community.

Maybe Harper, Archie and the gang can help with that.

Mark Bernstein
Growth Consultant, Central East Regional Group and UUA Liaison to Equual Access

Step By Step

It may move at glacier speed, but more and more the needs of people with disabilities are being addressed in our society in ways both large and small.  The latest to catch my eye involves
the simple but universal act of enjoying a night at the movie theater.  In the Philadelphia area, and, I imagine, in many areas around the country, movie theaters are now offering small devices that discreetly display captions to the individual moviegoer.  Some theaters offer eyeglasses that display captions across the bottom of the inside surface of the lens so that only the wearer can see them.  Others provide little screens mounted on the end of flexible arms that are positioned in the moviegoer's cupholder.  While there are still occasional glitches in the accuracy of the transcriptions, this is a wonderful step forward in helping people with hearing impairments (like me) follow the dialogue and more fully enjoy the movie.

Theaters are also installing devices that aid those with visual impairments as well.  In many theaters, moviegoers can wear an audio headset that includes both the regular movie dialogue as well as the voice of a narrator who describes the action on the screen, for example, whether they are driving a car, eating a meal, or even smiling or frowning.

At the Unitarian Universalist Association, we are constantly looking for ways to use existing technology to aid Unitarian Universalists with hearing and vision problems.  For two years now, we have offered audio versions of UU World.  We are exploring ways of better utilizing closed captions on various YouTube and other videos.  We are also investigating ways of making printed materials available to people with "print disabilities" via audio books, screen reader software and braille.  Resources are available to congregations who want to enhance the sound capacity in their buildings via headsets or loop system.

Whether its watching a movie, attending a worship service or enjoying a good book, everyone deserves the right to full access.  We in the UUA, as in the general society, are getting there.  Bear with us and thanks for your patience.

Mark Bernstein
Growth Consultant, Central East Regional Group and UUA Liaison to Equual Access

The Passing of a Hero

The passing of Nelson Mandela this week reverberated throughout the world.  Rarely has a human being received such universal acclaim and appreciation for his presence on earth.  Mandela represented the highest ideals of compassion, forgiveness, truth, honesty and love.  

So it is not surprising that he also spoke eloquently of the needs and rights of people with disabilities in our society.  Here is what he said,

"It is not a question of patronizing philanthropy towards disabled people. They do not need the patronage of the non-disabled. It is not for them to adapt to the dominant and dominating world of the so-called non-disabled. It is for us to adapt our understanding of a common humanity; to learn of the richness of how human life is diverse; to recognize the presence of disability in our human midst as an enrichment of our diversity." 

We mourn the passing of this great man.  The world is poorer today because he is not in it.

Mark Bernstein

Growth Consultant, Central East Regional Group and UUA Liaison to Equual Access

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

The Disability/Ability Action Program is under way and so Unitarian Universalism begins a new chapter in its commitment to inclusion of people who historically have been on the margins of society.  A collaboration of Equual Access and the UUA, this groundbreaking program challenges congregations to welcome, embrace, support and integrate people with disabilities and their families into congregational life. 

Congregations seeking certification will conduct an assessment of accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities, create an action plan of worship, workshops and projects, have that plan approved by the Disability/Ability Certification Committee and then implement the plan. When the plan has been fully implemented, the congregation can vote to be recognized as a congregation with a Disability/Ability Action Program certificate.  The program is designed to meet the needs of the entire congregation and includes workshops and activities for children and youth as well as adults.

Ten congregations are currently participating in the two year pilot project:

First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, MI
First Parish in Bedford, MA
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Buffalo, NY
First Parish Cambridge, MA
First Parish Kingston, MA
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruses, NM
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry, IL
The Congregational Society, Unitarian Universalist Peterborough, NH 
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh, NC
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester, MN

The plan is for the project to be offered to congregations around the country in 2015 to coincide with the 25^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Beautiful friendship, indeed.

For more information about the Disability/Ability Action Program, contact me at mbernstein@uua.org or Reverend Barbara Meyers at bfkmeyers@prodigy.net.

With respect,

Mark Bernstein

Consultant, Central East Regional Group and UUA Liaison to Equual Access

The (Star)Bucks Stops Here

In early March of this year, a group of deaf people were holding their monthly meeting at a Starbucks in lower Manhattan.  Part of a national effort called Deaf Chat Coffee, they were gathered together to socialize over coffee and pastries purchased at the coffee outlet.  Suddenly, their meeting was interrupted by police officers who had been summoned to the store by Starbucks workers.  The workers claimed that the group was creating a disturbance, conducting a meeting without a permit, and were not purchasing items from the store.  None of these allegations were true and the police officers apologized to the group, finding no illegal conduct.  In addition to harassing the group by calling the police, one Starbucks employee allegedly laughed hysterically at the speech of one member of the group and other deaf customers claimed that they were refused service.  In one case, a Starbucks employee who knew some sign language tried to assist the deaf customers and was reprimanded by another employee.

When a complaint was filed with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and other upper management staff, an executive apologized and tried to assuage the group by offering them a preloaded Starbucks gift card.    That wasn’t enough for these customers and they promptly filed a lawsuit, now pending in Federal Court.  (To their credit, Starbucks subsequently published a post on their website decrying discrimination in any form and outlining the ways in which they intentionally support Deaf partners and customers.)  http://www.starbucks.com/blog/starbucks-on-inclusion-of-deaf-community/1262

For those Unitarian Universalists who don’t think that matters related to inclusion of people with disabilities is a social justice issue, think again.  If this action had been perpetrated against a group of LGBT persons or persons of color, the uproar would have been deafening (no pun intended).  But because it happens to a group of people whose rights are not nearly trumpeted as much as those of other marginalized groups, it gets a 10 second spot on the local news right before sports and weather.

There are a group of UU congregations who are planning a joint worship event in the fall.  The idea was raised to hire a sign language interpreter for attendees who are deaf.  I was told that there was resistance to the idea since some members of the planning committee felt that it wasn’t necessary.  Thanks to the persistence of one member of the committee, the idea was adopted and the interpreter was hired.

We have a long way to go in recognizing and acknowledging the rights of people with disabilities, both in the outside world and within our Unitarian Universalist communities.  Let’s start talking about it in our congregations.  I’ll be happy to discuss it with you anytime, perhaps over a cup of coffee?

  

With respect,

Mark Bernstein, CERG  Consultant and UUA Liaison to Equual Access

Dawning Future

The Unitarian Universalist Association is moving its headquarters, opening up virtual and physical space for communication, inclusion and engagement. The new headquarters offers opportunities for people, staff and volunteer lay leaders, with disabilities that were not possible before.

Rob Molla, UUA Director of Human Resources contacted the UUA staff liaison for EqUUal Access Mark Bernstein a few weeks ago. Mark met with Rob and had a preliminary conversation to discuss general issues related to accessibility as outlined by the EqUUal Access Board of Directors. Following this meeting, Rob said he would be back in touch with an invitation to representatives of EqUUal Access to tour the building and make recommendations.

On Tuesday, March 12, Suzanne Fast, Vice President of EqUUal Access, Carol Agate, EqUUal Access Treasurer, and Barbara Ceconi toured the new building. They identified a list of needed accommodations, which Rob documented, distributing copies to Peter Morales, Harlan Limpert, Kay Montgomery, Tim Brennen, and Mark Bernstein. Near the end of the tour, Rob indicated that there would be ongoing consultation with EA. The building has been gutted by the current owner, and the UUA is working with an architect.

Happy Valentine's Day

Bonnie Brown is the mother of Myra, a bright 15 year old who hopes to attend the University of Cambridge when she graduates high school.  Their relationship is a close and loving one…and an unusual one.  Bonnie has an intellectual disability. 

Bonnie has been employed by Wendy’s in the Philadelphia area for many years and is supported by Community Interactions, a local agency with which I have had some contact.  Their special relationship can be heard as part of the StoryCorps program sponsored by National Public Radio.

Bonnie and Myra’s story reminds us that love is the deciding factor in determining the ability of a parent to care for and raise a child.  Love trumps everything.  We are not defined by how we look or how we think.  Rather, we should be defined by our willingness to exercise empathy and compassion in our interactions with all who enter our lives.  It is what Unitarian Universalism is all about.

Mark Bernstein

CERG Growth Consultant and UUA Liaison to Equual Access

Hero Worship

What is the definition of a hero?  I like the quote by our own Ralph Waldo Emerson that, “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.”

You may have seen the recent news story about the Houston, Texas waiter who refused to serve a customer because he asked to move his family to another table to be further away from a child with Down’s Syndrome who was sitting nearby with his family.  Further, the customer reportedly said to the waiter, Michael Garcia, that “Special needs children need to be special somewhere else.” 

Garcia responded by telling the customer that he was not able to serve him.  He also asked him how he could say that “about a beautiful 5-year-old angel?”  Since the incident, Garcia has been the object of media attention, celebration and pats on the back from restaurant customers eager to thank him for his five minutes of bravery.

 Here’s a link to the full story:

http://www.today.com/moms/waiter-hailed-hero-after-standing-boy-down-syndrome-1B8038223#waiter-hailed-hero-after-standing-boy-down-syndrome-1B8038223

What was it about Garcia’s act of defiance that caused such an outpouring of love and support?  Could it be that they saw in Garcia what they could not see in themselves?  A willingness to take a stand?  The courage to risk retribution and possibly injury/loss of job/loss of prestige to do what they think is right?

As Unitarian Universalists, we are compelled to be heroes every day of our lives.  Our faith requires us to speak out against injustice in whatever form we find it.  It requires us to be brave five minutes at a time.

Thank goodness for people like Michael Garcia.  He reminds us of the hero in all of us and the need to stay true to our values and to ourselves.  As George F. Kennan wrote, “Heroism is endurance for one moment more.”

 

Mark Bernstein

CERG Growth Consultant and UUA Liaison to Equual Access

Being in Right Relationship: It’s all Monkey Business

At Emory University, researchers Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal conducted a fascinating experiment on the sense of fairness. They taught brown capuchin monkeys to swap tokens for food. Initially, the reward was a piece of cucumber, a food that capuchin monkeys were only too happy to work for. But when the researchers started rewarding some monkeys with grapes, a food that monkeys much prefer over cucumbers, and rewarding others with cucumbers, the latter group immediately took offense. In some cases, they refused to comply with the task. In other cases, they took the food but refused to eat it, and in some cases, they threw the food at the researcher. You can see a hilarious YouTube video

Scientists say that this research suggests that human’s sense of justice is inherited and is not a social construct. The experiment demonstrates our natural reaction to become angry or frustrated when we are treated differently from others or when we see others obtain or achieve things that we aspire to obtain or achieve as well.

Being in right relationship with people who have documented disabilities is more than etiquette. It is more than being polite. It requires that we treat others equally and fairly; that we work as hard as we can to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities, the same resources, and the same rewards. It stems from the basic belief that if I am eating grapes, all those around me should be eating grapes as well.

In our Unitarian Universalist congregations, this sense of justice and fairness is actualized through a proactive stance in making physical accommodations so that people with mobility issues can access our buildings, our classrooms, and our sanctuaries. It means acquiring or adapting equipment and other resources so that people can hear better, see better, and worship better. It means embracing the gifts and strengths that are inherent in everyone and looking beyond the images that cause us to stereotype and distance ourselves from others.

Victor Hugo wrote, “Being good is easy, what is difficult is being just.” As Unitarian Universalists, we must begin doing the difficult so that everyone in our faith has equal access. In other words, we need to stop monkeying around.

Mark Bernstein
CERG Growth Consultant and UUA Liaison to Equual Access