[Music]
[Logo: Ampers radio station, with tagline that reads, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities.]
[Photo: Sherry Bartholomew]
Sherry Bartholomew: For those of us who have a hidden disability like mental illness, we get told, “Just think happy thoughts.” Well, you know, it doesn’t work that way, it’s an actual chemical imbalance.
[Logo: Ampers radio station, with taglines that read, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities, and Keep Moving Forward.]
Host: This is Keep Moving Forward.
[Photo: President George H.W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. Photo courtesy of the George Bush Presidential Library.]
George H.W. Bush: Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.
[Logos: Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990-2015, and Disability Rights Are Civil Rights. Logos courtesy of the ADA National Network.]
Host: Exploring the legacy and promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
[Photos: Sherry Bartholomew]
Sherry Bartholomew: My name is Sherry. I’m bipolar, have ADHD, borderline personality disorder and PTSD. Having a mental health disability, people don’t see it, so people don’t understand it. The more we are open about them, the more they’re going to be understood.
What I’d like is to open that dialogue. If you see someone who’s struggling, who looks like they’re differently abled, ask them if they need assistance. Don’t assume that they need assistance, because maybe they want to do it on their own.
Ask, “What would it take for us to include you?” Also, do your own research. Learn more. Include us. Inform yourself.
Ask us questions. Start a conversation. Those will all get us closer to that holy grail of equality.
[Logos: the Minnesota Council on Disability, the Minnesota Humanities Center, the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund, and the Ampers radio station.]
Host: Keep Moving Forward is supported by the Minnesota Council on Disability, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund, online at Ampers.org.