[Music]
[Logo: Ampers, with tagline: Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities.]
[Photo: Master Hinkle]
Master Hinkle: That makes it really hard for disabled people to make friends with able-bodied people. Because that’s always in the back of your mind, you know, like I don’t want to be the reason they can’t go in somewhere.
[Logo: Ampers, with taglines: 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: ADA 25: Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990-2015, and Disability Rights Are Civil Rights. Logos courtesy of the ADA National Network, www.adata.org.]
Host: Exploring the legacy and promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
[Photos: Master Hinkle]
Master Hinkle: I’m Master Hinkle. I’m thirty years old and I have a spinal cord injury. I’ve been in a wheelchair since I was about three years old.
Deep down up under all the metal and straps and everything, we’re just people that want to do things that people get to do. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to pretend to be sick because there’s an unsurmountable set of stairs. I had to pretend to be sick just so my friends wouldn’t feel bad for having to leave.
That’s one of the biggest things I’d like to change in the world. I think if enough people see people in wheelchairs out and about living their lives, it could change the perception. But it’s really hard if you never get to see them because they can’t get into the places you are.
[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.