[Music]
[Logo: Ampers, with tagline: Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities.]
[Photo: Karen Thorud]
Karen Thorud: If I’m so handicapped, how come I’m an artist? How come I’ve earned a few solos in my time, worked overseas, and performed like other artists?
[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: Karen Thorud]
Karen Thorud: My name is Karen Thorud. My label: mental retardation, bipolar and mental illness. My profession is: performing artist.
There’s not enough opportunities for people with disabilities to work in theater. There’s not enough opportunity to even try out. Some theater places won’t even look at you because you have a disability. They’ll say, “Yeah, you have a disability, forget it.”
Touring is fun, you get to perform, you see part of the night life. The last tour I took, I got my nails done, I got claps and applause, it was beautiful. They should look at us with Abilities, not the “dis,” take the “dis” out of Disability.
[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.