ANNOUNCER: The Minnesota Council on Disability honors the life and influence of Bud Rosenfield.
NARRATOR: Partnerships are critical to how MCD makes good public policy for people with disabilities. Bud Rosenfield was a partner’s partner. He stood firmly in his belief that every person has value and deserves to be happy and healthy.
He was a reliable legal scholar, mentor, educator, and compassionate ally to the wider disability community. Tenacious, whip smart, committed, forceful, articulate, authoritative. In his own words–
BUD ROSENFIELD: When we’re asking questions about what’s important to the person, we should ask the person themselves and not the guardian, not the family member, not the case manager. Any individual should be allowed to express their own ideas, their own opinions.
They should be able to answer questions as they deem fit. They don’t need a guardian’s permission to say, this is what is meaningful in life.
ANNE HENRY: Hello. My name is Anne Henry. I’m a 76-year-old female with glasses and short hair, wearing a black top under a light green jacket. I retired after 42 years as an attorney at the Disability Law Center at mid-Minnesota legal aid.
I’m joining you today to honor and remember Barnett Bud Rosenfield, a treasured colleague at the Disability Law Center for nearly 25 years, and an outstanding leader in the pursuit of civil rights for persons with disabilities. Bud passed away unexpectedly in July of 2023 at the age of 57.
We are remembering him at this crucial time because he provides inspiration to all of us to do as much as possible to protect disability rights and services. Bud’s impressive work includes lawsuits and appeals, which challenged the use of abusive, aversive restraints, long waiting lists for community-based waiver services, and the denial of essential medical assistance services, such as deafblind interpreter services, private duty nursing, assistive technology and equipment.
Bud’s work and leadership led to reforms in Minnesota’s residential and employment support services, guardianship, disability access, self-direction, individualized housing supports, and key due process rights to appeal. He was also a dedicated teacher and presenter on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities locally, statewide, and nationally, and a respected supervisor and mentor for many colleagues and an untold number of advocates from disability organizations.
Bud was guided by his passion for disability rights and justice, which grew out of his deep commitment to see that his older brother, Paul, who has disabilities, was living his best possible life. In December, 2021, Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan appointed Bud as our state’s ombudsman for mental health and developmental disabilities, saying, Mr. Rosenfield is a dedicated public servant with a proven track record as a passionate advocate for justice.
In addition to all of his impressive accomplishments, Bud was a down-to-earth, kind, very funny father, husband, and avid sports fan, a truly wonderful human being. He lived a life of integrity and purpose.
We can all honor Bud’s work by engaging in sustained, vigorous advocacy, as we face cuts to critical services, limits on civil rights, and outright attacks on persons with disabilities’ participation and inclusion in our communities. We each have a very important role in working to move forward, not backward, on disability rights. Thank you.