Hi there, come on in! This is where you'll see pics of me in action--on protests, in meetings, and even getting arrested. I am quite proud of the work that I have done over the years to help bring about nonviolent social change. Many people are wary of folks like me, but I say to them, why be scared? I'm no terrorist, nor am I violent, and I have NO tolerance for violence during protests. I just believe in direct action when being nice doesn't work. Strangely enough, I don't like confrontation. If I could get away with doing things solely by writing letters or by having meetings, it would be so much better for me, and for all concerned! However, the unfortunate truth of the matter is that if you aren't rich, powerful, or famous, the powers that be usually won't take you, or your group seriously. I have seen this for myself countless times over the years!
For those of you who would like to see folks like me disappear from the Universe, consider these quotes from these great people:
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."--Frederick Douglass
"In the act of resistance the rudiments of freedom are already present."--Angela Y. Davis
"No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow."--Alice Walker
And finally, consider this paraphrase of a quote from a minister who lived in Germany during the Nazi regime:
"First they came for the Jews, but I wasn't a Jew, so I didn't react. Then they came for the Communists, but I wasn't a Communist, so I didn't object. Then they came for the Homosexuals, but I wasn't a Homosexual, so I didn't stand up. Then they came for the Political Activists, but I wasn't a Political Activist, so I didn't protest. Then they came for me...and by that time, no one was left to speak out."
Get the picture?? You don't have to be a member of any maligned group to stand up against injustices that are perpetrated against them! So, if you ever find yourself in the middle of a protest, instead of getting angry or violent, try to find out why the group is protesting, and what you can do to help, because one day, it could be YOUR rights that a group is fighting for!
Now, the pics...
Protest
pics...
I
am announcing the beginning of
what
would be a two week protest
vigil
back in July, here in Denver.
We
were protesting major cuts in
attendant
services programs in
Colorado.
If you want to know
how
that vigil turned out, click
here.
That
same vigil later in the day. As you can see, I
seem
to keep a bullhorn in my hands, or in front
of
my face quite a bit, though I have a naturally
loud
mouth! I am one of the national leaders of
ADAPT,
and I always seem to attract the media
at
protests. I am quite articulate, and the media
likes
that, I suppose, so I always end up giving
quite
a few interviews. I must admit that I am a
bit
of a ham in ADAPT. I sing, chant, and entertain
the
troops to keep them pumped up. Everyone says
that
an action isn't the same without me. Now here
is
a most interesting fact about me--I am painfully
shy!!
But, I have a lot of rage inside about the
injustice
that I see around me, and I channel this
rage
into positive ways to change the world!
At
a protest in front of the White House.
Not
only have I protested in front of the
White
House on several occasions, but
I
have also been invited to the White
House
twice!
Protesting
for better attendant services in Memphis...
Protesting
for support and correct scoring of MiCASSA
at
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in D.C.
MiCASSA
is a piece of legislation that is sitting in Congress
as
we speak. ADAPT members, including me, wrote this bill!
Another
bullhorn shot from the vigil in July...
Protesting
to remove caps on attendant services
at
the Governor's mansion in Lansing, Michigan...
Protesting
at the Republican
headquarters
in Houston...
Protesting
at then House Speaker Newt Gingrich's
house
in D.C. He had promised ADAPT many times
that
he would introduce our legislation into Congress,
but
he kept reneging, so we protested at his home.
He
then met with us the next day, and a few months
later,
he actually kept his promise to ADAPT!
We
took to the streets in front of the
Department
of Justice in Washington, D.C.
this
past May.
In
front of our 150 ft. banner at our Stolen Lives action in front
of
the White House. I was the Emcee of this event. ADAPT was
demanding
an apology from President Bush for the millions of
stolen
lives of people with disabilities forced into nursing homes
and
other institutions due to the bias of our health care system.
Behind
the ANA--We shut down the offices of
the
American Nurses Association in Washington, D.C.
this
past May. We have been trying for years to
work
with them on a number of issues, including
supporting
MiCASSA. They were so nasty to us
that
we shut them down--all the way down! Every
entrance
and exit, both above, and underground was
taken.
As a result of this action, ADAPT gained a
meeting
with the ANA's Board of Directors, where
they
promised to work diligently with us. we shall see!
Sometimes, protests can lead to arrests. In 21 years of activism, I have been arrested almost 120 times for engaging in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience. Otherwise, I am quite a law abiding citizen!
Arrest
pics...
ADAPT
protested a large nursing home chain in Baltimore,
and
I was arrested. This picture is a few years old, so you'll
notice
that I am walking in this one. In 1997, I was diagnosed
with
Degenerative Joint Disease AND Multiple Sclerosis, and
I
now use a wheelchair. I am also almost totally blind, and have
been
so since birth, and I have had seizures since I was a baby.
Needless
to say, I don't let my disabilities get in the way of do-
ing
anything that I've set my mind to do!
I
am being arrested
during
an ADAPT
protest
for access-
ible
public transit
in
Philadelphia. We
had
chained ourselves
to
the front and back
of
this bus. The police
removed
the chains with
bolt
cutters, and arrested
30
of us.
ADAPT
protested at the American Health Care
Association's
convention in Las Vegas. AHCA is
the
most powerful nursing home lobbyist in the
country,
and they object to our call for a national
attendant
services program. I had just been arrested,
and
was about to get into the police vehicle.
You may wonder if all of this protesting and being arrested yields any results, or leads to anything positive. The answer is yes! The opposition realizes that we mean business, and they set up meetings to work with us to resolve the issues and problems that concern us, or in many cases, they actually accede to our demands! This isn't as easy as it sounds. Some issues take only a few days or weeks to be resolved, while others may take a few months or years! Take the case of MiCASSA, S. 971 and H.R. 2032. ADAPT wrote this bill in 1990, but could not get it introduced. In 1997, it finally made it to Congress. It has been reintroduced four times since, and though each year, there is more bipartisan support for the bill, it doesn't have enough sponsors and supporters to get it passed. ADAPT remains optimistic, and hopes that the bill will be passed within the next couple of years.
Meeting
pics...
This
is a picure from
a
meeting that ADAPT
had
with Mayor Anthony
Williams
of Washington
D.C.,
and several of his
staff
to end the caps on
attendant
services in D.C.
This
meeting was with staff and directors of the
Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania Department of
Social
Services in Philadelphia. We were working
with
them to end the caps on attendant services in
Pennsylvania.
I
was one of 50 ADAPT members invited to the White House
to
meet with President Clinton. This was the second time that
I
have been invited to the White House. I have met many high
level
politicians in my work with ADAPT, including our current
President,
G. W. Bush!
Ralph
Boyd, Assistant U. S. Attorney General,
Civil
Rights Division, meets with ADAPT in front
of
the Department Of Justice to discuss greater
enforcement
of civil rights of people in nursing
homes
and other institutions.
I hope you liked my action page, and that you have a better idea of what I do to help make the world we live in a better place for all. You can return to my info page, or to the main page of the ADAPT site, or go home, and find out more about me!
You
are visitor #to see me in action!