Bringing Change
This week we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King dedicated his life to fighting for civil, equal, and human rights. His main focus was speaking out against injustices.
During my sophomore year of high school, I had to deal with insensitive comments directed towards me. I had a teacher who stood in front of the class and told a very insensitive joke. The joke was that “I have a disability… my disability is forgetting people's names.” Not only did they say it once, but it was also repeated multiple times. I was very insulted by this comment. Having a disability is not something to joke about.
I continuously heard these insensitive comments and I concluded that there is not enough awareness regarding people with disabilities.
I asked my mother if we could attend my local school board meeting and participate in the public speaks part of the meeting. This is where the community gets an opportunity to speak about issues happening in our school district. I wanted everyone to understand the challenges I had to face so that no other student would face similar challenges. It doesn't matter if someone is different, they shouldn't be made to feel less than.
As we enter adulthood, the fight to be heard, seen, and respected for our abilities becomes more real. Finding gainful employment, housing and accessibility is a challenge. I hope that one day there will be more opportunities to make this easier for the disabled community. It is my goal as an advocate for the disabled community to continue fighting for these basic rights.
People who experience heartless comments, such as myself, are experiencing Ableism. Ableism is the discrimination of people who have a physical disability.
I am dedicating my life to making sure that everyone understands the importance of Ableism. People with a disability should get the respect they deserve as individuals. If we bring awareness to people, we can show them that we are more than our disability. No one should be left out, just because they can’t do something. Even though it may be difficult for us at times, we can contribute just as much as anyone else. We may be different, but we can do things to the best of our ability.
People must be willing to accept us for who we are. No one should be discriminated against or left out because they’re different from other people. The culture and language must change so that everyone feels included and empowered.
I want people to understand that, we don’t have special needs, we have individual needs. If you think about it that way, everyone has individual needs.