[Music]
[Logo: Ampers, with tagline: Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities.]
[Photo: Darlene Zangara]
Darlene Zangara: You don’t know until you actually meet a person whether or not they have a hearing loss, and so we’re kind of forgotten sometimes.
[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: Darlene Zangara and her husband]
Darlene Zangara: My name is Darlene Zangara. My disability is being profoundly deaf. I use American Sign Language, and the interpreter, whose name is Coco, will actually be interpreting, and so you’ll be hearing her physical voice. I am currently the Executive Director for the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing. I want to be welcomed to the table.
[Music]
Oftentimes, we are considered as an afterthought. We provide feedback often and people don’t follow up. People with hearing loss are 20 percent of the population, and so we can’t overlook this group of people. Especially if there are important decisions being made, because being at the table ensures that our voice is heard.
[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.