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[Logo: Ampers, with tagline: Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities.]
[Photo: Jeff Bangsberg]
Jeff Bangsberg: I was able to fulfill the American dream by the way that I just took one step at a time, figuratively speaking, obviously.
[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: Jeff Bangsberg and his wife]
Jeff Bangsberg: My name is Jeff Bangsberg. And I broke my neck over 45 years ago and was forced to deal with a very severe disability at a very young age.
The vision that I had as far as what I was going to be able to do in my life greatly expanded when I had an opportunity to live at home with the assistance of a personal care assistant, and to have help with my activities of daily living in the home as opposed to in a nursing home.
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Once that was realized, the sky was the limit. I started to go to college and started to explore the fact that I actually might have an opportunity to seek gainful employment. Those opportunities give me a reason to live.
[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.