[Music]
[Logo: Ampers, with tagline: Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities.]
[Photo: Ken Rodgers]
Ken Rodgers: There was a time in our world in which people with disabilities were kept behind closed doors. They were “protected,” so to speak.
[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.
[Photo: Ken Rodgers, his husband and service dog]
Ken Rodgers: My name is Ken Rogers. I’m a person who happens to be blind. I was a registered nurse initially when I found out that I had a retinal eye disease and I would lose my sight eventually, but evolved into a ADA position at the Department of Transportation where I work now. When I started working for the department it was pretty obvious people saw me as a blind person first. Eventually, people learn that I am me, that blindness is just one part of me.
[Music]
One of the most important things for me is living life to the fullest. I take public transportation, I walk downtown, I go to restaurants, and people see me. As long as I’m comfortable in my world, I think that’s a really important piece that other people see.
[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.