Chapter Transcript
Chapter 7: Joining a Community of Advocates
14:15:31:22 - 14:17:39:05
Lisa: When you were talking just a minute ago about Graynle's experience in Germantown, you said that you and your wife sort of gave up the fight. There had been too many battles, sort of, fought over the years—
Lisa: Why were you feeling so battle weary at that point?
Dr. Edwards: Well you know they uh.... You know, raising a special needs child, you know, it's... it can be kind of demanding. Okay, and so that has to happen regardless of what services have taken place outside the home. That's a given. Uh, but when you take into consideration the different meetings that you've been to, the different battles that you had to fight and given the fact that I said before, by the time I figured (out what was actually going on in Germantown High School, I, uh, I said "Well he only has a few more months. The hell with it. You know, let's... let's just wrap it up." And then, of course, shortly afterwards, I got into another battle with the whole community collaborative initiative with the closing of Byberry and Pennhurst. And that's when I came in contact with uh... uh, uh... oh my God, I can't believe I'm struggling with her name. Not Michelle, uh... the secretary of—
Lisa: Estelle?
Dr. Edwards: Estelle Richmond. Yes, yes. Very impressed with her from the beginning. Very impressed. And, uh, so the, uh... I'd gotten to the battle again, you know, uh...
14:17:39:05 - 14:20:10:06
Lisa: Tell me what that battle was. I don't think we've talked about that before. What was the battle and what was your experience like interacting with the secretary of—
Dr. Edwards: Well it was the whole—the whole idea was centered around getting, uh, better services for special needs individuals. Not just the intellectual disabled but also mental health, uh, domain as well. And the, uh... it was trying to crystalize the kinds of services that were needed for that—for those populations. So that's what the community collaborative was all about. And, uh, we'd met periodically and I don't remember the overall agenda since that was so long ago but in the gist of it - the gist of it—that's what it was all about: trying to crystalize these services, uh, identify the kinds of finances that was required in order to pull off some of these services or to implement these services. The, uh... At the same time, I was, uh, tapped to be on the mayor's commission for special needs. I did that for a couple years. Uh, then after that, uh, I think, uh, not too long afterwards, uh I met, uh, Dee Coccia and Maureen Devaney and, we uh... before I knew it I was part of a Vision for Equality, you know on the Board, and uh, I remember we met at a little small Italian restaurant down in South Philly and it was so funny - I'll never forget it. The music reminded me of The Godfather. They had the music in the background. I said: "Wow, golly, we're living, uh Don... uh, uh, what was his full name?
Lisa: Corleone?
Dr. Edwards: Yeah! (Laughs) I'm reliving Don Leone's experience, you know, but that was so funny. But that's how we got started with it - Vision Equality, Vision for Equality.
More Interview Chapters
- Childhood and Family
- Dr. Edwards as a Student | Professional Aspirations
- Birth of Graynle, Jr.
- Graynle Jr.'s Educational Experience
- Impact of Disability on Relationships
- Graynle Jr's Education and Impact of Least Restrictive Environment
- YOU ARE HERE: Joining a Community of Advocates
- Lack of Opportunities Post-secondary School
- Dr. Edwards Advocacy for Children and Adults with Disabilities
- Challenges for Parents Today
- Relationship with Graynle Jr. and Reflections on Advocacy
About Graynle Edwards
Born: 1936
Parent, Adjunct Professor in Environmental Sciences, Lincoln University
Philadelphia
Keywords
Fathers, Education and Least Restrictive Environments, PARC, Parents, Employment and Workshops, Waiting List
The Disability and Change Symposium is available as a free online learning module.
Combating Implicit Bias: Employment
About this year's theme
Employment statistics for persons with disabilities continue to be disappointing, ~19% compared to ~66% of peers without disabilities. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). We ask ourselves, "is there something beyond overt discrimination and access that perhaps we need to address? Are there silent barriers such as those created by implicit bias?"
Most of us believe that we are fair and equitable, and evaluate others based on objective facts. However, all of us, even the most egalitarian, have implicit biases – triggered automatically, in about a tenth of a second, without our conscious awareness or intention, and cause us to have attitudes about and preferences for people based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and religion. These implicit biases often do not reflect or align with our conscious, declared beliefs.(American Bar Association, Commission on Disability Rights, "Implicit Bias Guide," 2019)
This year's theme challenges us to each ask ourselves "What implicit bias(es) do we have and encounter, and how do we recognize them and move beyond them to create opportunities, welcome, and full participation for all?"
As always, this Symposium privileges first-person voices and experiences.
About the Disability and Change Symposium
The stated goal of the annual Symposium is "to create conversation that transcends any one-dimensional depiction of people with disabilities, and foregrounds the multidimensional lives of our speakers - as writers, educators, performers, and advocates."
The Disability and Change Symposium is a one-day, interdisciplinary conference focusing on cultural equity and disability. The event is free, accessible and open to the public.
Acknowledgments
Organized by the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, the Symposium is an outcome of collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Faculty Council on Disability whose mission is "to foster collaboration across Temple University on disability-related projects including research, teaching, programming, publication, and grant-seeking. By connecting with one another, Council members help build community among the growing number of people at Temple whose work engages with disability."
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We extend our appreciation to Disability Resources and Services for providing Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) and American Sign Language services for the day.
The Institute on Disabilities, Temple University College of Education is pleased to recognize some of our 2020 Symposium Partners/Sponsors from Temple University:
- Center for Bioethics, Urban Health, and Policy (CBHUP), Lewis Katz School of Medicine
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This year we also want to recognize the contributions of students (Associate Professor Deb Blair, STHM 2114 - Leisure & Tourism in a Diverse Society), who contributed to shaping and supporting this symposium:
- Madeline Culbert, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management; Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 08/2021)
- Jair Guardia, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management. (est. 08/2021)
- Hallie Ingrim, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management
- Thomas Leonard, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 08/2021)
- Bryan McCurdy, School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 05/2022)
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