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Once more around the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol Building- – this time through the eyes of disability.
The uprising threatened particular individuals in a building with a lot of history. Some of those individuals live with disability and some of that history is intertwined with accessibility struggles and successes.
Mitch Jeserich worked in and around the Capitol Building for several years as a wheelchair-using reporter. He joins us for a description of the physical structure of that edifice and some stories about what it was like for him to be inside the building.
We hear a clip of California Congressmember Jackie Speier who lives with PTSD because she was shot five times in an ambush in Jonestown. Representative Speier was in the capital gallery when the rioters breached the doors.
Support the deaf community’s call to replace Trump supporter Heather Mewshaw who has been hired as the ASL interpreter for the daily White House press briefings. Sign here.
If you are trying to get an appointment in Sonoma or Contra Costa counties for a covid-19 vaccination, try Optum Serve. Currently, appointments appear to be limited to those 75 or older.
This program comes surrounded with the insight, wit and jibes of our host, Shelley Berman. Descriptions of photos for those with screen readers are below.
photo montage posted to r/disability on Reddit by u/NeuroCartographer
Produced by Shelley Berman with help from Mark Romoser, Sheela Gunn-Cushman and Adrienne Lauby.
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PHOTO DESCRIPTIONS and CREDITS
Mitch Jeserich from a video by Sandy Sanders. A white man in a cap and heavy sweatshirt sits in a wheelchair in a public square. He has a short beard and a mustache.
A man from one of the many protests by the disability community. Quite a difference from the Confederate flag carrying insurrectionists! (Photo courtesy of ADAPT.org)
A white man sits, probably in a wheel chair. His yellow tee shirt reads, “Fascism Sucks”. This photo comes from one of the many protests by the disability community. Quite a difference from the Confederate flag carrying insurrectionists! (Photo courtesy of ADAPT.org)
A photo collection which compares how the Capitol police treated disability protestors during the fight to save the ACA (Obama Care). The four photos on the right show protesters being hauled out bodily and the two photos on the left show police being hands off. P.S. No one died during the disability protests.
photo montage posted to r/disability on Reddit by u/NeuroCartographer
The U.S. Capitol. A floor plan which shows the central circular rotunda with the Senate Chamber on one side and the House of Representatives on the other. There are many side rooms, stairways and other features that are not clear on this diagram.
The sound byte from Jackie Speier is from an interview with Stephen Colbert, on The Late Show from CBS. January 28, 2021
Original air date of this program: January 29, 2021
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