The Performers With Disabilities (PWD) Tri-Union Committee of Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), announced the launch of a major disability rights campaign to increase the visibility and equal employment opportunities for actors, broadcasters and sound recording artists with disabilities throughout the entertainment and news media – I AM PWD (Inclusion in the Arts Media of People With Disabilities). The announcement was made Monday, October 6, at simultaneous news conferences in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC to coincide with National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
Robert David Hall, National Chair of the Tri-Union Performers with Disabilities Committee, speaking at the Los Angeles press conference said, “I’m fortunate to have a good career as an actor and creative artist. The normal struggles any performer faces, however, are complicated ten-fold by our industry’s reluctance to include people with disabilities in the full landscape of entertainment. In the 21st century, media is the world’s common cultural environment. Society’s values and priorities are expressed and reflected in film, television, theatre, news and music. If you aren’t seen and heard, you are invisible. People with disabilities are largely invisible within the arts and media landscape. I.AM.PWD will awaken the general public to the lack of inclusion and universal access for people with disabilities by uniting with a network of industry, labor, community and government allies.”
Also in Los Angeles, SAG’s National President Alan Rosenberg says, “Screen Actors Guild is committed to inclusion of all actors, and will work tirelessly to advocate and seek visibility and equal employment opportunities for performers with disabilities as they are an integral part of the diverse landscape of the Guild membership and the American Scene.”
AEA President Mark Zimmerman says, “Actors’ Equity acknowledges that the growth and vitality of our collective industry is dependent upon the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion, and wholeheartedly endorses the I.AM.PWD campaign. The Theatre should, and must, reflect the true diversity of our society.”
AFTRA President Roberta Reardon, speaking at the Washington, DC press conference said, “Our responsibility as union members is to challenge any and all roadblocks to inclusion and access in the workplace. AFTRA has led the fight against all forms of discrimination on so many fronts throughout our history and I am proud to be part of this important day in announcing this landmark disability rights campaign. Now is the time to stand together to combat discrimination and truly integrate our brothers and sisters with disabilities into the promise of the American Scene”
Also in Washington, DC event at the National Press Club, national disability rights leaders, including the National Coalition for Disability Rights (NCDR)’s president and founder, Jim Ward, endorsed the initiative. Ward stated, “The evidence is clear that, concerning people with disabilities, TV and movies do not represent the true diversity of America. 20% of Americans between the ages of 5 and 64 are living with a disability, yet they are represented by less than 2% of charactors on television. Only one-half of one percent of words spoken on television are spoken by a person with a disability.”
Ward declared, “NCDR proudly joins you in this important effort to increase opportunity for actors with disabilities and to help ensure that people with disabilities are portrayed with dignity and respect.”
The mission of the Tri-Union PWD Committee is to serve as the means to enhance the status and promote the advancement of performers with disabilities; nurture members knowledge and skills; improve members professional careers through the sharing and dispersing of information; promote the profession as a whole; further the understanding of the profession and foster understanding and respect for the disabled performers within; develop and improve working standards and assist in the continuing development of ethical standards for practitioners in the industry.
Over the course of the three-year I AM PWD campaign, the group will outreach to the entertainment and media industries, the general public, political and legislative leaders, and to national and glob al civil rights, labor and community allies in an effort to urge the entertainment industry to open up equal opportunities for disabled performers.
Interested allies are urged to join the I AM PWD network of supporters by signing up at www.IAMPWD.org.
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“Winning the Fight for Equity, Opportunity and Inclusion!” That is the name of the 35th annual national conference of the American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA) to be held April 1 - 4, 2009 near Chicago. The Road To Freedom bus will be there and ADA Watch/NCDR’s Jim Ward is a plenary speaker.
The conference theme speaks to a time of great change in our country as we prepare for new leadership within the executive ranks of our government. What will be the impact upon the segments of our society that work tirelessly to bridge the gap of disparity and foster pathways in the quest for equal opportunity? Explore with us all of the possibilities as we prepare for new leadership and develop new strategies for the future.
Nationally ranked speakers and workshop presenters from business, education and government sectors will engage participants in thought-provoking dialogues and activities. Seasoned professionals, as well as the newly appointed EEO/AA practitioner, will have an opportunity to participate in up to date, informative educational sessions, which will address issues vital to EEO/AA/diversity administrators. There will be many opportunities to network with colleagues from the across the United States andother countries.
For more information on the 35th Annual AAAA Conference and/or the AAAA Professional Development Training Institute go to www.affirmativeaction.org
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The NCDR Board of Directors and National Advisory Council are comprised of national disability and allied organizations and recognized national, state and local disability rights leaders:
(*) indicates Board Member
Nan Aron
Alliance for Justice
Ron Bassman*
National Association of Rights Protection & Advocacy
Robert Bernstein
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Marca Bristo
Access Living
The Honorable Tony Coelho
Former Member of Congress
Len Doran*
The Wexford Group
Curtis Decker*
National Disability Rights Network
Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities
David Ferleger, Legal Counsel
National Coalition for Disability Rights
Kyle Glozier
National Disabled Student Union
Claudia Gordon
National Black Deaf Advocates
Wade Henderson
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
The Honorable Judith Heumann
Bob Kafka*
ADAPT
Janine Bertram Kemp*
Cedar Media
John Lancaster
National Council on Independent Living
Ralph Neas
People For the American Way
David Oaks
MindFreedom International
Mike Oxford
NCIL, ADAPT, TILRC
Lee Page*
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Brewster Thackeray*
AARP
Debra Robinson
Speaking For Ourselves
Marcie Roth, Executive Director*
National Coalition for Disability Rights
Phil Sparks
Communications Consortium Media Center
Nancy Starnes*
National Organization on Disability
Betsy Valnes
National Youth Leadership Network
Jim Ward, President and Founder*
National Coalition for Disability Rights
Susan Henderson*
Disability Rights Education and
Defense Fund
Tony Young
NISH
Governance – State and Local:
NCDR is the association of statewide cross-disability coalitions. NCDR supports capacity-building of existing state coalitions and disseminates best practice methods for the development of new statewide coalitions. Local organizations are signed-on as dual members of NCDR and their respective state coalition.
NCDR’s State Coalition Steering Committee consists of the leaders of statewide cross-disability coalitions. At least a majority of the NCDR State Coalition Steering Committee is comprised of people with disabilities.
These state coalitions are represented in seven geographic regions:
NCDR State Membership & Governance Regions
Region 1: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii
Region 2: Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas
Region 3: Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan
Region 4: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee
Region 5: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina North Carolina
Region 6: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, New Jersey
Region 7: New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine
NCDR State Coalition Steering Committee
Catherine Blakemore
California Respect-Ability Coalition
Dennis Borel
Coalition of Texans with Disabilities
Lynn Breedlove
Survival Coalition of
Wisconsin Disability Coalitions
Sharon Fields
Kentucky Disabilities Coalition
Stan Kosloski
Connecticut Disability Advocacy
Collaborative
Bill Olsen
Oregon Cross-Disability Coalition
Jim Moench
North Dakota Disabilities Advocacy
Consortium
Carol Westlake
Tennessee Disability Coalition
Mary Troupe
Mississippi Coalition for Citizens
with Disabilities
Julie Reskin
Colorado Cross Disability Coalition
Vanessa VanGilder
West Virginia Fair Shake Network
Kathryn Wyeth
Michigan Disability Rights Coalition
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