About The Roving Activist
I am an activist with 28 years of experience as a community organizer working for social change. I started out at age 16 in the Peace and Justice Movement, then, at age 21, joined the Disability Rights Movement. Over the years, I have worked with many groups, on such diverse issues as Women’s Rights, the Environment, Homelessness, and GLBT Rights. I was born in Chicago, IL, but have lived in, or have been to, almost every state, and Canada, as well. I currently live in Rochester, NY.
I got involved in Social Justice issues because I wanted to help to make the world a better place for everyone to live in! As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere“. My belief in this fact is unshakable. In the beginning, I felt bad, even guilty, for being born too late to participate in the Civil Rights Movement. Then, I realized that there were many other positive things that I could do to affect change.
I believe in non-violence, passive resistance, and in-your-face direct action as methods of organizing and activism. Letter writing and meetings are effective means as well. Non-violence is so important to me that I will not participate in any organization or movement that utilizes violence in any form!
For 23 years, I have been a member of a national, grassroots Disability Rights group called ADAPT. ADAPT works on many issues that affect people with disabilities, and helped write, and was instrumental in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Currently, ADAPT is working on the issue of a national home and community-based attendant services program so that people with disabilities and seniors living in nursing homes can live in their own homes and communities. Accessible, affordable, integrated housing is another issue that is extremely important to ADAPT. I am very proud to be part of an organization that is making history, and doing so many positive things!
