Al Tolbert - Changes Along the Way
“I've seen some things change, a lot of things change for the better,” says Al Tolbert of the disabilities rights movement. In 1971, Al was in a training accident in Germany that left him paralyzed. After his accident, Al got involved in the Independent Living movement. He says the early days were…
Title
Al Tolbert - Changes Along the Way
Subject
Disability Rights Movement
Legislation
Description
“I've seen some things change, a lot of things change for the better,” says Al Tolbert of the disabilities rights movement. In 1971, Al was in a training accident in Germany that left him paralyzed. After his accident, Al got involved in the Independent Living movement. He says the early days were very crude. “There were laws that people were trying to follow, but I don't think they had a central theme or a central place to go to ask questions or they didn't know exactly if they were doing things right.” When the ADA passed, people finally had guidelines and a place to call for answers. Many people didn’t see a need for the law. Al says, “I remember the chamber of commerce was not in favor of it.” People feared the ADA would put people out of work and hurt small businesses. Instead, Al believes the ADA has been an asset to employers and increased their productivity.
Al explains the ADA is one of several laws that has improved the lives of people with disabilities. He discusses the Air Traffic Act and HAVA Act (Help America Vote Act). Despite the progress, Al knows there is more work to do. “There’s more to be done with the ADA in the implementation of it. So we’re not where we should be let’s put it that way. We have more growth to do.” Al was interviewed in 2009 at the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities Conference.
Al explains the ADA is one of several laws that has improved the lives of people with disabilities. He discusses the Air Traffic Act and HAVA Act (Help America Vote Act). Despite the progress, Al knows there is more work to do. “There’s more to be done with the ADA in the implementation of it. So we’re not where we should be let’s put it that way. We have more growth to do.” Al was interviewed in 2009 at the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities Conference.
Creator
Indiana Disability History Project
Publisher
Center for Health Equity at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community and Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities
Contributor
Al Tolbert - interviewee
Phil Stafford - interviewer
Peggy Holtz - videographer/editor
Rights
Copyright © 2018 The Trustees of Indiana University
Format
video/mp4
Language
English
Type
Moving Image
Identifier
065-mi-02
Access Rights
Open to all users
Is Part Of
065-mi
Bibliographic Citation
"Al Tolbert - Changes Along the Way" YouTube video, 00:04:02, interview excerpt 065-mi-02 by the Indiana Disability History Project, posted by "Indiana Disability History" on September 12, 2018, https://youtu.be/saiSX_OrLTg
Spatial Coverage
Indiana
Temporal Coverage
1990s
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