116 www.blackeoejournal.com Black EOE Journal
DISABILITY INITIATIVES
O
n May 17, 1994, just 28 short years ago, my life would change forever. I was train- ing for my third Olympic trials in the 400m hurdles. It was 5:29 p.m., and I was on the Fort Hays State University track in Hays, Kan. I was a member of the United States Armys World Class Athlete Program team, an elite group of military athletes identified by their national governing body of sport as having a high probability of making an Olympic team. I was a combat Army veteran who served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. A board of Officers just recommended me for Officer Candidate School. All was well in my life.
The rate of disability among Black Americans was
13%
compared with
Letter From a Paralympic Veteran
The New Normal and the Disability Community
By John Register
At 5:30 p.m., I would never run over another hurdle. During my warm-up, I sprinted around the curve over the first three hurdles. I mis- stepped the third hurdle. A faulty landing caused the dislocation of my left knee and sev- ered the popliteal artery. Seven days later, my left leg was amputated above the knee. With one step, I went from Olympic hopeful to a person with a disability. I was now part of a double marginalized population, African American and a person with a disability. We know having a disability increases the probability of being placed at a disadvantage in society. People with disabilities earn fewer
11.6%
for all other races.
Credit: Bureau of Labor Statistics
wages and have a harder time obtaining hous- ing and career employment. The health field is no better. In fact, in 2022 the Department of Health and Human Services had to issue an advisory to healthcare professionals to remind them that withholding treatment from those with disabilities violates federal law. With my new amputation, I did not know how I would transition to life as an amputee. I have experienced blatant and covert racism in my life, and I was about to experience ableism as well. Since the formal passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, signed into law by former President George H. W. Bush, access to opportunities was open for people with dis- abilities. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 afforded people with disabilities protection from discrimination based on their disability. Yet, since the passing, the employment numbers for people with disabilities have not moved. According to the National Center on Disability and Journalism, approximately six million African Americans in the U.S. live with a disability of some kind. The Black commu- nity continues to endure and face systematic challenges. The issue is compounded when disability is added to the equation. For exam- ple, the first artificial foot cover I received was white. I was told by my prosthetist there were not many brown feet on the market, let alone anything to match the tone of my flesh. So, how do we advance equity and inclu- sion for all Americans, especially African Americans with disabilities? I believe there must be a pervasive demand for equality. A couple of ways are to open access to critical services like healthcare equality, as well as educate our communities to thrive by embrac- ing a new normal mindset. This new normal mindset is not a destina- tion where we wait for services to come to us, but rather a plateau seized by a pervasive demand to seek out those services and ensure others know how to access them. Sports became my great equalizer. After my injury, I swam for physical therapy and 26 months post my amputation, I competed in the 1996 Paralympic Games (the parallel games to the Olympics). Four years later, I won the silver medal in the long jump at the
JOHN REGISTER INSPIRED COMMUNICATIONS INTERNATIONAL
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