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Ed Roberts, Activist
A Study Guide to the Life of Ed Roberts
By Matt Kramer
Member, Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilites
Use the questions below to study the important events and ideas in the life of Ed Roberts.
Click the "Show Answers" button to reveal the answers.
1. Where did Ed attend college to pursue his Ph.D.?
The University of California, Berkeley
2. Where did Ed first live on campus and why?
Cowell Hospital, because his iron lung would not fit in a dorm room.
3. What was Ed’s first life and death battle?
He contracted polio when he was 14 years old.
4. What was Ed’s biggest fear when he re-entered high school and what did he learn?
He was afraid of being in front of people and having them stare at him, and when he confronted it, he realized that it didn't hurt, and that he could choose to think of himself as a rock star people stared at with admiration.
5. What lesson did Ed learn about people who pitied him?
People who pitied him could be manipulated, and he could get pretty much anything he wanted.
6. What role did Ed play in the first Center for Independent Living?
He was a consultant for the federal government in creating the first Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, CA.
7. The Independent Living Movement is part of a larger movement. What is that called?
The Civil Rights Movement.
8. What lesson did firing his first attendant teach Ed Roberts?
He had to ask himself if he loved himself enough to make sure he got the care he needed.
9. What did Ed realize about living a longer life?
Fight for your rights and actively participate in making your own decisions.
10. People always wanted to ask Ed about disability issues but he preferred to teach a life lesson about character. What was one of those characteristics?
Strength – The strength to be motivated, to be clear about who you are.
11. What was one lesson for all people with disabilities?
Advocate for what you need. Ask questions. If a doctor prescribes medication, ask about it, because they may know medicine, but you know your body. Live independently. Never be dependent upon professionals.
12. How did he apply this lesson to his own life?
He fired attendants who weren’t providing adequate care, and he learned to use a power wheelchair even when professionals told him he could not.
13. What motivated Ed to learn how to use a power wheelchair?
He fell in love and wanted to be able to be with the woman he loved and have her jump on his lap.
14. If he could have done things differently, how would he have reshaped the Centers for Independent Living?
Teach more of the history and philosophy of the IL and disability rights movement. Make roles in CILs more transitory, where someone comes in, learns the job, and then moves on to other employment including government agencies. Organize around political change, rather than focusing on getting services for one person at a time. Always have someone with a disability run the CIL. Include parents and friends of people with disabilities in the Center, but under the leadership of people with disabilities. Reach out to all minority groups and organize.
