2008 Woodie Awards
Johnson to present "Living with Disabilities" lecture
Katie Young
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: News
On Wednesday, April 16, award-winning author Harriet McBryde Johnson will give a lecture, entitled "Living with Disabilities: What most people do not know about being disabled." Johnson, who is also a lawyer, will speak about society's view of the disabled, including the stigma surrounding the disabled in the media.
Campus Activities Board, along with Students Advocating Potential Abillity and other organizations, has been interested in bringing Johnson to UW-L since last year, according to CAB President Nick Bakke.
"She has an all around activism we wanted to bring to campus," said Bakke.
Amanda Perez, Public Relations coordinator of CAB, hopes that Johnson's lecture will be a learning experience for students. "We want to educate students about disabilities, so they can adapt to and understand people with disabilities better," said Perez.
Johnson, who lives in Charleston, South Carolina, has worked as a lawyer, chaired the City of Charleston Democratic Party, and is one of the nation's most influential disability rights advocates. Born with a congenital neuromuscular disorder, Johnson, brings personal experience to the lectures she gives on disability rights.
"She can bring both the personal and legislative aspects to the topic of disability rights," said Bakke.
As a disability rights advocate, Johnson has fought to change cultural stereotypes about people with disabilities. She has actively protested the Jerry Lewis Telethon, believing that it exploits and portrays the disabled as pitiful. She has also challenged Princeton bioethicist Peter Singer and his belief that infants with severe disabilities should be killed at birth.
Johnson is also an award-winning author. She has published columns in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and Slate Magazine, challenging Americans to look past stereotypes of the disabled. She has also written both non-fiction and fiction novels. Her 2005 memoir Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from a Life and her 2006 novel Accidents of Nature both give an account of what it is like to live with a disability.
According to Perez, students will learn a lot and benefit from attending Harriet McBryde Johnson's lecture.
"The more you know about something, the more likely you are to understand it, especially if you didn't grow up with someone with a disability. We hope that the lecture teaches students to be more accepting of those with disabilities," said Perez.
Harriet McBryde Johnson's lecture will start at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, April 16 at Graff Main Hall Auditorium. Tickets are $3 for UW-L students, $6 for UW-L employees, and $8 for others. Tickets are available at the Cartwright Center Information Counter or at 785-8898. For more information, go to http://www.uwlax.edu/cab.
Campus Activities Board, along with Students Advocating Potential Abillity and other organizations, has been interested in bringing Johnson to UW-L since last year, according to CAB President Nick Bakke.
"She has an all around activism we wanted to bring to campus," said Bakke.
Amanda Perez, Public Relations coordinator of CAB, hopes that Johnson's lecture will be a learning experience for students. "We want to educate students about disabilities, so they can adapt to and understand people with disabilities better," said Perez.
Johnson, who lives in Charleston, South Carolina, has worked as a lawyer, chaired the City of Charleston Democratic Party, and is one of the nation's most influential disability rights advocates. Born with a congenital neuromuscular disorder, Johnson, brings personal experience to the lectures she gives on disability rights.
"She can bring both the personal and legislative aspects to the topic of disability rights," said Bakke.
As a disability rights advocate, Johnson has fought to change cultural stereotypes about people with disabilities. She has actively protested the Jerry Lewis Telethon, believing that it exploits and portrays the disabled as pitiful. She has also challenged Princeton bioethicist Peter Singer and his belief that infants with severe disabilities should be killed at birth.
Johnson is also an award-winning author. She has published columns in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and Slate Magazine, challenging Americans to look past stereotypes of the disabled. She has also written both non-fiction and fiction novels. Her 2005 memoir Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from a Life and her 2006 novel Accidents of Nature both give an account of what it is like to live with a disability.
According to Perez, students will learn a lot and benefit from attending Harriet McBryde Johnson's lecture.
"The more you know about something, the more likely you are to understand it, especially if you didn't grow up with someone with a disability. We hope that the lecture teaches students to be more accepting of those with disabilities," said Perez.
Harriet McBryde Johnson's lecture will start at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, April 16 at Graff Main Hall Auditorium. Tickets are $3 for UW-L students, $6 for UW-L employees, and $8 for others. Tickets are available at the Cartwright Center Information Counter or at 785-8898. For more information, go to http://www.uwlax.edu/cab.
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