Past and Future Disability Rights Leaders
Share Their Stories at Christopher Newport University
“It's Our Story” Flag and Americans with Disabilities Act Pioneer
Featured at 10 th Virginia Youth Leadership Forum
For Immediate Release
July 9, 2009
For more information contact: Tom Driscoll, 804-786-9380,
Thomas.Driscoll@VBPD.virginia.gov
(NEWPORT NEWS, VA) - From Monday, July 13, through Friday, July 17, 2009, twenty-five rising high school juniors and seniors with disabilities from across Virginia will gather at Christopher Newport University as Delegates to the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities' tenth annual Virginia Youth Leadership Forum (YLF).
In recognition of this special anniversary, the Virginia Statewide Independent Living Council will sponsor a visit by the “It's Our Story” Flag and exhibit. On Wednesday, July 15, the Story Flag will serve as the backdrop for a Networking & Mentorship Luncheon. The luncheon will feature keynote speaker Richard Pimentel, a pioneering disability rights advocate who was instrumental in building support for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. It will also provide an opportunity for YLF Delegates to share experiences and initiate relationships with successful adult leaders with disabilities and disability advocates from across the state and from all walks of life.
Inspired by the Native American proverb “it takes a thousand voices to tell a single story,” the Disability Media Initiative initiated the “It's Our Story” project to create a video oral history archive that tells the collective and individual stories of individuals with disabilities from all across the country. By October 2009, one thousand contributors will have voiced what it was like, is like, and should be like to live in America with a disability.
As it tours the country, leading up to the next year's 20 th anniversary of the ADA, the “It's Our Story” Flag serves as a visible and moving symbol of the project. The 12' by 20' Story Flag is an artistic rendering of the American flag holding more than 700 handmade “Story Sticks” that each contain a picture of an individual represented in the video archive, which can be accessed via an accompanying listening station or at the project's website. During the Story Flag's visit to YLF, project staff will collect additional stories and conduct presentations on disability history, the story project, and its stories.
At the Networking & Mentorship Luncheon, Pimentel will share his personal story with the YLF Delegates and their guests, a story made famous in the award-winning 2007 feature film “Music Within.” Mixing humorous and ironic anecdotes from the beginnings of his and fellow advocate Art Honneyman's friendship and shared campaign for civil rights and equal opportunities for people with disabilities, Pimentel will challenge the YLF Delegates to assert themselves as leaders, take on the responsibility, and seize every opportunity to complete the work that he and other advocates began.
Delegates to the Youth Leadership Forum were selected through a competitive application and interview process. As participants in YLF, they will build self-confidence and leadership skills, learn how to become more involved in their schools and communities, and receive guidance in setting and pursuing their own career and higher education goals. In addition to the Story Flag visit and Mentors Luncheon, their experiences will include a visit to the State Capitol on Thursday, July 16, where Virginia's First Lady Anne Holton will share her thoughts about leadership and public involvement, they will present testimony to a mock General Assembly committee, and learn more about the legislative and political process.
For more information about the Youth Leadership Forum, visit www.vaboard.org/ylf.htm , call (800) 846-4464, or e-mail Info@VBPD.virginia.gov . To learn more about the “It's Our Story” project, go to http://dmi-us.blogspot.com/ . More on Richard Pimentel, can be found at www.miltwright.com/_richard_ pimentel/index.htm .
2009 YOUTH LEADERSHIP FORUM Delegates
Craig Bennett , Fredericksburg Blake Kelmar , Glen Allen
Joshua Blanks , Smithfield Collin Knight , Petersburg
Julius Blazer , Bristow Joseph McGeary , Arlington
Ryan Buhse , Mechanicsville Benjamin Norris , Blacksburg
Aaron Buncher , Richmond Thomas Purcell , Richmond
Meghan Coglio , Newport News Lane Richardson , Charlottesville
Liam Cornwall , Culpeper Jessica Rodriquez , Hampton
Jennifer DeRosa , Arlington Tne' Rose , Richmond
Caroline Elgin , The Plains Kristie Stokes , Aylett
Tyler Ellis , Fredericksburg Elsie Swale , Fredericksburg
Grace Feazelle, Virginia Beach DeAngela Tibbs , Gainesville
William Ford , Maidens Hunter Vermillion , Charlottesville
Victoria Herrera , Gum Spring
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Virginia Board for People with Disabilities
Washington Building , Capitol Square
1100 Bank Street, 7th Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
Voice/TTY: (804) 786-0016
Fax: (804) 786-1118
Toll Free Voice/TTY: (800) 846-4464
Info@VBPD.virginia.gov
www.vaboard.org
Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls 5,000 students in rigorous academic programs through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Joseph W. Luter III College of Business and Leadership and offers great teaching, small classes and an emphasis on leadership, civic engagement and honor. Visit us at www.cnu.edu.