Starting today, Charlotte can change the lives of ONE BILLION PEOPLE

You see, I use a wheelchair to get around.

I was born with cerebral palsy. I grew up on the Outer Banks, a place that is not the most wheelchair friendly; let’s just say sand and wheelchair tires don’t really mix. So when it was time for me to graduate from high school, I had two criteria for cities to move to for college: it had to be big, and it had to be accessible.

Upon a visit in 2008, I realized Charlotte was the right fit.

It was big, it had sidewalks that made mobility around Uptown a breeze and the buildings (at least most of them) were wheelchair friendly. For the longest time I thought that if a place has/is those things mentioned, it automatically qualifies as “accessible.”

I’ve started realizing that is truly not the case.

In order to make a place more accessible, the negative perception that is associated with “disability,” needs to change.

This month marks the 25 Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On July 26, 1990, George H.W. Bush signed this act, changing the lives of millions. It provided this country with a physical checklist, that would make this a more inclusive place for all.

Curb-cuts, elevators, ramps, permission to utilize a service animal in public and much more, are all things that were put in place because of the ADA.

So yes, a lot has changed, and I am grateful to the policy makers who saw the need for those changes. However, as I mentioned previously, there has to be more done than just checking things off a list, to become a more welcoming place for the disability community.

Growing up, I understood that I had a disability.

What I did not see, is the negative perception society has about “disability.” It wasn’t until I moved away, living independently while studying Marketing at Johnson & Wales University, and interacting with the disability community, that I realized people who are disabled (or as one of my friends says, “differently abled”) automatically have an image put over us.

People automatically assume that we are invalids, that we are not capable of living life to the fullest, or that we do not have the same desires as anyone else.

I cringe thinking about it, because none of those things are true; I, for one, have a more active life than most of my friends, work as the Director of Recruitment at a Charlotte based company called Advocations, and am passionate about making a difference in this world.

But here’s the thing, not everyone in the disability community has the same opportunities that I have had.

Why? Because of the negative perception! YIKES! In order to break this horrific cycle, there needs to be a shift in the way people define disability. It’s time that we have blunt conversations, and allow the opportunity to ask the awkward questions that no one wants to ask because of fear.

Once that shift begins, I am a firm believer that positive things will begin to take place. Not only will the negative shadow hovering over the disabled change, but the owners of places like the Dandelion Market in Uptown will see the value of building a simple ramp for me to get into their business, employers will see that someone with a disability can be just as qualified and dedicated to a job as anyone else, and lawsuits like the one filed against Mecklenburg County for not making all entrances of Romare Bearden Park accessible will be few and far between.

I don’t want it to seem like I am bashing the QC, because I absolutely am not; I love this city, and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I actually think that we have a profound opportunity to be a model city; one that moves beyond the physical ADA checklist, a place that sees accessibility as more than curb-cuts and elevators, and a place that is not scared to have those tough conversations.

Once these things begin, we should make it our mission to scream from the Bank of America building not only how great our city is, but also our commitment to close the gap for 20% of our community.

THIS is how our beloved Charlotte, can change the lives of the over one billion people worldwide who have a disability. Ready to join us?

Photos via Remy Biase Photography, George Bush Presidential Library and Museum and Tom Olin Photography.