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By
Linda Adams
Dead Rebel Of The Week
~ Jeannie Darqueene ~
I met Jeannie sometime around 1993. By that time she had lived at least 20 years in a wheelchair, with only limited movement of one hand and no speech. I don’t remember the details of how she came to be that way – only vague references to an automobile accident. I don’t know when or where she was born or even really how old she was in 1993. I’m not even sure if I’m spelling her name correctly. I heard through the grapevine a few years ago that she had passed away. The details don’t matter. She affected me.
She affected a lot of people.
See, prior to the passing of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in the United States, people with disabilities essentially had no rights. The Rehab Act was monumental in that it clearly sent the message to the status quo that persons with disabilities are not to be ignored, abused, neglected or pushed aside any longer. Although the law only covered discrimination in programs that were federally funded, it was a beginning…
But it wasn’t until July 26, 1990 that the newly enacted Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paved the way for people with disabilities to be included in society – to be included in life. This is the law, folks, that mandated all public restrooms to include wheelchair accessible stalls. Ramps were erected into buildings. Enter sign language interpreters, Braille menus in restaurants, TDD phone operators, and retail stores that allowed a person to show a state ID instead of a driver’s license when writing a check. Even bigger than this is the mandate to make “reasonable accommodations” for otherwise qualified job holders and applicants, thus making discrimination in the workplace illegal. You know, all those little details that a person without barriers to simple body movement or thought processes take for granted. Shame on you.
1990. That wasn’t long ago. Most of you reading this were born prior to 1990.
Do you remember when this happened? Did you pay attention? It was huge. July 26, 1990 is the day that the United States joined the human race. It’s the day we said that it’s not okay to lock up anyone who doesn’t fit our definition of “normal”. They live. They breathe. They shop. They travel. They vote. They laugh. They cry. They love. They’re human beings and should be granted the rights and opportunities as any other citizen of this country.
1990.
How can you not remember?
In 1993, the ADA was still in it’s infancy but Jeannie had already spent decades fighting the prejudices, stereotypes, brick walls and straight out piss poor attitudes that the law only began to dissolve. After her accident, Jeannie picked her self up, sized up the situation, and said “I will live”. However, she refused to live passively, and I’m sure this was infuriating to all of the “helpful” people she met along the way. At the time I made her acquaintance, Jeannie was a well-known disability rights activist in the Southeast and I had a hand in booking her to speak at an annual conference of rehabilitation professionals.
Ok, I’ll wait here while you re-read that last sentence and then go back to my first paragraph…
All of you quick and witty people out there are, by now, thinking, “Wait! You said she can’t speak! And she’s in a wheelchair. How can she be a well known keynote speaker?”
Jeannie Darqueene was the keynote speaker at that conference because she was a rebel of the highest caliber. Every speech she made served to rub the noses of the unbelievers back into the pile of dog shit they had offered her years earlier, and to shame or inspire any others into action.
As Jeannie had recovered from her accident, she began to seek out health care and social services to help her adapt to the new challenges she faced. She found very little help. Completely bound to her wheelchair with no speech and little movement, her disability was automatically classified as “too severe” to qualify for anything other than a paid diaper changer. Vocational Rehabilitation, that the federal agency started up after WWII to help persons with disabilities enter, return to or stay in the workforce, turned her down for services. She was “too disabled” to work and not worth helping. According to these sources, her life, as you and I define life, was over. But Jeannie still had her mind, her dignity and her determination. Fortunately, she also had her family and, along the way, a new husband, Jules, who became her Knight with Shining Toolbox. I think I remember that Jules was in the military when they met, a friend of Jeannie’s brother. It was through correspondence that they fell in love. Jules was the person who looked beyond the wheelchair and saw the beautiful strong woman sitting in it. After his stint in the military, he became her constant supporter, companion and inventor. He installed remote control buttons for Jeannie to control lighting, the TV, her stereo, etc. A new tub body lift graced their bathroom and their family car was a van with a wheelchair lift.
And off into the sunset they drove…
Enter the Computer Age. By 1993 desktop computers were the newest and greatest thing. The disability community was quick to tap into this new field, offering to persons with disabilities everything from targeted children’s learning software to spellcheck, voice dictation, and screen reading programs. Augmentative communication, or computers talking for people, opened up the world to many people without, or with limited, speech capability. Jeannie Darqueene was one of these people. I’m sure somebody had to sell blood or babies to buy her that first laptop that sat secured on her wheelchair tray. Special software allowed her to program shortcut commands, and she typed with the one finger on her right hand she could maneuver. The augmentative communication software allowed her to type in whatever she wanted to say – and to pre-program phrases she said often. With the touch of a button a digital voice spoke for her.
At that same conference, I watched in awe as every person in the room sat still, leaning forward on the edge of their chair, listening with total concentration to what Jeannie had to say. She spoke of her history and of being turned down all those years ago for vocational services. And then she pointed out the biggest irony of her life – that through determination and time, she was now working for the same people who said she was too disabled to work. Jeannie was a wake up call for every person in that room; each of us working to help persons meet the challenges in their lives. Jeannie had turned to us at one point in time and we offered her nothing. We gave up on her too easily but she refused to give up on us. She kept going, but didn’t hesitate to seize the opportunities when we finally got around to giving them to her. And then she stayed. To remind. To inspire.
Jeannie Darqueene not only fought for herself but she fought for the millions of people around the world who, to this day, still face challenges and barriers on a daily basis. Time has shown us that the ADA didn’t solve all the issues. Since then other key laws have been passed mandating access and opportunity for persons of all ages with disabilities. In 2006, we’ve come a long way but until the day that people can look at other people who are facing a visible physical, emotional or mental challenge and simply see a person facing a challenge rather than “someone different, oh my god, what do I do”, we will need to continue to pass laws to force us to make considerations and effort due any other human being.
July 26, 1990. The day the United States entered the human race. And Jeannie Darqueene was light years ahead of her time.
