Photograph of Ed Roberts taken at Project Independence Camp .. Image Description : A white man with dark hair and beard and breathing tube in the corner of the left side of his mouth looks up to the right.Ed Roberts was an international leader and educator in the independent living and disability rights movement. He is known as the Father of the Independent Living Movement and fought throughout his life to enable all persons with disabilities to fully participate in society. Ed was a true pioneer: he was the first student with a significant disability to attend UC Berkeley. He was the founder of UC’s Physically Disabled Students Program, which became the model for our nation’s first Independent Living Center, Center for Independent Living in Berkeley. He was the first California State Director of Rehabilitation with a disability and later co-founded the World Institute on Disability. Ed passed away in 1995, but his legacy lives on in all of us who believe in Independence.

The California Legislate enacted Ed Roberts Day in 2011 as a day of celebration. Ed was known to be a fun-loving, sometimes wild kind of guy. In 2014 YO! Disabled and Proud would like to honor Ed’s legacy by posting photos of you and Ed enjoying your independence together. Send YO! your unique and clever moments with Ed.

If you have questions or need additional information about YO! Disabled and Proud’s Ed Roberts Day Celebration please contact Christina Mills, christina@cfilc.org.
Image description: Photograph of Ed Roberts .Black and white photograph of light skinned man. He has black hair and black mustache and slight beard.The photo is of his face only.

 

All you have to do to participate is download and cut out YO’s picture of Ed’s head and take a picture with him.

http://yodisabledproud.org/ed-roberts-day/docs/ed-roberts-cutout-revA-122413.pdf

Send your picture and a short description of it including #independentwithEd to youthorganizing@cfilc.org by 1/17/14. YO! will post your picture and description on the YO! Disabled and Proud Facebook page and start a photo gallery of all the photos collected on the YO! Disabled and Proud website the week of Ed Roberts Day, January 23, 2014. YO!  also encourages  us to post our own pictures with Ed and use the hashtag#independentwithEd on your Instagram, Twitter and Facebook page. YO’s  goal is to educate everyone about Ed Roberts and the Independent Living Movement he helped start.

YO! Disabled & Proud connects, organizes and educates youth with disabilities.

Image description: Photograph a young man with light skin and brown hair. He is holding a paper cutout of the face of a light skinned man with dark hair and beard with a breathing tube .There are two large dogs behind the the young man. In the background there is a beige sectional sofa with multicolored pillows, cabinet with lamps, and many glass doors.