History Note: The Courage of Carabello
[SARN Memo for May 6, 2009]
Bernard Carabello has cerebral palsy. When he was three, he was placed at Willowbrook State School in New York. It was 1953. He tells of a horrible life there. “I got beaten with sticks, belt buckles. I got my head kicked into the wall by staff.”
In the 1970s, Carabello met secretly with reporter Geraldo Rivera. Together, they told the world the truth about Willowbrook. Soon after, the institution was closed.
Self-advocacy takes courage. Carabello has it. We can all learn from him.
Respond to this memo!1. Video
Watch a five-minute video clip of Bernard’s life on YouTube.
2. Group Activity
Watch the video together. Go around and ask each person: “What’s one thing that stood out for you when you watched the video?”
3. Resource
Learn more about disability history with ACT’s three-part series of self-led workshops:
Today’s Trivia Question:
Minnesota has more than 13,000 of what?
- lakes
- graves in former state hospital cemeteries (people who died and were buried without a name on their marker)
-
knick-knack shops at the Mall of America
-
uncounted absentee ballots from last year’s election
(The answer will be published in the next Memo.)
Answer to April 22nd Trivia Question: True
Question was: True or false: The Great Sand Dunes National Park has two “sand wheelchairs”—chairs especially designed for over-sand travel—which are available for loan at their visitor center.
Do you have a trivia item you’d like to submit?
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