WHEN BILLY BROKE HIS HEAD...
AND OTHER TALES OF WONDER
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WHEN BILLY BROKE HIS HEAD...AND OTHER TALES OF WONDER was
produced by Billy Golfus and David E. Simpson for the Independent
Television Service with funds provided by the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting.
Additional support was provided by the Center for New Television's
Great Lakes Regional Fellowship Program, Film in the Cities Regional
Film/Video Program (with funds made available by the Jerome
Foundation), Minnesota State Arts Board (through funds provided by the
Minnesota State Legislature), and Very Special Arts Minnesota.
WHEN BILLY BROKE HIS HEAD...AND OTHER TALES OF WONDER is
dedicated to the memory of Reverend Wade Blank.
The Producers of WHEN BILLY BROKE HIS HEAD...AND OTHER TALES OF WONDER
want you to know:
- There are currently an estimated 49 million Americans living with
disabilities.
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), guaranteeing equal
access to all aspects of the society for all Americans, was passed in
1990. Then-President George Bush likened the event to the "freeing of
the slaves."
- The ADA was the result of Health Regulation 504, which guaranteed
access and non-discrimination in all federally-funded projects.
- 76% of persons with disabilities are kept out of work by a
combination of legislation and prejudice. Three-quarters of the of the
working 24% have only found part-time employment. Professor John
McKnight of the Center for Urban Studies at Northwestern University
calls this "legislated poverty." Persons with disabilities are
America's poorest minority.
- Many find the term "handicapped" to be offensive, particularly due
to the term's origins surrounding the British government's allotment
and assignment of "begging corners" to returning W.W.I disabled
veterans.
- For most, the preferred term is "disabled" although the prefix
"dis" comes from the Greek meaning "not." Nevertheless, "disabled" has
been adopted by the disability rights movement.
- It shouldn't matter how someone became disabled, nor is someone
necessarily kept from accomplishing goals due to their
disability. What matters most is how people with disabilities are
treated and/or denied the opportunities and basic rights the majority
population routinely enjoys.