Disabled Missing at US Social Forum

by Calvin E. Peterson & Leroy Moore

by Calvin E. Peterson

Every day millions of U.S. dollars are being spent in support of the nonsensical war on Iraq; a war that is causing the population of disabled people to increase by astronomical numbers. Soldiers are losing their limbs and their minds and are coming home totally transformed.

In addition to this tragic reality, large numbers of black men and women, both young and old are being incarcerated for multiple lifetimes, convicted over economic disparities that are rooted in the perpetuation of poverty. Reports show that housing an inmate costs up to $66,000.00 per year, while the costs of educating a college student costs less than $20,000.00.

I am baffled to think that today being an African descendent, living in poverty with a disability, in this great big world with no parents or any support system that the fact that I am forced to live on the streets as a houseless educated man is by design.

As I think back on my life, the question that Marvin Gaye asked 20 years ago “ Who really cares “ is still prevalent and significant today.

Actually I have been homeless three times in my life. The first time was when I was a student at Long Island University (LIU) in New York. I was always an activist rallying and mobilizing against injustice, and fighting for my human rights.

At LIU, their focus was on strictly enforcing their administrative policies that curtailed the free will of the students. We were expected to go to class, go to the cafeteria, and go back to the dormitory. This was our only regiment. I broke out of that confined regiment and was punished for my actions. LIU changed the lock on my door and put me out of the dormitory. For weeks into (8) months, I was forced to live at a public hospital. Consequently, I wrote a letter to Congressman Charles Rangel who helped me by pulling whatever punches he could to get me reinstated and back in LIU.

The second time homelessness occurred in my life was after successfully completing my degree and returning home again forced to apply for public housing. The Atlanta Housing Authority ( AHA) at that time was not yet handicap assessable. AHA also told me that according to their policy , someone was required to live with me. They told that people with disabilities were not allowed to live in an apartment alone. When AHA rejected my application, again I was forced to live inside of a holistic restaurant called the “Here & Now”. The Black Nationalist brothers and sisters took care of me for 3 months.

The third time was not a charm. I received a positive response from the AHA to move into an apartment, which was not handicap assessable, yet. I mention not yet because AHA kept promising to renovate, then it took maintenance or the administration up to 13 years before the job was completed. I finally found someone to live in with me to get the personal care that I needed. She however did not want to sign onto the lease. So that put me again in jeopardy of eviction. For the record, normally I paid the rent on time. To survive, I paid my attendant instead of paying rent, therefore, I was evicted.

I stood firm on my position to withhold the rent in my own ‘rent strike’. I landed on the street once again, evicted! My day in court proved me right and wrong. However, AHA took issue with my stance of non-payment and that decision prevailed. Many of my DIA supporters stood with me protesting all the way to the Atlanta’s Mayor, Maynard Jackson . When the Mayor dropped the ball on my case, I was put on the streets, which resulted in my returning to live at Grady Hospital., for several weeks.

Right now, I want to encourage the disabled to stay focused on your personal goals. My book “Nothing Is Impossible” chronicles my challenges and my victories. As African descendents, we need empowerment tools to help us to combat these societal ills that are designed to eliminate us all. “Nothing is Impossible” gives you the opportunity to overcome obstacles that have already been conquered.
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My impression of the US Social Forum was the same as that of so-called mainstream society in that the makeup was exclusive. There was a diverse cross section of people in attendance, each going their own way, not always connecting. It was still a good showing of people who reject the unjust practices of the status quo, however as a disabled activist, I still had to struggle to be included and heard.

I witnessed the lack of workshops that addressed the continuing issues of racism and poverty in the disability rights arena. Although I had been asked to participate as a speaker and a disability rights panelist in February at the annual Poor Peoples Day by the national planning committee coordinator, no one contacted me further, and a workshop was not included.. So I was hyped up in the expectation of the social forum, but I was disappointed in its delivery. I am hopeful in the establishment of the Peoples Movement Assembly as the outgrowth.

About the Author:

Calvin E. Peterson was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in the civil rights era. Born with cerebral palsy, he recognized early his calling to organize around the disparities in education and the human rights of the disabled when he founded the Advanced Association of the Physically Handicap in high school and Disabled In Action, Inc (DIA) after graduating from college. He is an educator, advocate, lecturer, program director, and resource to individuals and organizations that focus on issues of equity and inclusion for the disabled.

To contact DIA: disabledinactionatl.org / disabledinaction009@comcast.net/ 678-358-1180

by Leroy Moore

I want to thank Mr. Peterson for sharing his story about his life, his organization and his dedication to people with disabilities in poverty and how he was treated at the US Social Forum that took place in his hometown of Atlanta, GA. POOR Magazine invites Peterson and other disabled advocates living in poverty to become a regular contributor of Illin-N-Chillin.

The best thing that came from the US Social Forum was meeting people and hearing voices that were muffled at the Forum. I had a chance to meet one of Peterson’s associates, at the US Social Forum during the closing ceremony. I was excited to get to know about another Black disabled advocate but when I found out that Peterson had the same vision as POOR Magazine to advocate and talk about poverty, houselessnes and discrimination toward people especially Black disabled residents of Atlanta and elsewhere I knew this was the reason why I attended the USSF.

POOR Magazine was looking for stories like Peterson. This is the reason that POOR came up with the whole notion of the Ida B Wells Media Justice Center at the USSF where the media would be made by collaborating and co-producing with poverty, race youth and disability scholars with workshops led by these scholars and our own newsroom in an accessible, large space. Just like Peterson, POOR Magazine had been apart of a committee of the USSF but we were on the media committee of the USSF for almost four months before the Forum. POOR Magazine stuck to our guns with our mission and certain people on the calls agreed with our mission. We tried our best to push our mission by contacting local disabled advocates in ATL to make sure that the space for the Idea B Wells Media Justice Center was accessible. We were told it was accessible with a freight elevator.

My friend in Atlanta tried to find me at the Idea B Wells Media Justice Center and was told to go up, down and up stairs. She found me and took me to see the real Atlanta. After visiting one of the MAD HOUSERS Inc’ camps where houseless people live in small hunts in wooded areas, my friend took me around downtown Atlanta next to The Homeless Task Force where she pointed out lines of people sleeping in parking lots, on churches front steps and on sidewalks that led to the metro\subway stations with no benches.

She also told me the reality of fullfiling POOR Magazine’s goal of getting stories and having people in poverty pen their news along with media “experts” would be very hard because the city has arrested houseless people if they get close to the civic center where the USSF was taking place. Although POOR Magazine fought to get an accessible place for our newsroom at the USSF our workshops were still in a place that was mildewed, not accessible and very hard to get to. Because of all of this many of our reporters got deadly sick due to the smell of the Ida B Well Media Justice Center. The above could be one reason why Peterson and over forty disabled advocates that POOR Magazine outreached to during the opening March of the USS Forum could not find my workshop on Race, Disability and Poverty in the Media.

I was excited to see advocates with disabilities in front leading the March that opened up the USSF but my excitement didn’t last when I read in the Progressive newspaper that the city changed the route of the March to avoid two other local protests for affordable housing on a street that had abandon buildings and to help keep Grady Hospital open.

Mr. Peterson has experienced both, housing discrimination and working on accessibility plan of Grady Hospital plus he was born and lived there, but like he said his voice and workshop were not included in the USSF although the National committee coordinator of the USSF had contacted him. After all the struggles that Peterson and POOR Magazine went through at the USSF, we realized that we were still able to make relationships, networks and news that reached far beyond the walls and security guards of the USSF and that our new writers like Calvin E. Peterson and poverty, race, youth and disability scholars from down South, on the East and West Coast and in Canada have now joined forces with POOR Magazine in the struggle to be heard.