Episode 2459: Theo W. Braddy ~ National Council on Disability New Diversity, Civil/ Disability Rights, History & Back to the Future 2024

National Council of Disability, National  Council on Independent Living

 In a Month of Civil Right Remembrances & leading into April 2024, I wanted to include Disability Rights. A Movement over 50 years ago supported by the  Civil Rights & Black Panther Movements.

The advances in Disability Legislation/ ADA was influnced by many people, including Black National Leaders who's names have been virtually forgotten in history. So lets explore them!

Theo W. Braddy has advocated on behalf of people with disabilities for over 40 years. At the age of 15, he became a person with a disability due to a high school football accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. In 1988, Braddy was hired as CEO of the Center for Independent Living of Central Pennsylvania, where he served for over 30 years. As CEO, Braddy created an independent living center that became a strong and growing voice for people with disabilities, and started the Living Well with a Disability Initiative. H e currently serves as Executive Director of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL). He has taught at Temple University and Millersville University as an Adjunct Professor. Two different Governors have appointed Braddy as a Commissioner for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and to serve on the Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living Council. In 2021, Governor Wolf appointed him to serve on the State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation. In 2022, Braddy was selected by Senator Robert Casey, Jr., as one of four Black leaders in Pennsylvania who has demonstrated power and persistency in overcoming challenges and creating meaningful change in the State, and his contribution was acknowledged on the Senate Floor at a Congressional Hearing. He graduated from Temple University with his MSW in 1988 after receiving his BSW from Edinboro University.

 
Ncil.org, NCD,gov