Speaker 1: Hey, this is Questlove, and we're continuing to celebrate Women's
Speaker 1: History Month by releasing episodes of my new podcast with
Speaker 1: Story Pirates. Historical Records is an explosive fusion of hip
Speaker 1: hop and history, tailor made for music loving kids and families.
Speaker 1: In this episode, Nimine learns the inspiring story of Judy Human,
Speaker 1: who fought for the rights of disabled people, and a
Speaker 1: list Broadway actor Jenna Brainbridge for fierce hip hop track
Speaker 1: to honor Judy's legacy. We hope you enjoy Historical Records,
Speaker 1: the show that proves that in order to make history,
Speaker 1: you have to make some noise.
Speaker 2: Hey, listeners, it's Niminy. Welcome back to Historical Records. We're
Speaker 2: doing things a little different on the show today because
Speaker 2: I am at the gardening store and whoops, I dropped
Speaker 2: my trowel. Anyway, as I was saying, I'm throwing a
Speaker 2: garden party tonight's and I need a few last minute supplies.
Speaker 2: For example, these seeds, these pruning snips ooh, and this
Speaker 2: huge clay pot. Oh.
Speaker 3: Dear clean up on Aisle five, herb please report to
Speaker 3: the vegetable section.
Speaker 2: My bad. I'll just grab another large clay.
Speaker 3: Pot herb clean up on Aisle five.
Speaker 2: Stat whoops, I'll just grab another one, Herb.
Speaker 3: Come red. Someone is breaking all the pots in Aisle five.
Speaker 4: What.
Speaker 2: I don't even roots for one? What is happening?
Speaker 5: Herb?
Speaker 2: Where are you?
Speaker 6: This is officially a clean up emergency?
Speaker 7: Ole fine?
Speaker 2: Where am I? Okay, calm down, Niminy. You're back at
Speaker 2: the bunker in your bed. There's no herb, there's no
Speaker 2: Aisle five. It was all a dream man. I guess
Speaker 2: I'm a little how you say, stressed about this garden party.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna throw later, but you know it's great for
Speaker 2: stress gardening listeners, Let's go check on those plans.
Speaker 3: It's historical Records.
Speaker 8: You are now listening to Historical We're.
Speaker 2: To make history. You got to have struggles to make history.
Speaker 2: You got to show toois cannot be quiet loud as
Speaker 2: a riot to make history. You gotta make some noise. Hello,
Speaker 2: lovely listeners, Welcome back to Historical Records, the show where
Speaker 2: I dig into historical records in order to produce historically
Speaker 2: themed records. And by records, I mean songs, which is
Speaker 2: actually a bit of a history lesson in itself. Did
Speaker 2: you know songs and albums used to be called records.
Speaker 2: It's true. And if you have an adult in your
Speaker 2: life who still listens to records, be warned that if
Speaker 2: you ask their opinion about music, they're gonna talk a lot.
Speaker 2: Now follow me, listeners. We're headed to a part of
Speaker 2: the bunker you've never been to. Oh hot, Tina, where
Speaker 2: my headed? I'm on my way to the greenhouse to
Speaker 2: check on my plants for the garden party later. Where
Speaker 2: are you going? Oh, that's right. You're nocturnal, so you're
Speaker 2: going to bed. And that's also probably why you're in
Speaker 2: a dressing gown and a bonnet. And here I thought
Speaker 2: you were making a bold fashioned choice. Sleep tight, Tina.
Speaker 2: I hope you don't have any stress dreams about herb
Speaker 2: Never mind, I'll see you later anyway, listeners. Today's episode
Speaker 2: of Historical Records is all about Shooty Human, who is
Speaker 2: known as the mother of the disability rights movement. But
Speaker 2: before we learn more about her, I need to check
Speaker 2: up on my plants. I started a bunch of seeds
Speaker 2: a few weeks ago, and today's the first day I've
Speaker 2: been able to check up on them. Oh no, all
Speaker 2: the plants are dead or dying. What have I done
Speaker 2: hate him?
Speaker 5: And I'm here for the garden party?
Speaker 2: Me, what are you doing here? The party is not
Speaker 2: for another twelve hours.
Speaker 5: Ah, well, the invite didn't say whether it was five
Speaker 5: am or five pm. I thought it was a little
Speaker 5: weird that a party would start at five am, But
Speaker 5: you're a little weird Nimini, like in a good way,
Speaker 5: so I just went with it.
Speaker 2: I won't argue with you on that, but I don't
Speaker 2: know if there's gonna be a party at all. Now,
Speaker 2: just look at this garden.
Speaker 5: It's not all bad. The leaves on this shrub here
Speaker 5: are really beautiful, bright yellow.
Speaker 2: They're supposed to be green.
Speaker 5: Ooh, yikes, What were the conditions like in here?
Speaker 2: You know me? I love my gadgets, so I set
Speaker 2: my UV light timers to sixteen hours a day, programmed
Speaker 2: plant food to scatter every other day, and set the
Speaker 2: sprinklers to go off every five minutes at random intervals
Speaker 2: to mimic rain and nature. Oh and of course I
Speaker 2: programmed gentle thunderstorm noises to play whenever that happens. Oops,
Speaker 2: they're going off now. Hope you brought your umbrella.
Speaker 5: Who would go to a garden party without an umbrella, Nimoni.
Speaker 5: I understand why you programmed this room the way you did,
Speaker 5: but it looks like you have a lot of different
Speaker 5: plants in here. Individual plants need specific conditions to thrive.
Speaker 5: You can't expect a bonzie tree and a cactus to
Speaker 5: grow strong in the same kind of environment.
Speaker 2: Wow, I guess not. I was just excited to have
Speaker 2: a garden party. I'm a tiny sandwich is.
Speaker 5: In everything, totally understandable, and actually it makes me think
Speaker 5: about this week's episode about Judy Human Really why i'll
Speaker 5: show you here?
Speaker 2: Oh, Lee, I think the party's off. You can put
Speaker 2: away that bird shaped whistle you brought as a party favor.
Speaker 5: Actually, this bird whistle is this week's history simulator.
Speaker 2: Oh you know, I love a theme. Let's go.
Speaker 5: Just as a heads up, this whistle attracts actual birds,
Speaker 5: so you might see some after I blow on it.
Speaker 2: It's great.
Speaker 5: I love birds me too, But jes a reminder, there
Speaker 5: are over eleven thousand species of birds, and I can't
Speaker 5: control which ones show up.
Speaker 2: In that case, maybe we should pause because I really
Speaker 2: don't like sign Then fly I don't know, Well, come on,
Speaker 2: let's fly. Whoa where did we travel to? Lee? I
Speaker 2: assume somewhere near an ocean.
Speaker 5: No, we're on the south lawn of the White House.
Speaker 2: What then, why the seagulls. The birds have.
Speaker 5: Their own reasoning, Nimini, best not to question it. But
Speaker 5: you should look over there at.
Speaker 2: That platform where a bunch of people are standing in
Speaker 2: front of a crowd. Wait a minute, is that President
Speaker 2: George HW. Bush?
Speaker 5: Yup and see that woman over there wearing glasses in
Speaker 5: the wheelchair.
Speaker 2: That's Judy Human. Does Judy Human work at the White House?
Speaker 5: Not yet. Eventually she does end up working with President
Speaker 5: Clinton's administration, but that's still a few years away. Today,
Speaker 5: she's here because President Bush is signing the nineteen ninety
Speaker 5: Americans with Disabilities Act, also known as the ADA.
Speaker 2: And what did the ADA do?
Speaker 5: It's a civil rights law that says it's illegal to
Speaker 5: discriminate against people who have disabilities. The world looked very
Speaker 5: different before the ADA in what way?
Speaker 2: Well?
Speaker 5: Take Judy for example, when she was a kid, she
Speaker 5: had a disease called polio that forced her to use
Speaker 5: a wheelchair to get around. But many buildings were built
Speaker 5: in a way that made it impossible for wheelchairs to
Speaker 5: get inside and move around.
Speaker 2: That's not fair.
Speaker 5: It wasn't. But when the ADA became the law of
Speaker 5: the land. See that wheelchair ramp over there leading up
Speaker 5: to the stage where Bush is speaking. That is one
Speaker 5: small way the ADA helped to make spaces accessible for everyone. Wow,
Speaker 5: and look do you see how there's an ASL interpreter
Speaker 5: translating everything that's being said into sign language.
Speaker 2: Yes, I love watching interpretters, especially at concerts.
Speaker 5: That's part of the eightya two. Judy was part of
Speaker 5: a movement that wanted to change the world, to give
Speaker 5: everyone more access and the right kind of environment to
Speaker 5: feel like they belong.
Speaker 2: Seems like everyone here is happy about the ADA getting passed.
Speaker 2: But is it just me or does Judy seem a
Speaker 2: little unsatisfied?
Speaker 5: Spot on Nimoni. Judy showed up to support this act
Speaker 5: being signed because it was a step in the right direction,
Speaker 5: but she had openly spoken out saying she didn't think
Speaker 5: the ADA went nearly far enough.
Speaker 2: She said that to the president.
Speaker 5: Well, she said it to the media, so President Bush
Speaker 5: knew she was less than thrilled about it.
Speaker 2: Oh, I really admire her honesty. Me too.
Speaker 5: It can be really intimidating to speak up for yourself. Now,
Speaker 5: let me take you further back to another time when
Speaker 5: Judy spoke up. Just prepare yourself because you know the
Speaker 5: bird thing.
Speaker 2: We can do this, Lee, give us a whistle. Oh,
Speaker 2: thank goodness, it's a flock of meadow larks.
Speaker 5: Gorgeous here we are. What a beautiful way to travel.
Speaker 6: Hey lady, are you gonna stand in the middle of
Speaker 6: this sidewalk all day?
Speaker 2: I'm walking here.
Speaker 5: If it's a break, we're lurking here.
Speaker 6: All right, All right, everyone's a character in New York City, Lee,
Speaker 6: Look over, there is that.
Speaker 2: Kid, an old timy Newsy in a cap selling papers.
Speaker 8: It sure is extra extra read all about it. Woman
Speaker 8: in wheelchairs us to become teacher?
Speaker 2: Whoa he must be talking about Judy Human.
Speaker 8: Extra extra read all about it. Judy Human wins case
Speaker 8: against school board again teacher's license.
Speaker 2: Oh wait, newsies were a fixture of life in the
Speaker 2: eighteen hundreds. How far back do we go?
Speaker 5: Lee, the nineteen seventies.
Speaker 2: Oh, the newsies as darkly accurate.
Speaker 5: You Let me worry about that nmony. Listen to what
Speaker 5: the newsies are saying about Judy.
Speaker 2: Extra extra read all about it. In a twist of.
Speaker 5: Fate, Judy Human wins discrimination lawsuit.
Speaker 3: Against the school board that bought it from attending school
Speaker 3: as a child.
Speaker 2: Okay, wild, what are they talking about.
Speaker 5: When she was entering elementary school in nineteen fifty two,
Speaker 5: a school board in Judy's neighborhood didn't let her attend
Speaker 5: school because they said her wheelchair was a fire hazard.
Speaker 2: That seems outrageous even for the nineteen fifties, But what
Speaker 2: does that have to do with these headlines about her
Speaker 2: getting a teacher's license.
Speaker 5: Years later, after Judy had earned her teaching license, that
Speaker 5: same school board sai she couldn't be a teacher in
Speaker 5: their school because she failed the medical exam because she
Speaker 5: couldn't walk.
Speaker 2: That's really unfair. She was obviously able to be a teacher.
Speaker 2: She was just going to need to get around the
Speaker 2: school in her own way. In schools today, there are
Speaker 2: not only ramps in elevators so that everyone is able
Speaker 2: to get around. There's even braille on all the signs
Speaker 2: on the walls to help those that are vision and paired.
Speaker 5: Exactly, and all that progress is the result of Judy
Speaker 5: and her colleagues demanding that buildings be more accessible. Because
Speaker 5: the world is largely designed with able people in mind,
Speaker 5: you have to use your imagination in a new way
Speaker 5: to rethink places and make them for everyone.
Speaker 2: If only the school board could have realized that back
Speaker 2: in nineteen fifty two.
Speaker 8: Extra Extra Exclusive Interview with Judy Human, page four.
Speaker 5: Oh we should read that. Excuse me, Hi, I'd like
Speaker 5: to buy a paper.
Speaker 8: Please show a thing that'll be three fifty.
Speaker 5: Three fifty That is expensive for the seventies.
Speaker 2: Oh well, here you go, neosy.
Speaker 8: Thanks Extra extra podcast assurer and swindled by anachronistic noozy.
Speaker 8: Read all about it, you little rascal.
Speaker 2: Wait, Lee, why would we just read about it when
Speaker 2: we could go see Judy get interviewed.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, maybe I could return this paper to that
Speaker 5: sales final, Oh New York, let's get to that interview.
Speaker 2: That's a burn.
Speaker 5: Well yeah, it's called a jacksnipe.
Speaker 2: I might need to sample it for a beat. That
Speaker 2: is awesome. Now that's the only way to time travel.
Speaker 5: Judy Humans about to give her statement. Sorry, okay, so niminy.
Speaker 5: Here we are at the Overseas Press Club at Judy's
Speaker 5: news conference, and there she is.
Speaker 8: Judy, how do you feel now that you've won the case?
Speaker 9: I feel qualified to teach now and I don't want
Speaker 9: to wait.
Speaker 2: I bet Judy was an amazing teacher.
Speaker 5: She didn't end up teaching that much after the lawsuit.
Speaker 2: What that makes me sad to hear?
Speaker 5: It's actually pretty inspiring. Judy realized that her work needed
Speaker 5: to be outside of the classroom after this whole experience.
Speaker 2: What did she end up doing?
Speaker 5: I'll show you.
Speaker 2: Her case. What am I supposed to.
Speaker 8: Go with this?
Speaker 5: Did you know that Benjamin Franklin wanted the National burn
Speaker 5: to be the anybody.
Speaker 2: Knows that late? Where are we?
Speaker 5: Sh try to keep your voice down. It's pretty late
Speaker 5: at night or early in the morning, depending on how
Speaker 5: you look at it.
Speaker 2: We're in some kind of office building full of people
Speaker 2: having a sleepover.
Speaker 5: It's less of a sleep over and more of a
Speaker 5: sit in.
Speaker 2: Hm hm, that makes sense. People are definitely sitting, mostly
Speaker 2: at empty desks. And look, there's a few people over
Speaker 2: there on the floor in sleeping bags playing a game.
Speaker 2: And based on the various haircuts, I'm guessing we're in
Speaker 2: the seventies again.
Speaker 5: Correct, we're in nineteen seventy seven.
Speaker 2: I thought sit ins were like protests, like the ones
Speaker 2: from the civil rights movement.
Speaker 5: That's right, All of these folks are part of DA
Speaker 5: Disability in Action, an organization that Judy helped create that
Speaker 5: brings people together to fight for the inclusion of disabled people.
Speaker 2: Are they all protesting about another teacher license getting denied?
Speaker 5: No, this is a much bigger moment. This is what
Speaker 5: many sit ins staged across the country by DIA and
Speaker 5: other groups demanding that the government take action on section
Speaker 5: five oh four of the Rehabilitation Act of nineteen seventy three.
Speaker 2: Nineteen seventy three. But didn't you just say it's nineteen
Speaker 2: seventy seven.
Speaker 5: Yes, So in nineteen seventy three, after other protests led
Speaker 5: by Judy in her community, President Nixon finally signed papers
Speaker 5: that basically said no disabled person should be excluded from
Speaker 5: any program, service, or similar which receives federal funds. That's great,
Speaker 5: it is great. But before section five oh four could
Speaker 5: be put into law, the US Department of Health, Education,
Speaker 5: and Welfare had to come up with this sort of
Speaker 5: checklist to help determine who is disabled.
Speaker 2: So all these activists had already helped bring about a
Speaker 2: new law, but one department delayed those laws being put
Speaker 2: into action for four years. Pretty much No wonder Judy
Speaker 2: got so feisty.
Speaker 3: Okay, everybody, I don't want to wake you have if
Speaker 3: you're resting, but you know what time it is.
Speaker 5: I'm not exactly sure what's happening now.
Speaker 2: They're taking down that big sign that says twenty one
Speaker 2: and replacing it with another sign that says twenty two.
Speaker 3: Fellow protesters, if you can, we'd love for you to
Speaker 3: stay just one more night.
Speaker 5: Oh. I see all these people have been here protesting
Speaker 5: for twenty two days and twenty two nights.
Speaker 2: That's such a long time.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and some of the people here needed specific medical
Speaker 5: supplies to get through even a regular day, so other
Speaker 5: people from the community brought them stuff to help them
Speaker 5: keep going.
Speaker 2: How did they know what to bring them? I mean,
Speaker 2: it's nineteen seventy seven. There are no cell phones, and
Speaker 2: I don't think they'd just let the protesters use the
Speaker 2: phones in here.
Speaker 5: Oh they didn't. In fact, the FBI cut the phone
Speaker 5: lines in here to try and get the protesters to leave,
Speaker 5: but they found a way. Look over there, that woman.
Speaker 2: Is using sign language to communicate with somebody on the
Speaker 2: other side of that window.
Speaker 5: Isn't that amazing? The FBI couldn't stop asl.
Speaker 2: Still it sounds like hard work. How much longer does
Speaker 2: the protest go?
Speaker 5: They'll be here for a few more days, twenty four altogether.
Speaker 2: I know this is a protest and everyone here is
Speaker 2: rightfully angry and felt called to action. But it also
Speaker 2: feels good in here. Is that weird to say?
Speaker 5: I don't think so? And actually that makes me think
Speaker 5: of one other thing I want to show you. I
Speaker 5: really hope I don't wake anybody up with this history simulator.
Speaker 5: But here we go. Owls. What a perfect bird to
Speaker 5: take us to our next stuff.
Speaker 2: You're right, Lee, those owls were on thepe I'm seeing
Speaker 2: a bonfire with people gathered around it. I hear frogs
Speaker 2: and crickets. There are mosquitoes.
Speaker 5: Oh no, I do not do well with mosquitos.
Speaker 2: We better be quick. What's the scoop on this gathering.
Speaker 5: We're at a place called Camp jen Ed. It's a
Speaker 5: summer camp Judy went to and she was a teenager. Look,
Speaker 5: she's right over there, sitting near the fire.
Speaker 2: Where Sorry, it's hard to tell from this far back,
Speaker 2: and there's more than one person in a wheelchair over there.
Speaker 5: She's the one who just made everyone laugh.
Speaker 2: Gotcha.
Speaker 5: I wanted to bring you here because Judy talks about
Speaker 5: Camp Jened a lot. It was a camp for young
Speaker 5: people with disabilities. It's here that Judy said she realized
Speaker 5: that a lot of the limited way people view folks
Speaker 5: with disabilities comes from fear. It sparked something in.
Speaker 2: Her to want to change that. Maybe this is where
Speaker 2: her flame for Scott it spark hard to say, but
Speaker 2: it gave Judy and many other campers an idea of
Speaker 2: how great things could be if everyone is given a
Speaker 2: chance to thrive.
Speaker 5: Other campers from Jened went on to be disability rights
Speaker 5: activists too.
Speaker 2: Okay, they're really getting into that song. Oh, which reminds
Speaker 2: me we better get back to the studio to we
Speaker 2: eat some music of our own. Also, it sort of
Speaker 2: looks like you're getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Yikes, let's
Speaker 2: get out of here. Whoa child swans?
Speaker 5: We're heading back to the studio. So he's sort of
Speaker 5: our swan song.
Speaker 2: All right, here we are back at the studio.
Speaker 5: I'm covered in bug bites. Why did I create a
Speaker 5: history simulator that didn't protect us from mosquitoes?
Speaker 2: Oh? All that, and you didn't even get us'more?
Speaker 5: Oh No, one came back with us a.
Speaker 2: BII. Okay, listeners, let's hear this song about the one
Speaker 2: and only Judy Human, featuring the amazing vocalist Jenna by Bridge.
Speaker 5: I'm looking for feisty disabled.
Speaker 10: People at eighteen months, that's just one and a half.
Speaker 7: I contracted polio sort of cut me and I consume,
Speaker 7: move my arms.
Speaker 2: And my neck and my face.
Speaker 7: But I was paralyzed from below the wigs.
Speaker 2: But just know that the song ain't a sod story.
Speaker 7: Ain't the go crying home to your mom's story.
Speaker 9: This about finding force when you're afraid, getting lemons.
Speaker 5: Turning them to lemonade.
Speaker 7: Jump forward to the first day of my new school.
Speaker 9: Want to learn in the worst way, but in a
Speaker 9: curse day.
Speaker 5: They took one look at the.
Speaker 10: Wheelchair teachers tell me I cannot be there.
Speaker 9: You know they called me a fire hazard.
Speaker 5: We will show them a fire.
Speaker 7: Hazard to go to class.
Speaker 9: Had to give them some sass claim my dignity, change
Speaker 9: the policy.
Speaker 8: So we had to be f see.
Speaker 5: Be the brawler you want to be.
Speaker 7: I see make the shift that you want to see.
Speaker 7: I see no time for the niceties. Feisty, be feisty
Speaker 7: second first second, lesson second time to fright.
Speaker 9: I want to be a teacher, help the youth outright.
Speaker 9: Got my grades, good pass my tests, got my shock.
Speaker 9: They say I can't teach because I can't Watchcuse.
Speaker 2: Me, this rule was blatantly I'm fair and wrong. I'm
Speaker 2: teaching school.
Speaker 5: I'm not running a marathon.
Speaker 2: Lord of the Education of.
Speaker 9: New York was not the paragon of equity I needed.
Speaker 5: So I sued them, put the pressure on.
Speaker 9: You know, they settled out of court. First ever teacher
Speaker 9: in a wheelchair in New York. Plus, I got a
Speaker 9: lot of press from a stress and so got so
Speaker 9: many letters piles all up on the tests, those from
Speaker 9: scared adults and from nervous kids being denied their basic services.
Speaker 2: I now know what my purpose is.
Speaker 9: Activists who makes disturbances. If there's dreading and it is
Speaker 9: uncurbing and unscurving fervently and urgently.
Speaker 7: I'm hidding sight saying being a brawl or you want
Speaker 7: to be, I say, make the shift that you want
Speaker 7: to see. See no time for the niceties.
Speaker 5: Feisty, be seisty.
Speaker 9: As you can SeeMe of facts of led to many positives,
Speaker 9: but disabled people still in their policy parrogatives, prison by pity,
Speaker 9: paternalism and persecution perpetrated by politicians, immuneful prosecution.
Speaker 5: Ooh, we need a little traction. How about I'm selling
Speaker 5: ash Now.
Speaker 9: We on a mission to improve the positions of people
Speaker 9: who won't be hidden, will be told that we don't
Speaker 9: fit in. So we went to a building and started
Speaker 9: what's called the city. And that's where you show up
Speaker 9: on bidding and basically get to sit. You stay twenty
Speaker 9: six days without a stock, wouldn't move even when they brought.
Speaker 5: The army and the cops.
Speaker 9: It was worth it when we finally got our props,
Speaker 9: when we got the regulations that we wanted from our
Speaker 9: arms and we learn the space of fact. People don't
Speaker 9: clean up their axe just for kicks. Need a nudge
Speaker 9: and a push and a flick.
Speaker 2: They need by.
Speaker 7: Sae be the brawl or you want to be I say,
Speaker 7: make the shift that you want to see sisty, no
Speaker 7: time for the niceties.
Speaker 5: Feisty, be feisty.
Speaker 7: Feisty, be the brawl or you want to be feisty,
Speaker 7: Make the shift that you want no time for the niceties.
Speaker 2: Feisty, be feisty. We'll be right back after a few
Speaker 2: words for the grown ups. Listeners, thanks for joining in
Speaker 2: today and for learning more about the mother of the
Speaker 2: disability rights movement, Judy Human. In fact, she inspired me
Speaker 2: so much I've changed my plan for the garden party.
Speaker 2: Hey Nedy Haley, Hey, Hi Man, Hey Tina Yo.
Speaker 3: I showed up today around five thirty am for your
Speaker 3: party because I'm always fashionably late, but I think I
Speaker 3: actually ended up being fashionably early.
Speaker 2: Ah, it was up, Mum, up Pazon, you did.
Speaker 3: I thought it was kind of weird to have a
Speaker 3: party so early in the morning, but then again, you're
Speaker 3: pretty weird too, fuddy in.
Speaker 2: A good way. Thanks Phil, You're kind of weird too,
Speaker 2: I know.
Speaker 3: Also, I just want to say, to this pile of
Speaker 3: dirt and empty planter boxes we're all standing around off
Speaker 3: fantastic love that pre playing esthetic.
Speaker 8: Wah.
Speaker 5: I actually had a question about that, Niminy. I thought
Speaker 5: you were inviting us to a garden party, but there's
Speaker 5: no garden in here.
Speaker 2: I thought we could change this from a garden party
Speaker 2: to a gardening party. I have all these different types
Speaker 2: of seeds here, and they each need different conditions to
Speaker 2: help them grow. So will you help me create a
Speaker 2: better environment for each of these different types of plants.
Speaker 5: Sure, what are all these birds doing here? I'll explain later.
Speaker 3: Wow, that's what is very good with a wheelbarrow.
Speaker 2: Let's get gardening. Thanks everyone. While we all work on
Speaker 2: the garden, I am gonna briefly sneak away for an interview. Hi, Alie,
Speaker 2: can you introduce yourself for our listeners.
Speaker 11: My name is Ali Stroker and I am an actress
Speaker 11: and a singer and a dancer. I have had the
Speaker 11: privilege of performing on Broadway and winning a Tony Award
Speaker 11: for my performance in Oklahoma, where I played ado Annie.
Speaker 11: And I also am an activist and an advocate for
Speaker 11: people with disabilities. I was injured in a car accident
Speaker 11: when I was two and use a wheelchair for mobility.
Speaker 11: I have a two year old son named Jesse, who
Speaker 11: is hilarious and such a joy. And I'm married to
Speaker 11: the love of my life named David, and we live
Speaker 11: in Westchester.
Speaker 2: Amazing. Now, Elizabeth, can you tell us a little bit
Speaker 2: about yourself?
Speaker 5: Okay, So I'm Elizabeth.
Speaker 4: I'm fourteen and I'm in theater at my school. I
Speaker 4: do chorus, and I like to play slued hockey, baseball, swimming.
Speaker 2: So Elizabeth, I know you have some questions prepared? Do
Speaker 2: you want to jump in with your first one?
Speaker 4: What was the one thing that was most challenging for
Speaker 4: you with your disability to start your acting career.
Speaker 11: I began singing and doing theater when I was seven
Speaker 11: years old. And before I began doing theater, I was
Speaker 11: really shy and I felt really different being a little
Speaker 11: kid with a disability.
Speaker 5: It felt really hard.
Speaker 11: It felt like when I would enter rooms, I was
Speaker 11: being stung by base It was just so uncomfortable. And
Speaker 11: then when I got on stage, everyone was staring at me,
Speaker 11: but it was for a different reason. Now it wasn't
Speaker 11: because of my wheelchair. It was because I was the
Speaker 11: star of the show and I was totally hooked.
Speaker 10: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I can relate to that a lot, because like when
Speaker 4: I was in sixth grade, it was really hard and
Speaker 4: I went to theater and I was on the stage
Speaker 4: and it kind of felt like it was where I
Speaker 4: was supposed to be. I saw myself as a normal kid,
Speaker 4: not with the disability.
Speaker 5: Yes, exactly.
Speaker 11: Wait, can I ask you a few questions?
Speaker 4: Sure?
Speaker 11: Yes, Okay, what is your dream role in a show?
Speaker 4: I really want to try out for Dorothy and Wizard
Speaker 4: of All Yes, But like I'm shy, and it's like
Speaker 4: very scary.
Speaker 2: For me totally.
Speaker 11: I don't know what your audition will be like, but
Speaker 11: I always say to people like, if you have any
Speaker 11: questions about what I can do and sort of you
Speaker 11: know how I moved in my physical vocabulary.
Speaker 2: I'd love to talk to you guys about it.
Speaker 11: Because the truth is, like, when you're collaborating on a show,
Speaker 11: you probably have as many ideas as they do. Yeah,
Speaker 11: and maybe even more that they wouldn't even think of
Speaker 11: because you live with your disability and you know what
Speaker 11: is really kind of unique and cool about it, and
Speaker 11: there's ways to be creative and incorporate it into the show. Yeah,
Speaker 11: you know this concept of clicking your heels three times?
Speaker 2: Like I wear a lot of rings.
Speaker 11: Yeah, I don't know if you use a wheelchair or not,
Speaker 11: but like I like to click my rings against my wheels.
Speaker 5: All of a.
Speaker 11: Sudden, It's like, who says clicking your heels three times
Speaker 11: has to look the same as it's always look like
Speaker 11: I can click my wheels instead of heels three times.
Speaker 11: There's so many cool opportunities to come up with creative options.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Elizabeth, is there anything you want to ask Ali?
Speaker 2: About Judy Human.
Speaker 4: I thought it was kind of cool that like she
Speaker 4: thought for like our rights because of our disability.
Speaker 11: Judy's whole thing was she was sick of hearing no.
Speaker 11: She believed that we as a community of people with
Speaker 11: disabilities deserved to have access and rights. By the way, Elizabeth, like,
Speaker 11: I believe that the future is accessible. And that's the
Speaker 11: life that I'm leading and the work that I do
Speaker 11: in my life.
Speaker 2: To make it so.
Speaker 11: I always say when someone is not able to see that,
Speaker 11: that's not a person for me, and that's okay too.
Speaker 2: Like, I surround.
Speaker 11: Myself with people who are passionate about my ability and
Speaker 11: access to the world, and you will have the same Elizabeth.
Speaker 11: You're so bright, you're so smart, Like, continue to surround
Speaker 11: yourself with people who believe in accessibility and change.
Speaker 2: Ah, this was an amazing conversation. Thank you both so
Speaker 2: much for being here.
Speaker 4: Thank you so much.
Speaker 5: Do you inspire me?
Speaker 2: I'm inspired by you.
Speaker 11: Great to meet you and have a wonderful day, But by.
Speaker 2: Bye, listeners, Thanks for joining in today and for going
Speaker 2: on a journey with me to learn about the disability
Speaker 2: rights activist Judy Human. And a huge thanks to today's
Speaker 2: guests Jenna Bainbridge, Ali Stroker and Elizabeth. We'll be back
Speaker 2: next week with another episode, another song, and another hero.
Speaker 2: After all, someone's gotta make more historical records. Until then,
Speaker 2: remember to make history, you gotta make some noise. Oops.
Speaker 2: Forgot to turn the random sprinkler timer off. Gotta go
Speaker 2: signing off. This is Niminy reminding you to stay my seat. Bye.
Speaker 6: Historical Records is produced in partnership with Story Pirates Studios,
Speaker 6: Questloves two on five Entertainment, John Blickman and iHeart Podcasts.
Speaker 6: Executive producer by Amir Questlove Thompson, John Glickman, Lee Overtree
Speaker 6: and Benjamin Salka. Executive produced for iHeart Podcasts by Noel Brown.
Speaker 6: Producers for Story Pirate Studios are Isabella Riccio, Sam Bear,
Speaker 6: Eric Gerson, Andrew Miller, Lee Overtree, Peter McNerney and niminy Ware.
Speaker 6: Producers for two one five are Sean g Brittany, Benjamin
Speaker 6: and Zarah Zolman. Hosted by niminy Ware. Our head writer
Speaker 6: is Duke Doyle. Our historians are Gabe Pacheco and Lee Polis.
Speaker 6: Music supervision for two one five by Stroe Elliott. Scoring
Speaker 6: and music supervision for Story Pirate Studios by Eric Gerson.
Speaker 6: Sound designed and mixing by Sam.
Speaker 8: Bear at the Relic Room in New York City.
Speaker 6: Additional recording by Brett Tuban, song mastering by Josh Han.
Speaker 6: Theme song by Dan Foster and Eric Gerson and produced
Speaker 6: by Eric Erson. Production coordination by Isabelle Riccio, Production management
Speaker 6: by Maggie Lee. The line producer for Story Pirate Studios
Speaker 6: is Glennis Brault. Pr for Story Pirate Studios is provided
Speaker 6: by Naomi Shaw. Episode artwork by Camilla Franklin. This episode
Speaker 6: was written by Megan O'Neill. The song Judy Human was
Speaker 6: written by Dan Foster and produced by Eric Gerson. Special
Speaker 6: guests Ali Stroker, Jenna Bainbridge, and Kid interviewer Elizabeth. This
Speaker 6: episode features performances by Peter McNerney, Megan O'Neill, Lee Overtree, Lee, Polis,
Speaker 6: Austin Sanders, Jamie Watson, and Nimini Ware