Hope at 40

The news of my friend and mentor, Diane Colman’s passing has hit me hard. Even though she was quite small her spirit was huge.   I met Diane in Baltimore in 1995 during my first national ADAPT action.  She was a fierce warrior for civil rights, being arrested too many times to count.

Diane dedicated her life to the fight for disability rights. She was an icon in the disability community having been a part of the disability rights group ADAPT from the early days.   When Dr. Kevorkian was promoting physician-assisted suicide, she was the founder of Not Dead Yet, which my dad and I joined.  She asked me to speak at a rally protesting Dr. Peter Singer.  I was twelve at the time, the same age of Tracy Lanamore, a girl who was murdered by her father simply because of her disability.

Two of my favorite songs that Diane sung were called We Will Ride and Wheelchair Warriors.  It was about the struggles of people with disabilities riding Greyhound.  I also prefer her rendition of the Ballad of Josie Even over Johnny Corchado, with the church organ. It was a perfect mixture of phrases combined with political satire, with a little activism thrown in for good measure. 

When I asked Diane if I could do an

internship in the advocacy department at the Center for Disability Rights, she sent me interview questions, but she was more concerned about my lodging and help with my activities of daily living while I was there.  She got me interested in doing blogs and vlogs, which I still am doing to this day, so thanks Diane for inspiring me. Even though we were friends, she showed me a level of professionalism that I experienced and appreciated. I always looked forward to seeing her at National ADAPT actions and listening to her and Johnny Crescendo (Alan Holdsworth) singing Pride. 

After the internship, I worked with Diane and still maintained a civil friendship.  I appreciated her insight, wisdom, friendship, and strength.  I will miss you Diane (boss).  Rest In Power!