Reid My Mind

TR:
When I was younger, well actually, throughout my life, I enjoyed watching my mother at work.
I don’t mean at her job. I’m talking about doing the things she did in the community and elsewhere.
I talked about my mother on the podcast after she became an ancestor. Mom was very involved in her church and in the local community. Often planning and managing all sorts of church functions.
I remember when she was a part of the team, raising funds to move the church into its own building. At the time, this church was in a room in the local community center. I was like “why isn’t she raising money for us to get a house?”
That was just me being silly. I liked living in an apartment and my community was a great place to grow up.
I would often stop by the event or maybe a planning session just to sit somewhere in the back and observe. The way people approached her with questions. The way she’d delegate assignments or respond to a problem and get it resolved. Even though my Spanish was never up to par, I could tell, she was respected. When she was speaking, she looked so cool and in control. La Donia! Mom was a boss!
My mother was a natural leader. Even in the family, aunts, uncles and cousins would come to her for advice and help. She was the one familiar with the system because she needed to help various family members navigate. Some of y’all know exactly what I mean.
In another life, my mother could have been a Justice Sotomayor or Ketanji Brown Jackson. She could have been the leader of some national nonprofit or community organization. But in her lifetime, she was definitely still a leader.
Leadership presents differently on the surface, but underneath there are shared characteristics. Personally, I think we all have some of these traits. Perhaps just lying dormant, waiting to be activated.

— Triumphant music begins

Today, I’m here to speak directly to you. Yes you. Come in close, I need to share a bit of information you need to hear. You may not believe this, but it is absolutely true… you are a leader!
I’m Thomas Reid. This is Reid My Mind Radio!

— Reid My Mind Radio Intro

TR:
This Power to the People series has been leading up to this conversation. That is, disabled people in leadership or governance.
Notice y’all, I didn’t say government. While that’s definitely a part of this conversation, so often the things that really impact our lives are local. I’m talking about your city, town or borough. Sometimes hyper local as in your home owner’s association or your Co-op board.
That’s important, so I’ll continue to remind you of this point.
Now, meet my first guest in this conversation.

Neal:
My name is Neil Carter, the principal and founder of New View consulting. I am the president and co-founder of disability victory, the president and founder of the black consultant group. I am a black man in a blue shirt, sitting in a black office chair in a predominantly white room with a picture of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X looking over my shoulder.
I’ve been in the electoral space for almost 30 years.
I know I don’t look like it, but that’s because my ancestors are working overtime and I have a fantastic skincare routine.

TR:
Talk that! You know how we do!

TR in conversation with Neal:
So, tell me a little bit about your relationship to disability.

Neal:
I’ve had a disability my entire life, physical disability. And as such, I think about not just accessibility for my own needs, but I also think about accessibility in the lens of other disabled people.
Every second of the day, most disabled people, will tell you we are constantly thinking about accessibility. We are thinking about, how can we adapt in this inaccessible world? How can we maneuver in this inaccessible space?
I’ve just been trying to thrive and not necessarily allowing for stigmas or self-doubt to disrupt my lived experience as a disabled person.

TR in conversation with Neal:
I think that’s something that we deal with, but I don’t hear people really claim it often. It’s a real thing, so thank you for that.

TR:
Just a few minutes into the conversation and Neal is already Displaying what I think are some characteristics of a good leader.
Confidence, honesty.
Do you all remember honesty? Yeah, I’m being snarky!

Neal:
My background actually wasn’t in politics. My background was actually in theater. I actually wanted to be on stage as a career.
Shakespeare, musical theater, stage plays, opera, all of that.
But I realized that that part of the stage wasn’t for me. I actually shifted to being more preferred behind the scenes.

TR:
Neal got involved in politics when his father set him up to work with a friend who just so happened to be running for re-election.
Neal:
That Congressman is no longer in office, but he is still a political and business mentor of mine. I decided to kind of shift gears after I got involved in that campaign.
There’s the old quote all politics is theater. In a way, I didn’t necessarily totally shift from theater.

— Transition – movie clapper board

TR:
Neal along with his co-founder Sarah Blaovec recognized a need to train disabled progressives to run for office, staff campaigns, and organize for change.
In 2023 they began Disability Victory. But the origin actually goes back to 2019 when Sara approached Neal about providing training to members of a national non-profit, her employer at that time.
Neal:
It Wasn’t Necessarily About How to Run for Office, Yet. It Was About How to Get More Politically Active.
Again, This Is 2019, So I Had Maybe a Decade and Some Change Being in the Political Consulting Industry. I Had a Rolodex of a Good Amount of Political Consultants That Had Training Capacity. And I Really Wanted to Make Sure That the Political Consultants That Didn’t Usually Have an Audience of Disabled People That Were Interested in Getting Involved Electorally. I Wanted to Make Sure That Those Consultants Could Talk to and Train Up Those Folks.

TR:
The Virtual Trainings Were Held Each Year, 2019 Through 2023, Skipping 2020.
The Work Was Well Received and Gaining Recognition, So When Sarah Transitioned Out of The Nonprofit, The Idea Was Born.
Neal:
And We Just Decided, Why Don’t We Just Start a Nonprofit Around Training Disabled Progressives to Run for Office at A National Level,
Not In a Particular Region of The Country, But Nationally.

TR:
Disabled progressives. You can probably guess that disabled Republicans might have something to say about that.
Neal:
And Our Response Is, You’re in Our Comment Section, In Our Emails, Telling Us About Your Side of The Aisles, Issues with Disabled People, And You Aren’t Creating an Organization for Republican Disabled Folks to Run for Office. You Are Stopping Your Own Progress and Also Your Party Is Stopping Your Own Progress Because Republicans, In Large Part, Don’t Believe That Disabled People, For Multitudes of Reasons, Should Exist So Your Party Is Stopping Your Own Progress.
I Also Need to Say That we Are in the Business of Training and Electing Disabled Progressives. We Are Not Affiliated with Any of The Democratic Party Ecosystem, Any of the Democratic Sister Committees or Any Other Democratic Entity.

TR:
We say Republican, but today, it’s really MAGA. And we know what they’re about.
Neal:
By The Grace Of the Ancestors, We Were Able to Still Exist Despite Trump
He Said at The Onset of His Second Term, Progressive Nonprofits Are the Enemy of My Presidency, And I Will Do Whatever I Can to Stop Them from Existing.

— News coverage: noting the current administration cancelling grants to nonprofits aiding people the administration considers DEI.

TR:
We know he doesn’t hesitate to go after anyone he considers an enemy – that is anyone who doesn’t bow down to him.
I’m talking about Chump, aka Agent Orange, Diaper Don, I just refuse to say his name…
words have power Afterall.
Neal:
I know that in 2026, and beyond, disability, victory is a nonprofit that needs to exist.
Disability victory will exist, and disability victory will continue to do the important work of training disabled progressives, to run for office at every level of government.
We’re not going to allow for any administration to stop that progress, to stop our growth.
TR in conversation with Neal:
So, let’s talk a little bit about the importance. Why is it important for disabled people to run for office?
Neal:
I think it’s easier to say, well, disabled people need to run for office because we need more disabled representation. I think it’s bigger than that. Representation is important.
We need more disabled people in office. Yes, take a step further. We need disabled people in office, because disabled people should be in office.

TR:
Again, that office could be government, school board, home owners association.
While some may try to get you to believe that there are disability issues, remember every issue has a disability perspective. That’s why we need to be everywhere.
So, when considering running for any office level position, don’t forget about the basics.

Neal:
I mean, do you know your neighbors, whether you live in an apartment building and they are next door, or you live in a house, and they are across the street, do you know your neighbors?
And this is a conversation that I have with for the first time candidates or candidates running for reelection all the time.
Far too often, candidates do the thing where they’re like, I’m going to focus on every other area, except for my home area, because I know I can win my home precinct, because they know me.

TR:
That sounds like a fair plan. At first!

Neal:
And then we fast forward to election day, and they lose and then they come back to me, they’re like, Yeah, how did that happen?
Well, you told me you were known commodity in your precinct.
then why did your neighbor have your opponent’s yard sign in their lawn?
They didn’t focus on their home precinct.
If you can’t even win over the support of your neighbor, then you shouldn’t be running for office period.

TR:
Being known by the people is not the same as you knowing other people. They may not know you. And by know you, I really mean, what have you done that would give them a sense of your seriousness about the role you’re seeking.
In the Getting Involved episode earlier in this season, Lolly shared this same advice.
That episode focused on finding and pursuing opportunities for disabled people to participate in the ICE resistance.
I’m sure there are some who are wondering. Are there any restrictions barring people with disabilities from running for office.

Neal:
There isn’t. There’s more stigma.
And it’s not just around cognitive disability. It’s also around physical disability too and
unfortunately, we’re in a political climate where at the moment cognitive disability Community is being challenged, not just from our HHS Secretary, but obviously also from our president. They believe that disabled people as a community don’t deserve to live, let alone run for office and be elected officials.
So, the short answer is no, there isn’t any law stopping someone with a cognitive or physical disability from running for office.
There’s a lot of external stigma and in my opinion, a lot of internal ableism that disabled people still have to work through. That is stopping a lot of them for running for office

TR:
Working through internal ableism should be a requirement of us all.
In fact, I’d say the past 10 years or so have really proven that self-assessment in general is lacking in those seeking or in leadership positions.
What goes into training leaders? And how does disability factor in?

Neal:
Usually, folks come to one of our trainings and they join our academy.
We have affiliate organizations that we work with that do training as well for potential candidates. We have likeminded organizations that we partner with to lead the ttraining

TR:
In addition to the training, Disability Victory offers various resources on its website

Neal:
We also have spaces where folks who have gone through our training can communicate with each other internally about best practices. We have ways in which some of our board members have run for office previously and have that experience so they can talk to our Academy members about best practices in running for office, whether they were successful or unsuccessful.
That kind of communication space doesn’t really exist. Within the disability community, folks aren’t actively communicating on how to not just train to run for office, but former candidates and existing candidates and elected officials aren’t communicating with prospective candidates on what works and what doesn’t.
TR:
While Disability Victory isn’t the only group to help train future leaders, they do offer something others may not.

Neal:
Yes, there are a number of fantastic organizations that are actively training folks to run for office, run for something, and we operate in that same ecosystem, but because our target audience is a niche group of disabled folks. We want to make sure that disabled folks are counted in that number, because oftentimes, unfortunately, while a lot of those same great training organizations that I mentioned already do tremendous work training candidates, there are a lot of gaps when it comes to accessibility, unfortunately, and that doesn’t mean that we are the only organization that is providing accessible trainings. What often happens, unfortunately, is disabled candidates will reach out to us and say they went to a training with one of these other organizations and say I wanted to learn more about how I can run as a disabled candidate, and they didn’t really give me a platform to figure that out.

TR in conversation with Neal:
So, tell me a little bit about the training itself. What are some of the high level topics that you all go through?

Neal:
Sure. We do an intro to campaigning, like how to file, what your immediate campaign needs are, building a campaign website, what tools to use, how to fundraise at a digital level, how to make a fundraising call, those kinds of things.
And then we also have communication training where it’s like how can I communicate my story as a candidate to my potential constituents?

TR:
Other topics include economic and environmental justice. Canvasing as a disabled person in rural and urban communities.
Disability Victory is helping with the how. But they can’t really help with the why. That is what drives you to want to see the changes you want created and implemented.

What is it that you value, that you feel strong enough about that if threatened, you would be ready to fight.
Not a physical fight.
Although, if we’re being honest, I’m here for those stories too!

Rebeccaa:
I became disabled from being pushed on the New York City subway.

TR:
That’s in part two of Disability Victory, where we will wrap up this season, Power to the People.

This season in my mind is our time to think about all of the things that are in our power to change.
Too often disability related conversations are presented as if we are powerless.
If we’re not careful, we may start believing that.
One thing you can believe in is following or subscribing to Reid My Mind Radio wherever you get podcasts.
We have transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com.
And you best believe, in order to get there, you gotta spell it right!
That’s R to the E I D!

— Sample: (“D! And that’s me in the place to be.” Slick Rick)

Like my last name!
— Reid My Mind Radio outro

Peace!

Hide the transcript

#TR:
You heard it before.

— A collage of various presidents and political figures over a hip hop beat, throughout the years saying the phrase (or some variation of it) “This is the most important election of our lifetime.”

TR:
I’m sure no matter how far we reverse time or turn back the clock, every election in this country’s history felt like the most important. To someone.

In this country’s most recent history, I’ll go with 2016. That was the election where this country responded to the previous 8 years by electing.
a man with absolutely no political experience. A failed so called businessman who filed bankruptcy six times to avoid paying his fair share of debt. A racist, sexist, ableist, 34 count convicted felon.
Who suspiciously got elected again. I say suspiciously because I believe the world will eventually learn something else was at play in 2024.

— Diaper Don “And then he journeyed to Pennsylvania where he spent like a month and a half campaigning for me in Pennsylvania. And he’s a popular guy. And he was very effective. And he knows those computers better than anybody, all those computers those vote counting computers. And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide, so it was pretty good. So thank you to Elon.”

— “You don’t find that suspicious”, Dr. Umar

TR:
If we look back, there were circumstances that paved the way for his election.
Maybe one of those was the most important election of our lifetime.

Elections are like being given another chance to do the right thing.
At least for now.

— “You’ll never have to vote again.”, Diaper Don

TR:
With all of this on my mind, I thought,
(Filtered voice) “I should produce an episode focusing on some of the issues related to elections.”

I thought about discussing.
voter suppression.
gerrymandering
The so-called SAVE act – presented as a way to reduce voter fraud,
but obviously another example of a poll tax.
An update to the same old trick’s white nationalists Have used in an attempt to eliminate Black people from having representation in government.

The episode would cover the many ways Republicans, MAGA, white nationalists.
continue to do anything they can including, lying cheating and stealing with the goal of securing power.

Then I realized, this isn’t news for those who really rock with this podcast. In fact, this isn’t a news podcast Afterall. It’s Reid My Mind Radio.
I’m Thomas Reid your host and producer.

— Reid My Mind Radio Theme Music

TR:
I still want to talk about voting , but from a different perspective.
One that better reflects what’s on my mind.

Apathy!
A lack of feeling or emotion : impassiveness
Symptoms include listlessness, and fatigue.
Lack of interest or concern : indifference

Is it a stretch to view apathy as a contagious disease? A lot of people have it. We see it in the lack of participation in elections.

— From “Getting Involved”
(All in variously pitched voices)
“I don’t do politics”
“I stay away from the news, it’s so depressing.”
” None of that effects my life, I just mind my business.”

Dr. Jackie:
So, when I hear people who say that voting doesn’t matter, or one vote doesn’t make a difference to me, I feel like it comes from some type of frustration that they may be experiencing from voter suppression or some other inequity factors that they may have experienced.

TR:
This is Dr. Jackie Jackson. She’s not a medical doctor her expertise is in pastoral care and counseling.
Among many titles, she’s a minister and a disability advocate in New Jersey.

I think that’s why she has grace for the apathetic non voter.

Personally, I have little patience for those who choose willful ignorance and do not participate.

Dr. Jackie:
Yes, ignorance is bliss.

For the most part, if they just think back and acknowledge our forefathers and our foremother icons who fought and paved the way for us to increase the vote.

TR:
I think language is really important. From my conversation with Dr. Jackee, when she refers to our forefathers and fore mothers, I’m pretty sure she’s talking about people like Fannie Lou Hammer, Medgar Evers and many others who literally put their lives on the line to assure that Black people in this country
have the right to exercise our vote.

That same right should be available to all citizens of this country.

Dr. Jackie:
I do believe that race, ability, gender is part of our lived experience, and it matters when shaping policies and community.

historically we challenge these systems because they were not designed for us and they did not have us in mind. We have to be mindful that we really have to stand up and have our voices heard in this voting process.

TR:
I want to underline, highlight, and shine a light on one word that Dr. Jackie uses when she talks about the importance of voting. We. And as far as I know, she ain’t French!

(Dr. Jackie:
For the most part they don’t understand that voting is not just about a single ballot, it’s about a collective impact on voting. When you participate, voting gives you power, voting is our voice, and it’s not about victory, or any candidate, it’s really just a time to know that if you don’t participate, decisions are going to be made for you, whether you vote or not.

TR:
That makes total sense to me, but I’m not apathetic.

Like the common cold, apathy too can pass. And an ounce of prevention can go a long way.

So what’s the equivalent version of vitamin c, the Vicks or tussin? You know, the things you use to find relief from a cold.

— Ny Quil commercial comparing two households with colds.

TR:
The more I try to think about when I first recall experiencing apathy, , I realize it’s a slower process in comparison to catching a bug.

Apathy develops over a longer period of time. That’s why you have to be intentional about making sure you protect yourself.
Even if you believe you’re not at risk.

Maybe apathy is more like the accumulation of disappointment, heartache, injustice, pain? We’ve all experienced these things of course in varying degrees.
But, maybe there’s a finite level that when exceeded, apathy sets in?

It’s like that saying, the straw that breaks the camels back. It’s not one thing but rather the accumulation of many over time. What’s emotionally painful for me can be quite tolerable for another person. Some people seem to have very difficult lives but are able to not only withstand pain and suffering but come out the other side stronger than ever. Not jaded in anyway. They can remain optimistic and believe and trust in people. I thought that was natural for me when I was younger.
But chances are, I just wasn’t as tested. Although some may see it differently.

Today, I realize optimism is intentional.

— Boxing ring Bell

TR:
My bout with apathy is related to blindness.

I had my share of all sorts of disappointment, heartache, injustice, physical and emotional pain before blindness. But I think blindness was on a different level. It wasn’t about the disability.
It was more about where I was in my life when blindness appeared.

— “Moving on Up” Jeffersons

The work I put in for several years was finally starting to pay off. I noticed confidence in everything I did. I just bought a new home, my second daughter was on the way and my career was looking good. Throw in some other personal accomplishments and shooo, I was feeling like I’m the man. But blindness was on another level.

It took away so much of the control I thought I had. All that confidence I built up over the years, at the time, I thought it was gone. I didn’t feel like the man anymore.

I started to notice my own Sinicism.

Why would I be optimistic after working so hard to get somewhere, only to have that taken from me. Even after blindness there were a few other things that made me feel like the future wasn’t as bright as I once believe it to be. I went from oh yes, I can do this. I’m sure it will work out, too…
Do not get hopeful or excited. Believe it when you see it.

Even if something seemed to be working out my attitude was, better wait until it’s all done before feeling or showing any excitement. Truth is in most instances, I’m still going to respond this way.
But for different reasons.

Today, when things don’t go as planned, I just put it on that one thing. It’s not indicative of everything. I eventually reached a point where I recognized what was happening to me.
I didn’t like feeling as if nothing excited me any more. Feeling as though there’s nothing really worth looking forward to is not a way I want to live.

I started to remember, things do change.

Things were actually changing because I didn’t give up. Although not overly excited about many things, I still participated. I even started to achieve different goals.
I felt as if my confidence was returning. Then I realized it never left. I just needed to recognize it.
Optimism was still available to me if I decided to choose it.

Dr. Jackie:
Yes, I’m very optimistic about the future in regards to voting, because I think that once society understands how important the vote is they will certainly stand up and speak out.

As a minister and clergy person, I certainly stand firm on Proverbs 31 speak out for those who can’t speak for themselves. And with that said, for the young generation to speak out for their elders, for their families, for their communities, because they have the power to do that.

TR:
Apathetic behavior goes beyond the individual and can negatively impact the community.

Optimism, can also be infectious. But it can lift a community and offer hope. The hope that comes with the understanding that work is still required.

Optimism is intentional and requires commitment. It’s hard. But for me, it feels better than the alternative.

It’s like Ny Quil!

This podcast was not sponsored by Ny Quil… but … I’m sayin’!

— Transition

TR:
The purpose of this series, is all about what can we do. How can we get involved and be a force for positive change. Dr Jackee as a minister naturally recommends faith based organizations.
Many of which sponsor voter registration and activation events. She also recommends organizations like the NAACP as well as grass roots organizations.

Dr. Jackie:
REV Up, their main goal is to educate and empower and increase the disability vote, and that’s really a great organization to get involved with for people with disabilities or able-bodied people.

TR:
The American Association of People with Disabilities is a national disability-led and cross-disability rights organization, that advocates for full civil rights for over 70 million Americans with disabilities.

Dr. Jackie:
We have more power in numbers, so collectively we can really do more in our country.

One vote might seem small, but history shows that small numbers add up, and when people stop voting, the reality is this is their decisions still get made in the room, whether they’re there or not,
understand that voting is not about a single ballot, it is about collective impact.

TR:
It really is imperative that more of us, people who care about humanity, vote in this upcoming election. We need to recognize that we have power. That power increases exponentially when we come together. That’s something I know I need to remember. And maybe you do too.

Big shout out to Dr. Jackee Jackson. You know you’re an official member of the Reid My Mind Radio family now.

— Airhorn

Dr. Jackie:
If anyone would like to reach out to me for further information on how to get involved with disability organizations, or just to talk about anything disability related, I. Can be reached at Dr. Jackie with 2e’s Dr. Jackie Jackson, J A C K E E Jackson, number eighteen@gmail.com

# Close
TR:
I’m glad I changed the direction of this episode. I had to remember that it’s ok to start with me and what was on my mind and in my heart.

Similarly, when it comes to making the change we want in this world, we have to start with ourselves.

You know, you can tell which household believes in optimism.
Bob and Fred are neighbors. Bob doesn’t believe he has any say in what happens in his community and the world in general. Bob gave up. He doesn’t stay informed and worse
he frequently shares his sinical opinions and tell those who believe otherwise that they’re wasting their time.

Fred on the other hand, pays attention. He participates as much as he can and at the very least
he’s insistent about staying informed and exercising his vote.

— Ny Quil Commercial
“So unlike Bob, Fred gets the rest he needs. that’s the restful plus of Vicks NyQuil.”

Reid My Mind Radio is under written by Vicks… see that sounds so good. Vicks, holla!

— Music; A smooth, bright melody opens to a uplifting hip hop groove.

TR:
Do you believe things can change?

Do you find yourself experiencing;
A lack of feeling or emotion : impassiveness
Symptoms like, listlessness, and fatigue.
Lack of interest or concern : indifference

Then, why not try something different?
I’m not saying it’s easy. Optimism, takes work, but I think it’s worth it.

You know what doesn’t take a lot of work but is definitely worth the effort?
Following or subscribing to Reid My Mind Radio wherever you get podcasts.
We have transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com
And look, while I’m intentionally living optimistically, I’m still a realist. So I fully understand that there are rules to every game.
So if you’re going to find me or this podcast, you gotta spell it right.
That’s R to the E I D!
— Sample: (“D! And that’s me in the place to be.” Slick Rick)
Like my last name!
— Reid My Mind Radio outro
Peace!

Hide the transcript

TR:
Freeze, flight or fight.

Psychologically, we’re all wired differently. I’m pretty sure our DNA and perhaps our experiences play a part in how we respond to not just traumatic situations but life in general. It’s hard for me to understand freezing. I can understand pausing momentarily in order to assess the situation before responding. Like…

Before I move on to the other two categories of responses, I’m Thomas Reid, this is Reid My mind Radio.

— Reid My Mind Radio Theme Music

TR:
In the context of all the social and political attacks on our lives, freezing, looks like deciding not to engage at all. You hear things like;
“I don’t do politics.”
“I stay away from the news, it’s just so depressing.”
“None of that effects my life, I just mind my business.”

I can understand flight. It makes absolute sense for different people based on their unique situation.

If we turn back the clock to November 2024, when the election was called for Diaper Don.

Lolly:
Well, I think the week before I had some hope that it was going to go differently than it did, but I could see early on election eve that it wasn’t. I would say that my reaction was one of fear.
I think a foreboding of things to come that a lot of us knew might happen, and we have seen a lot of those things happen and more.

I recall texting my niece who lives in Toronto early morning hours, and I think both of us were in tears.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
Were you texting like, “Hey, you got a bed, or was it just commiserating?

(Laughs)

Lolly:
That was part of our conversation. Yes. So now what?

TR:
Say hello to Lolly!

Lolly:
My name is Lali Lijewski. I’m from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I use she/her pronouns.
I’m a 70-ish woman with brown and some silver hair, brown eyes. I’ve been legally blind, all my life. Lost my vision throughout my life progressively.

I also have acquired hearing loss as I’ve gotten older, and so use hearing aids in both ears. And then just recently have a diagnosis that’s more of a physical one, which you know the older you get, the more you get.

TR:
We all need to consider our safety. But there are definitely some who are more at risk and take that into consideration when participating in any sort of advocacy or activism.

Lolly:
I think that for me, advocacy just is such a strong strain in my personal identity that, of course, there was thoughts about what does this mean for me personally, what does it mean for people with disabilities in the United States? And knowing that there were likely to be some serious and severe cuts to services for people with disabilities across the country,
so that the things that are your supports daily aren’t there anymore. For people, for example, with physical disabilities, having personal care attendants come into their homes to be able to get them out of bed or to prepare food and just daily cares, those things are dependent on federal programs and state programs and so how those things would be affected was obviously on my mind.

TR:
We all have to consider not only our physical safety but our financial security as well.

Lolly:
By that time, I was already retired. I had worked for the state of Minnesota for over 18 years, and was starting down the road of learning to do audio description, so I had plans for my retirement, which I also knew might change because of the election, with Social Security potentially being affected, with Medicare potentially being affected as a senior, all of those things were on the table.

TR:
Soon after the election, what many of us who were paying attention anticipated, began.

No one had a crystal ball, the Heritage foundation Afterall published their plan – Project 2025.

— News coverage about aspects of Project 2025 that have been implemented.

Lolly:
I think a lot of us are still coming out of the trauma, and it’s not by any means over. Across the country are 2000 people being taken a day.

This surge here actually started with Homeland Security and ICE and Border Patrol here in December, but the actual influx of the 3,000 agents, and then they added more after that, didn’t really happen until early January. They focused on Minneapolis and St. Paul first, but then they also moved beyond the cities to areas in the state.

We saw people who were being taken literally off the streets. I mean, they would stop cars for no apparent reason other than the color of the individual skin, and they would just grab people, take them out of their cars. Cars got left in the middle of the streets.

TR:
The ICE surge put a real strain on Minneapolis city services. But neighbors moved into action.

Lolly told me about one man for example, who decided to help with all the abandoned cars.

Lolly:
He had a lot that he used, and he would put them in this place so that if people were released, they would know where their vehicle was.

Hyper local organizing started to happen here, and. Because we had networks that had been built up five years before during the George Floyd uprising, we had in place a lot of things that other cities didn’t have.

TR:
We’re talking about people tracking license plates of vehicles used by ICE. Folks capturing the harassment, intimidation and all sorts of incidents on video. Not just for social media. No.
We’re talking about video that can be used as evidence to bring about justice. Make a statement for the future.

“We’re not gonna take this!”

Lolly:
It was a very well run kind of network of folks who came together in a very short period of time to create a response to something that I don’t think any of us had ever seen before nor experienced before.

TR:
Freeze, flight… This is about fighting back, but perhaps not in the way you’re most familiar with.

Lolly:
It was really pretty amazing. It was all done by neighbors, and that’s what I mean by hyper local. We think of a lot of organizing as being statewide or regional or national, and that’s all important. But this became incredibly important so that people could actually respond nearly immediately to the situation at hand. That went on for a very long time. And then, of course, the second killing happened two weeks later.

TR:
I’m sure many of you remember the first ICE killing in Minneapolis; Renee Goode.

Lolly:
That morning I saw the coverage of Alex Preddy being killed.

I had joined a group called Singing Resistance, which grew out of the surge here, but has roots in singing and music, bringing music to situations like this, and how it can be a powerful mobilizer, but also it can be a powerful agent for change.

It was a very difficult day for everyone, so they took us through some breathing exercises, but then also just some songs that are civil rights kinds of songs, human rights kinds of songs, and we were together for probably 90 minutes to two hours that day, and it was, I think, the most therapeutic thing I could have done on that day.

TR:
There’s a real difference between experiencing something alone and having a chance to process it with a group of people.

Lolly:
The songs that they chose are not songs that a lot of us knew. So they did a lot of teaching of the music.

they do this call and response, and teach the song, and then have people sing it.

To have people learn music together and then end up in harmony at the end was just a very powerful experience.

TR:
It’s a beautiful metaphor of what is possible when people with good intentions come together.

Lolly’s introduction to the organization came from a Facebook post.

Lolly:
Some folks who belonged to the Quaker meeting I attend had been a part of the first singing resistance action. They were out in the neighborhoods that had been targeted, and they had some songs that they had chosen.

People in their houses were peeking out of their curtained windows, to see the singers outside. They got a lot of positive responses from folks in their houses who were in those neighborhoods that had been targeted, and I thought this is something I really want to be a part of. It’s something that fits for me. I love music. I love coming together in community in music.
The roots of this goes way back. there’s a lot of sort of spirituality to it, They’re not necessarily religious per se. This is really about being a human and helping other humans.

TR:
Enslaved Africans shared songs that weren’t just about grief or hope for a better day.
Many of them were coded messages to one another with instructions for escape.

Singing together during the Civil Rights Movement was also a way to
both strengthen bonds and keep people focused under severe pressure.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
I know that at some point in my life, my response to that would probably be like, whatever! It just doesn’t seem like it’s being all that helpful. But when you were describing it, and when you were talking about it, I was actually getting choked up, because I can see the value of that.
don’t tell anybody I said I was getting choked up. It’s gonna mess up my reputation.

TR:
You can’t broadcast everything to the world, right?
It makes sense to keep the organizing as secure as possible while making use of the technology available today.
This can however, make it hard for disabled people to learn about and participate in the organizing.

Lolly:
Yes. So the best way to learn about them was to join Signal and to get connected to some of the groups.

They form different groups depending on what you wanted to do, what roles you wanted to play. There was everything from people who were observers, rapid response folks. They would make sure that people in a given neighborhood knew that something was happening in their neighborhood.

TR:
That’s the Signal app you can download and join from your smart phone.

Lolly:
I had the challenge of trying to figure it out.
I knew a friend who was on it, and she helped me get on and create my own account, and we tested it and all of that, and then I kind of went from there.

And once the groups were being formed, you could contact them and ask for a link to be sent to you, and they would send you the link, and then you could join the group. But you kind of had to know somebody in the group, and that was challenging also because you had to start making those connections, which meant you had to do some outreach because there were security and trust issues too.

It was challenging because it’s created to be a secure app, and there’s often a clash between security and accessibility.)

TR:
We’re familiar with;
trying to navigate inaccessible or unusable apps, documents and websites.
encountering in accessible spaces
dealing with unresponsive developers, organizers and other people who can actually help make a difference

I was asked a question at one time by one of the facilitators, they asked what’s been successful what’s been good and what’s been hard and I said right straight out accessibility has been almost impossible.
I think she reacted a little defensively initially, but when her part was over. She came down from the front and she came and sat next to me and she said, “What can we do to make this different? And from then on, I had people who stepped forward in several different roles, and who would ask for input, and who tried their best to make things work, and sometimes succeeded, sometimes didn’t. But there were efforts put forth to do that, because she carried the message forward for me.

— Pulsating Emergency Horn, Incoming, Incoming! Sobering Reality Alert!

TR:
not everyone will be onboard working with disabled folks.
Like when Lolly volunteered to help a woman looking for assistance preparing flyers.

Lolly:
And she said, well, but you have to be able to cut these things apart. And I said, well, I have helpers, and they’re probably interested in this kind of thing. I can gather folks, we can do it together.

She just wasn’t open to it. She couldn’t hear that there were possible ways for me to be able to do this, and she just said,

— Combined with a monstrous voice
“No, I’m sorry. Thank you for being interested. So the door closed.
— Large metal door slamming shut.

TR:
That’s the thing about the isms. Specifically here, ableism.
Someone denies another person from participating. Meanwhile, they’re also depriving themselves from actually getting something done or reaching a goal.

It reminds me of the millions of disenfranchised people, poor people who support this administration.

“I love the poorly educated.”, President Chump!

Lolly:
I will say that was a hard thing, it wasn’t the biggest thing by any means, but it was one of those pivot points where you kind of have to make a decision about what you’re going to do and how you can do it and that sort of thing.

TR:
Even though we become familiar with these experiences, they are still difficult and in my opinion should never be thought of as standard or acceptable.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
So you had to be really intentional, not only about finding these outlets, but then of course making it accessible for you.

Lolly:
Yes, absolutely.

TR:
Lolly was resilient in her pursuit of getting involved. Even outside of the Singing Resistance, she found opportunities that fit her.

Lolly:
There were a lot of people, who were afraid to go out, and also afraid to drive their own vehicles because they were concerned that their license plates had been tracked.

So we had people who were trying to find rides. In this situation, it was a couple, both had jobs in different places, and they were working on their status. But things had not come through yet, and so they were very concerned. And so I was part of a group that was trying to find rides, basically exchanging text messages, trying to find rides for folks who were in need of transportation. And eventually, that did come together. It was a network, a very small network of folks who came together, that were able to provide rides.
Someone would pick them up in the morning, take them to work and someone would pick them up at night and take them home.

There were several people who volunteered to do this so it didn’t fall on one person.

TR:
Neighbors helping neighbors.
The result?
People were able to stay employed in order to feed and shelter themselves and their families.

Lolly shares some more examples of ways people can contribute to the effort.

Lolly:
There was so much. There were different ways that food was provided, you could deliver groceries to folks. if you were a person with a disability but had a car, you could still do something like that. I looked into it, and it would have been possible where they were packing boxes of food for people, and so that someone would take those and deliver them. But you didn’t have to be part of the actual delivery. You could just put the stuff in the boxes.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
(Sarcastically) But Lolly, you’re blind. You can’t put stuff in boxes.

Lolly:
Exactly! (Laughs)

TR:
Communication today requires a new set of skills. Therefore, the same is true for getting activated.

Lolly:
I’d done organizing where of course, we set up back in my day phone trees or fax trees or you know email lists or that kind of thing. This was different.
It had its ups and downs in terms of accessibility. It was a challenge, definitely.

It wasn’t insurmountable that there were things that weren’t possible, and it was really only because I was able to connect with some of the folks through some of the networks I got in touch with that I was able to do what I was able to do.

TR:
Some advice from Lolly on getting connected.

Lolly:
I think with those experiences now, I have a different outlook about how to make connections than I did as an advocate previously. I think this hyperlocal emphasis is really more important than we can ever emphasize.

Start to get to know the people in your building, in your block. Talk to people in your neighborhood, because that’s where you’re going to make connections.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
Let’s say you are new to a neighborhood. You don’t know many people. You’re a disabled person, and let’s say you’re not a natural extrovert.

Lolly:
You know that’s tough. I think you almost have to put yourself out and that’s always a risk because you don’t know what you’re going to get back and you don’t know how someone’s going to
receive your inquiry and your efforts to help.

even just a hello, starts the conversation.

TR:
Lolly recommends restaurants and coffee shops where customers and especially employees tend to be a bit more social and in the know about the community.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
So you’ve done it. It’s a risk.
you made a contribution in your way. Do you think it was worth the risk?

Lolly:
Yes, I do. I think that people who are either newly blind or new to vision loss don’t necessarily maybe have the confidence, and they might have had the skills before, but maybe that confidence has been dampened a bit.

I think I go into this with the attitude that I know every time I do this, I am going to probably have some bad experiences, probably have some feelings that get hurt, probably not really like a lot of what happens, but if I can keep my eyes on the prize and remember why I’m doing it, and what is important to me, which is that part of being in community and trying to make a difference. Then I can find ways to mitigate those things that don’t happen that I wish would have happened, and to find ways to try and make things happen.

TR:
Some additional advice from Lolly. First, tap into your own support system.

Lolly:
Sometimes it’s just expressing to somebody else, it was really a screwed up day. Nothing went well. I tried these things; they didn’t work. I don’t know where to go next. And someone might have an answer, and they might not. But if you keep putting it out there, somebody might come forward with something that works for you.

You can’t do it alone, is what I found. You really do have to share some of that sort of disappointment and frustration with other people because that’s what helps keep you going.

I think the best advice is to stay open, to think about what skills and abilities do you have? And every one of us has things they can offer. What can you share? Where is it best to try and plug in. And even if you’re having trouble, finding places that you can continue to try.

TR:
That’s a key element right there. Persistence.

Lolly:
It’s been my experience, that disability often becomes the last on the laundry list, so to speak, or gets forgotten altogether.

And when I was struggling with some of this, what I kept hearing was openness to immigrants, openness to people from the LGBTQ community, but I didn’t hear disability mentioned much until I had the conversation with the person who really kind of helped turn things around, and then I found many people who were willing to do that, but I had to be willing to be honest about it and say this isn’t working for me, and this is why, and this is what I need.

If you’re not at the table, your needs will likely not be met or heard.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
Yeah, that sounds like some great advice. In the end, what did you gain from participating? How did it make you feel?

Lolly:
Much more a part of the community of people who were going through these experiences, and while so many people had different roles, the one thing that all of us shared was we were in a situation we did not ask for, and we were forced into having to create these options and these avenues for connection, and some just amazing things came out of that, and it shows how when you think you know the worst is happening. Sometimes it is, but also at the same time, because two things can be true at the same time, at least two things, then there also are good things that are happening in other places or in places where you’ve been trying to make a difference.

You can make a difference.

TR:
For whatever reason, making a difference, can feel really important to many of us. If we’re not working towards that goal, then we’re going to feel unfulfilled.

It’s not even about the level of difference being made. Most often you won’t know what that actually is. But that’s not the point. It’s about the effort we put out. The energy we share with the world. Lolly said it earlier;

Lolly:
This is really about being a human and helping other humans.

TR:
I hope producing this series of episodes is one way for me to make my small contribution to the collective energy.

Big, big, big shout out to Lolly Lijewski.

I’ve gotten to know Lolly a bit over the past year or so and one thing I can say, her ability to be persistent is real.
It’s admirable and quite honestly can serve as a real guide for us all. It has for me.

That’s why, Lolly, you are an official member of the Reid My Mind Radio family!

We will continue exploring the different ways we can fight back.
So, stay tapped in by following or subscribing to Reid My Mind Radio wherever you get podcasts.
We have transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com

The good thing about this podcasts is we’re not covert, we’re not underground., there’s no secret signal or code to gain access.
You just have to spell it right…
That’s R to the E I D!

Like my last name!

— Reid My Mind Radio Outro
Peace!

Hide the transcript

“What do you control, for sure, huh? The volume in your stereo? The air conditioning in your car? WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE?”
–Dramatic, pounding, rising intensity ambient music.
“Fine, another chance, you were nervous too much pressure, try again!”
– Anthony Hopkins, “Instinct”

TR:

Your vote. Access to healthcare. Clean air, education.

Alright, at least women control what they do with their bodies right?

Based on the constant attacks from a segment of the government, think tanks and other organizations, it appears as if their purpose is to control other people. This can make you feel as if you have no say. In fact, that’s the point. To make you feel as if you have no control, no power.

My name is Thomas Reid, I’m the host and producer of this here podcast called Reid My Mind Radio.
Now some of y’all continue to forget the radio.

I talked about that before. Apparently, it’s something out of my control, but I can remind you every now and then. You can say it’s my way of resisting.
I’m not just going to stand by while other people dictate the name of my podcast. We all have choices we can make. Even when it seems like there’s nothing we can do.

If you relate to what I’m saying, stay tuned. Otherwise, stay tuned… the choice is yours!

— Reid My Mind Radio Intro

TR:

I’m starting the conversation with this audio from November 2024, but let’s be clear,
The problem we’re experiencing today started way before that.

Today’s problem is and has always been America’s problem. It began with the arrival of the first European settlers setting foot on the shores of what is now known as the United States.
That was the beginning of;
The land theft, the genocide of the indigenous people who were already here for thousands of years.
The creation and implementation of chattel slavery, requiring the kidnapping of African people.
The government sanctioned Jim Crow laws, lynchings, systemic oppression of poor people here and abroad.

And we cannot forget the confederates,
you know the anti-US side of the Civil War, the homegrown terrorists,
how they were allowed to move forward with their agenda.
It’s as if a serious crime against the country were committed only to have them pardoned and rewarded for their criminal actions.

— News clip about Jan 6 er’s being pardoned.
— Glass breaking! “DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!” Florida Evans, “Good Times”

TR:
What we’re experiencing today is not new.

MAGA ain’t new.
I’m talking about this idea of making America great again.
This fascination of turning the clock back to a time when
rich white men could make all the rules and
control the society for their benefit.
That’s not a definition of great that I can get behind.

We can’t control the past. We can’t control the actions of other people.
However, we can study and learn from the past and let that factor in how we move forward in the present.
All with the goal of making a better future for humanity.

That’s a choice.
We do have choices.

We can take the individual approach, that’s the “I got mine, you better go get yours” attitude and move on.

We can bury our heads in the sand, give in to all of the available distractions;
Binging your favorite streaming company
Watching grown men and women throw, catch, kick and run around a field or court with balls.
Tapping and swiping through endless, mindless videos about nothing on your favorite social media app.

I’m not saying don’t participate in these things… just ask yourself if you’re using these things as a permanent escape from reality.

We have choices.
Hopefully, not these.

Music: A menacing synth drone leads to a Hip Hop trap beat.

TR: In 2024, I voted the right way. I recognized what was to come. Not because I’m some sort of a Nostra Thomas! I just believed them. I believed their Project 2025. I believe them because I have some understanding of what was done before and was conscious enough to be aware of the writing on the wall. Afterall, that writing was in big bold lettering. Even a Blind man could see it.

(Is that an ableist metaphor coming from me? Yes!)
Cool!

I voted the right way because the hatred was really easy to identify. I’m always going to vote against that. Yet, I’m not proud of my response to the result of that election. Unknowingly, I made a choice.

The choice was indecision, which means I didn’t do anything because I didn’t know what to do. At least that’s what I thought I was doing.

I often tend to think about action as some form of boots on the ground. Protests and marches, confronting public or private officials in their place of business or at town hall meetings.
— Sound from a town hall interrupted with community chants, “No Justice No Peace”.

But there are many different ways to contribute. Things that are within our control.

Educating yourself is one that is often forgotten or ignored. It’s not easy. It requires time. Something we all have. I know I need to be more intentional about what I do with my time.

The episodes in this season are all about reminding us that we have a choice in how we respond to whatever we face in our lives.

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living or get busy dying.” Andy Dufresne, “Shawshank Redemption”

TR:
We’ll hear how one person found their way to be a part of the resistance in Minneapolis during the ICE surge earlier this year.

We’re also talking about voting, disinformation, and how can we take on leadership positions ourselves.

— Crowd chants: “Power to the People!”

We have a place in the fight.
We have power.
All power to the People!

— Power to the people fades out

If this sounds like something that you need or want in your life right now, make sure you rock with Reid My Mind Radio by subscribing or following wherever you get podcasts.

You can always choose not to listen. You can read the transcript instead. Or do both at the same time.

— Scooby Doo laugh.

You can find the transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com

Now, this is where you don’t have a choice, you gotta spell it right, that’s R to the E I D!
— “D! And that’s me in the place to be.” Slick Rick

TR:
Like my last name!
— Reid My Mind Radio outro
Peace!

Hide the transcript

AD: A True Crime Story

TR:
What’s up Family? It’s your brother, Thomas… Thomas Reid!
Host and producer of this here podcast. Sheesh!
If you’ve been here for a while, you know sometimes something about audio description gets on my last nerve and I choose to speak on it. Well, that hasn’t necessarily changed.
There’s a lot to be annoyed at.
Sub par AD is running wild out here.
Culturally competent audio description is still extremely lacking.
Streaming networks like Apple choose to use like 3 or four narrators for everything.
Ok, admittingly, I don’t watch that much on Apple, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard a narrator of color on any content.
And to all you Apple stans, please don’t send me one example in their defense.
AD providers still haven’t committed to working with Blind Narrators and QC specialists in a sustainable way.
If any network were going to show support to Blind narrators and QC Specialists, I would have put my money on Apple. This is why I don’t gamble y’all!
Last year, I decided that I’m not going to rant. Well I’m going to try not to rant. That doesn’t mean I’m going to be quiet. I want to find ways to say something but be creative.
So today, I present to you, my take on the true crime genre…
Take it away bro!
Narrator:
The following is a dramatization.
The purpose of this is not to blame, implicate or judge individuals. It is however an artistic expression of the frustration with the current state and foreseeable future of audio description.
While this story is fiction, it does include real people from real publicly held events.
In most cases their names have been withheld, but not the companies they represent.
— Reid My Mind Radio theme Music
— Suspenseful cinematic music
Lies, deceit, murder?
This is the case of AD, A True Crime Story!
— Audio: President Obama signing the CVAA
President Obama:
The Twenty First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act will make it easier for people who are Deaf, blind or live with a visual impairment to do what many of us take for granted from navigating a TV or DVD menu, to sending an email on a smart phone.
… I’ll sign it now… (Applause)
— An uplifting pop tune.
AD:
I can’t tell you how excited I was when President Obama signed this legislation.
Even watching this now, gives me chills!
Narrator in conversation with AD:
Why was this so special to you?
Oh my goodness!
This was the chance I was waiting for since starting my career!
It might sound corny, but I always knew, this was my calling.
I was certain, this, was the opportunity I’d been waiting for.
Would you mind introducing yourself?
Sure, all my friends call me AD. My pronouns are They Them.
In two thousand ten, AD was only in their 20’s. Relatively early in their career, and they were bouncing back from some setbacks in the early two thousands.
My career really began in theater.
Then, in the 90’s, I got a chance to work with PBS.
I have to say, It really hurts me today as this administration is so set on destroying PBS and NPR.
I not only feel a kinship with these vital organizations because I worked with PBS, but I know what it feels like to have a target on your back.
I’ve been in that position for the past few years.
Not by this administration though. Well, at least, not yet!
AD continued at PBS and while they enjoyed that work, like others, they had dreams of reaching more people.
In two thousand ten, with the signing of the Twenty First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, or CVAA, AD’s future appeared to be bright. Advocates worked tirelessly to help pass legislation that would help AD and others not only secure the right to work, but broaden their career opportunities.
No longer would they be confined to limited hours on children’s television, they were going prime time!
I went from begging film makers to include me, to Hollywood specifically calling me! They were now seeing me, as a valuable asset able to enhance their stories!
And then, the streaming services came online. Oh my gosh! Just when I thought life couldn’t get any better.
This was around 2015.
Streaming companies were invested in AD and their talent.
Netflix Representative:
I think we first heard the calls for audio description
around 2014 when we were just launching into our own original content.
We spent most of 2014 doing a lot of the sort of back end work trying to prep ourselves to be able to provide audio description consistently. A lot of different research and creating different technical specifications to make sure that audio description would play back on all the many different devices through which people access Netflix.
We also created audio description style guides. We wanted to make sure that when we were ordering audio description that there was a consistent experience across that was high quality, that used good voice talent, good script writing, and that also met, like I said, the technical specifications so that we could ingest those files and then make sure that they could play back on all the different devices.
We also set up a lot of partnerships with different companies that create audio description to make sure we had a really healthy supply chain. Uh, knowing that we were launching full force into a huge volume of content, we knew that as we made a commitment to create audio description on all of our original content, that that was not going to be a trivial amount. We set up that supply chain and made sure we had good script authors and talent and recording studios, and also made sure that we had a really healthy pool of people who could QC audio description to make sure that we had had a set of ears on the files before they went live, to get ahead of any issues that might come out. So we worked on that for most of 2014 and then in 2015 we launched Daredevil without audio description. So that was definitely a miss, and we heard it from the community loud. Luckily, we had already done all that legwork, like I said, in 2014 so we recovered quickly and put that up, as well as about 100 other titles by the end of the summer of 2015 and from there, we dug in hard on that investment, and I’m happy to say that today, we have over 13,000 hours of audio described content on Netflix.
We’ve committed to creating audio description on all of our original content, and we also do our very best to make sure that we get the licensed content, we’ve actually added the need for audio description to our contractual obligations with our content partners.
It was so promising!
Even better, listening, reading and watching the feedback from the community through podcasts, blogs and YouTube was so gratifying.
You can’t under estimate the value AD brought to the community.
Fan 1:
AD changed my life.
Because I now had access, I find myself in conversations with more people because I can talk about the latest film or streaming series. I’m bonding with more people and I never realized this was possible.
Fan 2:
Watching AD, helped give me the courage to believe I could do more. I wanted to follow in their footsteps and today I’m working in a field that I never believed was possible.
Fan 3:
Today, I don’t watch anything unless it has AD.
With it’s new found popularity and all the opportunity that came from the CVAA, AD moved from one gig to the next.
Live television events like the Olympics and even award shows wanted AD.
More streaming services were coming online and sought out AD.
I was working constantly.
I was even invited on a cruise [laughs] only to find out it was a working trip.
In between projects, I had time to self reflect.
I listened to the community. That was eye opening.
No pun intended.
Ok, huh, AD has a sense of humor.
When I finally understood that my work wasn’t serving everyone equitably, I knew I needed to do a better job.
I realized, I had to better represent all cultures.
I even tapped into my ability to speak multiple languages and started bringing that to my work.
I was excited about not only my future, but what it could mean for my supporters.
Wow! At a time when I didn’t think the work could get better, it became even more of a passion!
— suspenseful music…
So where did things go wrong? What exactly happened to AD?
More after this message.
POD Access trailer
— a bouncy bass drum opens to bright synth trumpets announcing a fun, celebratory up-tempo Hip Hop beat
THOMAS:
If you’re currently thinking about launching a podcast, but have no idea how to start?
CHERYL: The types of podcasts, finances.
THOMAS: Recording, editing, marketing.
CHERYL: Social media, branding.
THOMAS: Theme music, a logo.
CHERYL: Maybe you’ve started one but feel as though you need a bit of coaching to really get it going? Where should we begin?
THOMAS: PodAccess.net.
CHERYL: In this series of 11 episodes, we’ll cover the basics of things to consider when starting a podcast.
THOMAS: Unlike most of the information you’ll find out there on the subject, we recognize the importance of accessibility.
CHERYL: Accessible content creation! The three ways you can potentially consume podcasts.
THOMAS: Listening, reading, watching.
CHERYL: We’ll share resources and practical tips from other Deaf and disabled podcasters in all stages of production. Tell a friend and an enemy to follow or subscribe to POD Access wherever you get your podcasts and on Instagram @PodAccess.
CHERYL: Connecting d/Deaf and disabled podcasters to audiences and each other!
— music fades out
Ten years after the CVAA, AD, was having even more of an impact on it’s supporters.
— Covid 19 Pandemic Announcement of Lock down.
In two thousand twenty the Covid 19 pandemic hit and forced corporations around the world to re-examine what work will look like in the near future.
In fact, for many it forced them to consider what workers look like.
Fortunately, some corporations had open minded people in charge and saw talent in the Blind community. Rather than just seeing fans of AD, or consumers,
— An uplifting synth opens to a pop beat.
they saw people who can help contribute and work with AD.
Wait, what?
You’re going to tell me I get to work directly with those who have been supporting me for years?
They say if you love your work, you’ll never work a day in your life.
— Music ends.
Well, I went on a permanent vacation when I got the chance to work with more of my supporters. It made me better!
— Dramatic bass heavy suspenseful drone.
And then things fell apart.
— Downton Abby Scene with TTS
Online Streaming companies turned to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and text To Speech (TTS).
For more on exactly why, we turn to a representative of Amazon
who further explained the company’s position during a panel discussion held in two thousand twenty two at the ACB convention.
Amazon guy:
We looked at the velocity of of how fast audio descriptions were being created. We looked at the very large back catalog of content. And we thought, you know, if we were going to really achieve the vision of what our audio description program is within Prime Video, that every single title is described, and, you know, audio descriptions are generally as available as closed captions are, then we would need to, you know, disrupt how audio descriptions are created. And so we’ve been working on text to speech audio descriptions for about a year and a half to date.
We have over 4000 text to speech tracks live on the service.
We have one person who kind of does everything the writing and the descriptions and the time coding, and then directs the text to speech engine. But we have every single track before it’s published on the service also goes through a human quality control review. So we are making sure that there is a second person involved in the process that reviews and detects those things that you know the writer may miss.
The more iterations you do on anything, the better quality product there will be.
Did anyone consider that yes, quality gets better over time, but in what other field do they release a sub par product to the consumer?
Who does that?
We spoke with AD supporters who shared their frustration.
Consumer 1:
I feel forced to make a decision every time I open a streaming service and launch a series or movie only to hear what I know is TTS.
I know they say they’re working to improve the quality of these voices, but it feels like they’re working harder to try and trick me.
Some of these companies using TTS narrators are crediting and naming the narrator.
Even if that TTS voice is based on a human, that doesn’t feel genuine to me. It feels like you’re just playing in my face.
Using AI in the production process goes beyond TTS.
The mixing is automated as well. And so it’s a separate process that is fully automated. You write the script and you get live feedback on the audio as you’re writing it, but then eventually, when it goes into mixing, that is automated as well.
We definitely realize there as well that is not as good as a human going through and mixing the track, but we think over time, we can build improvements into the track to get it as close or as to human quality mixing in the future.
The benefit of keeping everything automated, and that’s one of the reasons why we’re going fast, and we feel a little bit more comfortable about going quickly, is all of our tracks are never finished. I think that’s an important thing that we can do. We can very easily fix the script, and then, you know, automatically re voice and remix the track. If, if the improvements in text to speech come, we can, you know, use new text to speech engines to, you know, improve, improve the quality of the voicing. And as we’re, you know, making improvements in the automated mixing quality process as well. It’s very easy to for me to take all 4000 of those tracks and rerun them through the new, enhanced improvement in the mixing technology to improve the mix as well.
What?
So a consumer who watches a film that has poor quality description or doesn’t like the TTS voice, should just come back in a year or two to try again?
Who consumes content in that way? How could they say this is a working solution with a serious face?
As we hear from representatives from other streaming companies, it’s obvious, AI and TTS was always in play and part of the plan.
Peacock:
Certainly we are committed to innovation and would look to in the future, find ways of making audio description as efficient. Right and widely available as possible. And you know, text to speech could be one solution that that’s pursued.
I think you know there are ways that industry has to look to be able to deliver more content faster. And certainly, you know, technology solutions like text to speech may help.
Paramount:
Right now we don’t, and you know, we don’t have any immediate plans to do so, but I would say that, you know, my answer to that is, is similar to what Tom said, which is that
it is something that we’re looking at, and in part because, not as so much as a replacement for the live voice version of description, but as a way to possibly expand the amount of description that we have available on something like paramount.
The quality is improving there. It’s,
it’s certainly quicker than doing the traditional way. And it’s less expensive.
so I think it is something that we’re just looking at down the road as something that you know potentially could offer more content with description available.
Hulu:
In regard to Hulu originals, we currently only accept audio description that are read by human voice actors. So we don’t take auto generated or speech to text at this time, and we do try to make sure that we have consistency in our voice talent across episodes and seasons of a series
That was representatives from Peacock, Paramount and Hulu respectively.
Next, hear from HBO Max, Apple and Disney.
HBO Max:
We actually strive to really have our content voice acted. First and foremost, we’re a company. We’re an entertainment company. And you know, our value is really to create great entertainment. So it makes sense.
Apple:
We’re focusing on, you know, live human being, audio description. It’s kind of where we are at the moment. You know, I think, as some people have said, I think no one really knows where the future is going to go, but it’s not where we are currently putting our focus. We like the way things are at the moment.
Disney:
It is definitely something lucrative to look at. However. We have not ventured out that way just yet.

Consumer 2:
All of the effort these companies put into TTS, it’s like their trying to convince me that I want something I don’t want.
Today, it’s hard to find any platform that doesn’t employ TTS.
I think that’s a business decision that each studio needs to make.
We don’t want the trade off to be between text to speech and human that’s not the trade off we’re trying to address that. Really the trade off we’re trying to address is between no audio descriptions and text to speech.
— In order and panned from left to right:
A man confusedly says “Huh”, followed by a woman and dog with similar responses.
Consumer 3:
Why do, they, get to decide my options?
As a Blind consumer, I’m left with two choices, watch, or not.
Not much of a choice in my book!
The lack of choices can make some feel helpless. Not exactly what the CVAA was striving for.
Equal access, equal opportunity and equal respect for every American.
Equal access, equal opportunity, the freedom to make of our lives what we will; living up to these principles is an obligation we have as Americans.
What hurt me the most was, I expected someone to say something in my defense.
It was, after all, an organization of the Blind. I expected more pushback.
Not everyone was silent.
The community WAS speaking out against TTS and AI early on.
Online conversations like Blind Centered Chats, that often featured people from the community were vocal.
Clip from BCAD Chats 001
We didn’t talk about the fact that, well, how do we get the industry to really center blind people and blind and low vision people? Because right now I’m not sure if that is the case when it comes to audio description. I don’t always feel as though we are at the center of this. And there’s many reasons that I feel like that. Number one, I think this conversation about quantity and quality really does come down to who is being centered. Because when we talk about the quantity and really going for that, I think quantity, that whole, that kinda relates back to the whole compliance, let’s just get it done because the government is telling us we need to get it done. And that, to me-
NEFERTITI: Mmhmm. Checking that box.
THOMAS: Yeah. That, to me, brings about the Amazons, the AI, and all of that.
SCOTT N: [growls]
THOMAS: That’s what that’s about. And I think we all, the majority of us probably agree that that’s not really quality, you know, and we’re not centered in that conversation. That wasn’t about us. That wasn’t about bringing a good product to the people. That was more about, again, checking that box, like Nef said, and just making sure our numbers, and we do it efficiently, right? We do it on the cheap. That’s what that’s about. So, we’re not centered.
NEFERTITI: Do it on the cheap, do it at scale.
Other podcasts and content creators were vocal, perhaps not as loud as they could have been, but those in power either didn’t hear or care to hear the feedback.
This clip from an episode of Reid My Mind Radio’s Flipping the Script on Audio Description, reminds us that even audio description providers were sounding the alarm.
Clip from FTSAD: No One Will Save Us Part 2
When I invited Eric and Rhys to join me on the podcast,
I asked them each to bring three to five issues that most threaten the future of AD and some thoughts as to what we can do about them.
Eric:
I mean, there’s a few things that stand out.
Obviously, TTS synthetic speech, however you want to phrase it, I think that’s a problem.
It impacts our voiceover folks. But it also affects every area downstream for audio description.
A lot of companies that have no business being in this space are in this space. And they’re in it in major ways.
Rhys:
And it goes beyond just the sound of the voice, right?
Great narration track is often done by somebody who’s connecting to the material. Well, you know, who doesn’t connect to material? TTS doesn’t connect to the material, there’s no lived experience of being LGBTQ for a TTS voice. Whereas you get the human narrator, skilled, who’s doing content of that type, in the connection that they come through, it’s not performative, but it’s subtle, but it’s there, and it’s present. If you’re an adept listener of audio description, you can hear it, that person gives a crap about what they’re doing. And
we stand to lose all of that.
Does TTS serve a function in audio description? 100%. Like.
How to videos on YouTube, go for it.
That’s an entirely reasonable application for TTS. But if you’re taking premium content, what is it you’re trying to achieve by doing that?
The answer all your questions in life is money. That’s the old cliche.
It’s a pathetic thing that I have to say, but that’s really the answer. It’s always comes down to money.
— Sesame Street Word of the Day!
Can you say capitalism?
Ahh!The truth is, everywhere you look, there’s someone
trying to make a fast dollar by cutting costs and sacrificing quality.
Remember Economics class? Caveat Emptor or Let the buyer beware.
Consumers of all types should be educated enough to know the value of what they’re buying.
In this case, we’re talking about large companies, networks and streaming services that frankly have no experience with audio description.
So, how can they even begin to define quality AD?
Yet still they’re procuring millions of dollars in AD for old and new content.
They’re being misguided, misled because they’re talking to the clowns. They’re talking to people who are trying to sell them on something. They’re not necessarily talking to the audience.
I always encourage them, Are you sure, have you spoken to anybody about this? Has anybody told you by the way the audience doesn’t like this.
But the other part of this is an AD providers. If you’re confronted with that conversation, what do you do? Do you just go? Yes, sir, we can do it? Or do you go and take that opportunity to talk to them about what they’re asking for, to take that opportunity to go? Are you sure that the experience you want your audience to have of your content? That is your precious, precious item is a subpar experience? Because it doesn’t need to be.
Some how, some where, someone found a way to
either justify or convince streaming platforms and broadcasters that AD users want TTS.
TR in Conversation with Eric & Rhys:
Wow, so you telling me that companies come to you? And they say we want TTS?
Yep. They do.
AI and TTS definitely can help a single passion project based podcast to produce an idea in order to express himself and hopefully make a point. But even I agree, there are limits.

— Suspenseful cinematic music

AD is still working today, but they say their future just doesn’t shine as bright as it did in the early years following the CVAA.
I can only imagine the pain of living day after day, being turned down for gigs, while watching as AI and TTS slowly replaces you.
I’m sure that can really take a toll on someone.
it feels like the classic Hollywood story.
Rising up from the bottom after working so hard, and then reaching the top.
It’s one thing to lose after so much success, but I can’t even describe the pain of watching the community move on.
In fact, they even continue to celebrate as if their unaware of the losses.
Sources tell me, AD, is considering going underground.
The less value placed on them the less likely supporters will be inclined to pay for their services.
That’s not really an optimal solution for anyone, but I also understand it is a response.
If AD can only make their way into the hearts and minds of creators, chances are they can have even more of a future. Not only providing the equitable access but perhaps even more of a chance to flex their creative muscles.

AD:
For years, I based my value on my productivity and how I could impact the organization’s bottom line.
I no longer see it that way.
I’m aware of what I bring to the community.
Not only am I helping more people access content, but I’m impacting culture, education, creativity. I’m making relationships and connections that go beyond access.
Today, I’m working more with independent producers who know the value of human centered art.
We’re having conversations that go beyond sticking to the script. I’m being asked for my creative input. This gives me hope and is actually exciting!
A true crime story that ends with the presumed victim feeling optimistic?
This is far from the norm.
Strangely, in this story, the true victims, don’t seem to realize they’ve been lied to.
They don’t know they were deceived.
In fact, some are celebrating as if none of this ever happened.
If that isn’t a crime, tell me , what is it?

— Music continues and fades out.

TR:
Reid My Mind Radio Family!
A few episodes ago I told you all about Portraits and Portals.
A powerful art showcase uplifting disabled artists and disaster survivors of color .
The art takes on multiple formats including audio, poetry, song and visual art.
As this is Flipping the Script, I know we have listeners and readers who are quite skilled in writing description.
Well it just so happens that Portraits and Portals are asking the community to share some of their creative and poetic descriptions for the artwork posted on the site.
They’ll include it among the access resources available for visitors with vision loss.
Just go to PortraitsAndPortals.com and visit the artist pages.
You’ll be able to provide your description for visual art pieces.
Who better than those who rock with Flipping the Script.
I’ll link you there directly on this episodes blog post at ReidMyMind.com.

This concludes the Flipping the Script on Audio Description season.
I’ll be back and hope you stay tuned.

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Official, uh uh official | Official, uh uh official !
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(Applause)
You’re Official! | Reid My Mind Radio Family!

— Music continues
Transcripts and more are available at ReidMyMind.com.
That’s my address on these internets.
And be careful, there’s a lot of artificial out here. It’s not all intelligent.
Sometimes it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not.
There’s only one way to make sure you’re traveling safely out here, and you reach your intended destination.?
You gotta spell it right…
that’s R to the E I D!
“D” And that’s me in the place be!, Slick Rick

Like my last name.
— Reid My Mind Radio Outro
Peace

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