Reid My Mind

TR:
This series, Power to the People, developed after months of me dealing with my own frustration over the constant attacks from the clown in the white house and his minions. Months of thinking about what exactly is in my control. What are some ways to get involved that work for me and my skillset. Things that I could do without a need to ask for help or even an accommodation.

For the record, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with either. My brain knows that but sometimes, this guy takes over.

Teego:
Whachu mean, this guy! I am you and you are me. We are one, son!

TR:
No, I am me. You are my ego. That’s why I call you Teego.

Teego:
Whateva son, you know you do better when you let me shine right? I’m that guy!

TR:
Yeh, ok. Go sit down somewhere. You’re doing too much.

Teego:
Don’t tell me what to do. You’re lucky, I’m tired and you bore me. I’m outchere!

TR:
In the last episode, we heard from Neal Carter.

Neal:
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.

TR:
In part one, Neal responded when I asked if there are any limitations or restrictions on disabled people running for office.

Neal:
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:
I think part of my struggle post 2024 election is related to my own internal ableism.

All of the questions I asked myself about what’s in my control and my skill set are impacted by that internal ableism. I find myself thinking about people who may doubt my skills and how that can get me to question my own ability. That can present itself in different ways. From casual comments in public situations to the lack of trust in performing a function that can come from those who you thought would know better.

Even though I recognize it today, it still requires some intentional work on my part to assure it doesn’t stop me from reaching the goal. That’s actually when Teego comes in handy.

Teego:
Aha! I told you we are one! Who’s doubting our abilities? I will slap the shitake mushrooms out their mouth.

TR:
Wow, nice job on the shitake mushrooms replacement, but again, that’s too much. That’s why I keep you away from everyone.

We are not one. You are Teego. I’m Thomas Reid. And this is Reid My Mind Radio!

— Reid My Mind Radio Intro Music

TR:
Last time on Reid My Mind Radio

TR:
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!

Rebecca: 2:45
I became disabled from being pushed on the New York City subway.

TR:
Meet Rebecca:

Rebecca: 2:45
Rebecca: LaMorte. Pronouns are she, her. I am a white woman with brown curly hair. Right now, I am in a white office wearing a black shirt and black leggings sitting in an apartment in front of a white wall, and I am a disability advocate and so that’s what brings me to this space today, and I’m really excited to be with you. Thank you so much Thomas.

TR in conversation with Rebecca::
Absolutely. So, like I told you, I don’t get into too much about the disability, but, when did you actually begin identifying as disabled?

Rebecca: 0:44
That’s a great question, because that is absolutely an evolution. When I was pushed on the subway at 22 My life changed.

I joke like, B, C, A, D, for me, is before cane, after disability. And so, I would probably say about a year where I started to accept, this is my new normal. This is my life. I’m always going to have a cane. I’m always going to have something that is a little different about me now.

Now I am a proud disabled woman. Disabled is not a bad word. Don’t try and call me handy-capable or differently abled, or any of that mess like, no, I’m disabled and I’m wonderful and I’m powerful and I’m competent and I’m able to do everything like everybody else. I may just have to alter how I do it to make it better and more comfortable for me.

TR:
Before that evolution, there was the subway incident in 2013.

Rebecca::
I’m then on crutches in a leg brace trying to figure out what happened. What’s wrong with my body, because it’s not a break, it’s not a traditional injury. Doctors are telling me you’re not okay, something’s going on, and then trying to get back to work.

I make the choice on crutches in a leg brace with a subway system in New York City that, at the time, was even more inaccessible, but is still egregiously inaccessible.

I fell down a flight of stairs on crutches in a leg brace a month after my accident. I jokingly call it my follow up fall.

TR:
Understandably, Rebecca: stayed away from traveling on the subway for a year. As a recent college graduate, that impacted her life.

Rebecca::
My friends weren’t inviting me out to do things because it would be more expensive as young people to take cabs, or they lived in a walk up apartment building, and I then couldn’t go up multiple flights of stairs on crutches. So not being able to easily move about my home, my community, was that first big perspective point for me.

TR:
Rebecca: returned to work on crutches. Thanks to her employer at that time, she traveled by cabs.

Rebecca:
I’m a lobbyist professionally. And to get into City Hall, traditionally, there’s a very large flight of stairs.
I approached an officer asking for assistance, and his response was, well, if you can’t walk up those stairs, maybe you shouldn’t be there.

TR:
Meanwhile, there’s a ramp in the rear entrance.
Ableism is real y’all!

Back to my earlier question;

— Rewind

What is it that you value, that if threatened, you would be ready to fight.

For Rebecca: I just heard, accessibility, mobility, independence, community.

Rebecca::
That day truly ingrained in me. This is my life, and we’re going to fight like hell every damn day, because this is my experience. This is other people’s experience, and I’m not going to take this for me, and I’m not going to take this for anyone else, and it was like you’re disabled and goddamn, you’re going to make something better for everyone out there, like you that feels like this, like you do right now, completely crushed and completely belittled.

— Rewind

TR:
“Freeze, Flight or Fight.”

The three responses to traumatic experiences.
Do nothing, run away or fight against the threat.

Rebecca:
To know the power that policy holds, the power that lawmaking holds, what happens when you have different voices in the chorus, when you have different people with seats at the table? Because if you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re on the menu, and disabled people, we are always on the menu. We’re always having services cut. We’re always being ignored.
And that’s why I chose to run for New York City Council in 2021.

TR:
Leadership. It’s one of the ways to fight back. Unfortunately, it’s often overlooked as an option for and by disabled people.

Before we get into What someone can expect when running for office. What does someone need to bring to the table?

Rebecca::
I’m a very spunky person. When I make a decision, I am doing it, and I am doing it 100%. But running for office, it is something where it is all of you. It is you, you’re personal, you’re professional. It is everything all at once. We know that it can be difficult. It can be a mud fight. It could be very negative, very hurtful, very harmful. And when you run as a person with a disability, that can be different. Again, because people may make really unfortunate comments, may ask very personal things.

TR:
I know some of y’all heard that and immediately thought, well, I’m out!

But hold on. We know how to adapt to new environments, situations and people. Managing unwanted criticism, intrusive comments and questions. That’s what we do.

Rebecca::
So, for me, it was, I’m doing this no matter what, knowing I could have no money in the end, no job.

TR:
Resilience. What else is required.

Rebecca::
I’m gonna have to have some uncomfortable moments. I’m gonna have to get comfortable talking about really personal things for myself, like being able to now talk about that first year.
I put on over 100 pounds, Thomas. That is not something I could talk about at a certain point in time, but I know there’s a community member out there that understands that and has that same experience, and I want to be there to fight for them, and know that I get it too. And I personally had to get comfortable sharing more of myself. And that was absolutely an evolution.

TR:
That evolution doesn’t happen over night and it doesn’t take place in a vacuum.

Rebecca::
In politics, we call it a kitchen cabinet. A group of personal friends. Sometimes it’s professional, sometimes it’s political, people that you meet along your political journey.

I had my kitchen cabinet of a lot of close personal friends, some people with disabilities, some people without some people in politics, outside of it, all of which that could help get me comfortable answering questions, shaping my experience, putting it into a package I was comfortable sharing with others, where then I could get even more comfortable sharing more as I needed to.

TR:
Let’s take a quick inventory of what’s required when running for office based on Rebecca’s story.

Motivation. (Check)
Team (Check)
A platform or the things that concern you that you’re looking to change.
For Rebecca:, that was accessibility, fairness and being of service to her community.

Some things you don’t need to concern yourself with when running for office;
A specific score on your SAT, GMAT or LSAT exam.

Your so called race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, mobility, visual acuity.

Rebecca::
There is no bad way or bad reason to do it. It doesn’t have to be at Big levels. It could be at a smaller, much more local level. As long as you feel strongly about something, then I think you’re in the right place to go find that leadership position on it.

it doesn’t have to be public office all the time. It could be even leading your friend group. If you care strongly about something, and going and turning out at a local rally to raise your voices together for it.

TR:
Ok, Wait, don’t turn this off. Public speaking doesn’t have to be as much of a challenge as you think.

Rebecca::
Okay, maybe you have to practice public speaking a little bit. Maybe you have to write down some of your thoughts so you can follow on the paper.
So it’s a little bit easier. Maybe you have to go to a few meetings before to just see what it’ll be like, or talk to some people that have done it.

You could see what you may need to compliment it. Who else may need to come help you to continue this fight, or fight alongside you, what other tools you may need in your toolkit, but all that can come together once you figure out what it is, what’s that thing that drives you, what is sticking in your Craw, or what do you want to change for good, or what’s bad right now that you want to show everyone and make better.

TR:
The various challenges we face are not made over night. So we really can’t expect the solutions to happen quickly. We have to use time to our advantage. Rebecca: ran for New York City Council in 2021. She filed paperwork to do so in 2019. But she was certain she was going to run for office even earlier.

Rebecca::
I told the outgoing council member I wanted to seek his seat on January 2, 2017.

TR:
Filing early gives you time to build your team, your platform and fundraise.

Rebecca::
More time is definitely always better for a first time candidate.

TR:
Take fundraising for example. More time allows you to find that right people for the job.

In politics, you’re legally liable for every dollar you raise. Assuring you have the right people on your team is essential.

Rebecca::
A campaign treasurer is someone that is also legally liable for everything the candidate is. So we all see things in the press about illegal donations, nefarious things happening in politics, improper money exchanges. Your campaign treasurer is there to make sure none of that happens, to make sure all the filings happen on time. They’re done correctly, they are legally compliant.

And then from there, it’s going out and starting to fundraise.

TR:
This probably won’t come as a surprise, fundraising, just isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

Rebecca::
I would need more time to get comfortable asking for money, because it’s really difficult saying, Hey, can I have 25 bucks for this pie in the sky? Crazy idea that you then have to sell to someone, typically over the phone, not even in person.

TR:
Rebecca: was running for office during Covid 19. Not exactly a great time to ask people for money.

Rebecca:
So here in New York, we are lucky to have a public matching system.
When I ran for office, $1 became nine because there was an eight to one match. So I got my $1 donation, and then I got eight more dollars on top of it in public dollars.

TR:
The public matching puts a cap on how much campaigns can raise. Therefore, if everyone hits that cap, each campaign has the same amount to work with.

Rebecca::
I got very close to the cap. I didn’t hit the max, but I was still able to have four campaign staffers that were all paid a living wage, I was able to do multiple rounds of campaign mail. I was able to run a fully accessible campaign, which included ASL, it included cart, it included other accessibility tools for my events, because I felt very strongly, I’m not running as a disabled woman and then having an inaccessible campaign. We’re just not doing that full stop.

TR:
Once your funding is secured that enables you to truly focus on advertising your campaign.
Rebecca: chose to forgo television advertisement and use social media.

Ultimately, you still have to hit the pavement.

Rebecca::
A lot of campaigning is still very hyper local. I would be outside subway stops in the morning, at 7am when people are going to work with palm cards greeting people. I would be there at rush hour when people were coming home, doing the same. So it’s having money to spend for things like that, and also non traditional expenses. You know, you have volunteers out there. You need to be getting water for people. You need to be getting pizza for people at the campaign office at the end of the day,
I ran during covid, so all of the events were outside. It wasn’t safe to gather inside, so I didn’t have to worry about the finances of paying for a Manhattan campaign office.
Could you imagine how expensive that would have been?

TR:
Rebecca’s advice for any first time candidates, secure a team to focus on fundraising.

Rebecca::
I do regret not being able to lock it down earlier, not being able to hit that Max match. I ran a very, very serious campaign. I am very proud of it, but I know if I had just gotten like that extra say, I think it was like 30 or $40,000 in public monies, who knows what could have happened?

TR:
What we do know, out of 7 total candidate, she came in third.

Rebecca:
In New York State, we have what’s called ranked choice voting, where you can vote for up to five people on your primary ballot. I got the most ranked choice votes out of all seven candidates, which means every person that voted on the Democratic side was comfortable with me in some way, which shows I was a very serious candidate in the race.

TR:
Winning isn’t necessarily about taking home the trophy. Success can be measured by impact.

Rebecca:
I got to change the game talking about issues, I got to inject different perspectives into the conversation, and that’s really important.

TR:
There are so many points to consider when seeking out any sort of leadership position that you can take away from Rebecca’s experience.

One I hope we all walk away with is realizing how we can convert the resistance and push back received from those opposing our efforts, into fuel that sustains us throughout the journey.

TR in conversation with Rebecca:
So what were some of the takeaways for you after running this successful campaign? What did you leave with?

Rebecca:
I am so proud to have been a small part of injecting a much more inclusive, empathetic, just policy, more rooted in equity than really had ever been talked about before in my neighborhood, specifically, and then on the disability front, even now, when I see people putting like, captions on videos or alt text, no one knew what alt text was. People would ask me all the time, why does it say Rebecca:, a white woman with brown curly hair, is smiling? We know that. And I’m like, Well, you know that because you see that, but what if you don’t see that? Someone a screen reader is going to read that, and then in your mind’s eye, you’re going to see me sitting there on the beach with my brown curly hair as I look up at the sun and the waves are behind me. So I’m proud of these teachable moments too.

TR in conversation with Rebecca:
I have to ask you, because you mentioned the alt text, was that beach Jones Beach or Orchard Beach?

Rebecca:: 39:11
I do go to Orchard Beach a lot. My main beach is Fort Tilden out in Queens, but I go to Orchard Beach a lot.

I spend a lot of time up there. Right by city Island. Yeah, you go to the beach, then you go to city Island. Have a little seafood, get a nice cocktail.

TR in conversation with Rebecca:
There you go. It’s a very New York thing, definitely a very Bronx thing.

Rebecca:
What do we call Orchard beach?

TR in conversation with Rebecca:
Oh, I don’t want to tell you what they used to call I cannot say that on here.

The two share a laugh!

TR:
Look, as the leader of this here podcast, I have to draw the line somewhere.

Teego:
Let me tell them.

TR:
Teego, get out of here. I’m the leader.

Remember, leadership doesn’t look like one particular thing.

Rebecca:
I thought my leadership would be an elected office. That’s not my leadership. My leadership is being a disability advocate today. My leadership is being around the New York State Capitol pointing out, why do we have the word handicapped on signs we should change that to disabled. My leadership is having conversations around repealing the sub minimum wage in New York, my leadership is still fighting the same fight my campaign did on those issues, just in a different way. And I think everyone can do that, disabled, not disabled. Everyone can find their power in that leadership space, in their own life and chart their course from there.

TR:
Wherever you are, there’s something you can do.

Rebecca:
We’re lucky. In the age of the internet, there’s a lot of smaller ways you can engage.

You can go online to your local elected officials website and through their website, send them a message, reach out to them that way, saying, I feel strongly about this.

It could even be something like calling into a radio show. You can just share how you’re feeling and engage for whatever is comfortable for you.
It could even be old school snail mail. You could write a letter to your representative.

Get in the game. We are our own experts. Nobody knows what. We don’t tell them.

TR:
Whether you’re a woman with a wheelchair
A guy with a guide dog
a person with a PCA (Personal Care Attendant)
You absolutely have something to contribute.
You are a leader.

Big, big,big shout out to Mr. Neal Carter, , Rebecca: LaMorte and the team at Disability Victory.
Get in touch:

Neal:
WWW dot disability victory.org. You can reach me directly as president of disability victory at Neil dot Carter at Disability victory.org and you can find us on LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter, all under the same DisabilityVictory handle.

TR:
Rebecca: currently serves on Disability Victory’s board of directors.

Rebecca:
On Instagram, I am RebeccaForNewYork and on Twitter, also known as x, I am at Rebecca: la mort, l, a, m, O, R, T, E,

TR:
Let me take the lead and let you both know…
you are official members of the Reid My Mind Radio family!
— Airhorn

— Transition

TR:
When I became Blind, I asked a similar question to the one that kicked off this series. What can I do now.

Some years later, when I had the chance to speak with others new to blindness, they too were looking for answers to that same question.
It’s a practical question that sparks those in the rehab profession to pull out a list and review with the newly disabled person.

But years ago, it became apparent to me that this approach while practical and framed in “reality”, can be limiting.

Well, wouldn’t that be true for my more recent application of that same question?

That internal ableism that brother Neal mentioned is real.

I don’t want to limit myself. There are way too many forces today who are trying to do that. I shouldn’t help them.

These series of episodes did way more for me than I ever expected. I hope you have gained something that is beneficial for you as well.

Hit me up at ReidMyMindRadio@gmail.com.
I’m always open to feedback. Just remember, Teego is always listening. Even when I don’t really want him to be involved.

Teego:
Eh Yo! Easy, I’ll put out my own episode while you’re sleeping and change this podcast for real.

TR:
Ok, you go ahead and close this episode.

Teego:
For real?

TR:
Show me how you would do it.

Teego:
Aight, y’all listen up.
If you know someone looking for a fresh take on disability. A podcast that brings you that real ish, while making it sound good and throwing in a bit of fun.
Tell them about Reid My Mind Radio.
Let them know they need to stop whatever the BEEP they’re doing and follow or subscribe wherever they get podcasts.
We have transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com.

Now, my assumption is that if they do so, they’re obviously a smart person. But even smart people can mess this up.
To get to ReidMyMind.com you gotta spell it right!

That’s R to the E I… D!

— “D, and that’s me in the place to be!”

Like our last name.

— Reid My Mind Radio Outro

Teego:
Now! BEEP off!

TR:
You see, you just can’t help it.
Peace fam!

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