Exhibit at Otis Library shines light on disability advocates - Norwich, CT - Norwich Bulletin

Norwich, Conn. — A look into the disability movement in Eastern Connecticut from 1980 to 2000 — and the people who propelled it — will be the subject of an exhibit that opens Friday at the Otis Library in Norwich and continues through Oct. 29.

Put together by disability advocate Elanah Sherman, of Norwich, the documentary exhibit is comprised of about 40 photos as well as archival material from individuals and organizations.

Titled “Character and Characters: The Disability Rights Movement in Eastern Connecticut, 1980-2000,” the exhibit opens with a reception and poetry reading in the atrium by Sarah Rizzuto, a young woman with a disability.

“It includes the 10 years leading up to the Americans with Disabilities Act and 10 years after the passage so you see the activism that occurred before this monumental piece of federal legislation. And then you see the activity after the passage when the ADA could be used as a legal tool,” Sherman said.

People will learn the resourcefulness of activists, who accomplished a lot — even in the absence of significant law, Sherman noted.

Yet the exhibit, which is full of humor and uplifting stories, moves beyond the subject of legislation and hones in on the very heart of what created it — the people. And in Eastern Connecticut, disability activists were particularly ferocious, and eccentric, Sherman said.

“Eastern Connecticut has an ongoing legacy of eccentricity, and this legacy applies to the disability rights movement in Eastern Connecticut as well,” Sherman said.

The exhibit highlights characters such as Billy Robinson, of Quaker Hill, who lived his life prone on a gurney, unable, since the age of 13, to hold himself upright in a wheelchair because of a severe case of muscular dystrophy.

Yet Robinson formed a church, married, had children, and was president of the board of the Disabilities Network of Eastern Connecticut.
“One of my goals in the exhibit is to absolutely smash assumptions about capacity,” Sherman said. “You can’t look at a person or hear a person and know what that person is capable of. So I think one of the overriding themes of the exhibit is capacity.”

Melissa Marshall, the first executive director of the Disabilities Network of Eastern Connecticut, whose documents and memorabilia are part of the exhibit, said she hopes the exhibit will help spread the word about the ongoing need for awareness.

“Eastern Connecticut should take pride in the role it has (played) in the disability rights movement. And I hope that people will learn there is a disability rights movement and it’s not just about being nice to a person with a disability — it’s about compliance with the law and it’s about civil rights law.”

If you go...

What: “Character and Characters: The Disability Rights Movement in Eastern Connecticut, 1980-2000,” a documentary exhibit sponsored by the Norwich Cultural Arts and History Project in collaboration with the Otis Library.
When: The exhibit opens with a reception 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, with a poetry reading by Sarah Rizzuto from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The exhibit continues through Oct. 29.
Where: Otis Public Library, 261 Main Street, Norwich.
Free and open to the public. To view the exhibit during the days following the reception, contact the library (860) 889-2365 to ensure the room is free during your visit. A descriptive tour of the exhibit for people with visual and reading disabilities will be 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9. Advance registration required; contact Elanah Sherman elanahs@gmail.com, or (860) 383-2322.