Ed Roberts, Activist

Ed Roberts: When we recognize that we're all different. And the difference is enriching. That our differences are what are attractive and what we learn from each other. And that difference itself is something that we can use to… to get to know each other and to help us chart the future. And that's a future where anyone that wants to and anyone that needs a little help can live in the community. It's an integrated future. When we talk about integration, it's not just for people who are black or Asian, it's for all of us. It's for all of us to be a part of each other.

Voice over: Ed Roberts was the Director of the State Department of Rehabilitation for eight years. Because of polio as a teenager, he uses a wheelchair and needs a respirator to breathe. But nothing confines his beauty of spirit and commitment, a commitment to share his special insights and experiences, a commitment to help young people work past their remarkable disabilities, their doubts, fears

Ed Roberts: There are two things that I want to let you know: One, that you can do it together, no question about it. The second thing is that you personally have to believe in yourself to make it happen. And that takes a lot if you're disabled or not. To really love yourself and to really believe in yourself and to believe that you can do something for yourself and for others. And at the end of this week you will, you'll believe it.

[Laughter]

Ed Roberts: If we can change some attitudes and we have high expectation and we believe in all of us, if we support each other, people are going to achieve things that we never thought possible.