Ed Roberts, Activist
Dr. William Bronston: Ed as an Inspiration
Dr. William Bronston: To say to somebody "Be alive," it's a whole different message. You hear and see a whole different thing. And it's something you never forget.
People that met him and had a direct experience with him never forgot that. It was just a normal, ordinary invitation to prevail to be… something marvelous. And you can't argue with that. You can't argue with that because look where he's starting from in terms of where most of us are.
But in relationship to people with special needs with disabilities, to say to them "You count, not only you count, you've got to count. You've got to stand up. You've got to take part. You've got to advocate and be a role model in society for something extraordinary."
And so he had this coterie, this phalanx, this army of people with special needs around him who literally were something extraordinary only because they knew him, and they knew that they were covered. Their back was covered because he was in government, and he was able to influence buildings, and streets, and curb cuts, and public policies, and educational strategies, and transportation access.