Chester Finn is a Black American who is blind and is employed by OPWDD as an advocate for people with developmental disabilities. A nationally recognized disability rights advocate, Mr. Finn was appointed to the National Council on Disability by President Barack Obama in 2010. As he reflects on Black History month, Mr. Finn is grateful to the people who came before him whose advocacy for civil rights paved the way for him to fulfill his life’s purpose as an advocate for other people with disabilities.
“I remember sitting in my grandmother’s lap when I was a little boy watching Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the television and knowing at that moment that I was witnessing something truly significant and special,” Mr. Finn said.
Mr. Finn says he never takes for granted that he can live out his purpose because of Dr. King and others in the civil rights movement. What the civil rights movement and the black resistance movement taught him was to “never give up.” He says that is a lesson the disability rights community can take from the civil rights movement as they continue to press for equality and self-determination. “We are the new civil rights movement,” Mr. Finn said.
For Chester, Black History Month is mostly about what you do in your life.
“People should be judged for what they do, not for what the color of their skin or disability happens to be,” Mr. Finn said. “What have you done with your life? How do you relate to your community? What do you do to promote self-advocacy? What did you do to make the person standing before you feel better? These are the questions I ask myself daily, and they are the same ones I encourage others to ask themselves.”
Mr. Finn says he finds that, all too often, people without disabilities expect people with disabilities to act a certain way and behave like they are somehow “disabled.” He rejects that notion.
“Why can’t we use our skills and abilities as others do?” Mr. Finn asks. “People are wrong when they assume that we cannot handle things or put things together for ourselves. They think they know what’s best for us. They want to be the person or people in charge. So, I let people with disabilities know their rights and encourage them to speak up and stand up for themselves. I’ve often thought that if God put as many restrictions on us as we put on each other as human beings, we would never get very far.”
Mr. Finn is grateful that he has found his purpose and is in a position to make a difference in people’s lives. He feels that people look to OPWDD to help change their lives. “If we don’t help them, we aren’t fulfilling our mission of putting people first,” he explains.
While there is much more to do, Mr. Finn notes that compared with some other countries, people with disabilities are doing well in the United States. He explained that people in countries such as Japan and Thailand want what we have here. “In those countries, there is no equivalent of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Mr. Finn said.
Mr. Finn wants people to realize that the progress that’s already been made can never be taken for granted. “You can’t stop advocating for your rights, Mr. Finn said. “If you do, you may find someone comes in and threatens the progress you’ve spent years advocating for. So, you can’t stop, and you can’t slow down.”
Mr. Finn sees himself working as an advocate for as long as he can. And an area he is focused on and wants to see greater progress on is employment for people with disabilities. He explains that being employed can substantially impact a person’s quality of life.
“Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life, and I consider myself a disability rights advocate for life,” Finn explained. “I don’t want to be anybody but myself,” he added. “If you are comfortable with yourself and who you are, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish in your lifetime.”
Mr. Finn says he knows he is getting older, and his hair may get a little grayer as time passes, but he sees these things as signs of wisdom. What’s more, he sees it as his life’s purpose to pass along his knowledge to the next generation of people with disabilities and their families so that they, too, can advocate for a world where they are free to chart their own course and live lives that they find meaningful.
“I see my life and work as a blessing,” Mr. Finn said. “I am grateful for it every day, and I am grateful for the people who came before me and paved the way.”