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Hjem / Albumer / Wade Blank - Founder of Atlantis Co-Founder of ADAPT 89
In 1993, Wade Blank died in an accident trying to save his son Lincoln from an undertow, when he was vacationing with his family in Baja. Wade was one of the founders of ADAPT, and one of the creators of the Atlantis Community -- which gave birth to ADAPT. Wade was a visionary, a brilliant strategist and organizer. He was funny, helpful and caring. In this ableist world he sometimes was seen as ADAPT itself, but he recognized the leader in others and worked to build community and empowerment at every turn. This quality, often unnoticed by those outside ADAPT, was what drew others to him and built the movement. This album talks about his life and many, many contributions.
Interesting to note, Wade started Atlantis in 1974, ADAPT started in 1983 and in the last 10 years of his life, working with ADAPT Wade helped create a real revolution in the perception of people with disabilities.
- ADAPT (1811)
[Headline] 2 Globevile schools cleared of heavy metal danger [Subheading] Study results in court's dismissal of parents' bid to keep son out of first grade at Garden Place By Greg Lopez Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer Students at two Globeville elementary schools are not exposed to unacceptable levels of lead, cadmium and arsenic from the ASARCO Globe Plant, according to a study released this week. The study, commissioned by Denver Public Schools, tested air and dust inside and outside Swan-sea and Garden Place elementary schools in the Globeville neighbor-hood for the three substances, all of which are believed to cause cancer. All levels were lower than federal guidelines for exposure, although most were higher than normal. The study suggested that air filters be used and areas in the school be cleaned regularly to lessen exposure. The study, the most comprehensive look so far at the old smelter's effect on the schools, is one of many studies of pollution from the ASARCO plant. A motion filed by Wade and Lois Blank seeking to keep their son from entering first grade at Gar-den Place was denied yesterday in Denver District Court after the study was presented. The Blanks said they are satisfied that the schools are safe. "This is good news for every-body who has their children there," Wade Blank said. "I'm happy for them, if the study is accurate." The Blanks said they have en-rolled their son, Lincoln, 6, in the private Gilpin Grammar School be-cause they are angry that DPS ignored earlier requests for information about the safety of the school. The study, conducted by Chemistry and Industrial Hygiene Inc. of Wheat Ridge, found that cadmium levels at Swansea, 4650 Columbine St., were a concern because students also may be exposed to heavy metal outside of school. At Garden Place, 4425 Lincoln St., the major concern was the level of lead concentration in dust, a problem possibly caused by lead-based paint. The study also noted that lead-based paint poses a similar problem in other older Denver schools. The study concludes that, "there are no environmental conditions at the two schools which would result in arsenic, cadmium and lead exposures to children or staff which represent unacceptable health risks if school management continues and/or implements appropriate control procedures." The study is only the latest development in more than a decade of concerns about emissions by ASARCO. ASARCO plant officials say their operation meets all state, local and federal emission standards. Nine Globeville residents sued ASARCO last week, charging that the plant has contaminated soil, lowered property values and endangered their health. [image] [image caption] Debra Reingold/Rocky Mountain News. Lois and Wade Blank are glad study shows safe schools, but son Lincoln, right, is in private school. At left is daughter Caitlin, 4. Stapleton Homes, a public housing project in Globeville, was closed last year by the Denver Housing Authority because of fears of toxic pollution, among other reasons. Tests then showed none of the children in Globeville schools had dangerous concentrations of toxic materials in their bodies, according to the health department. - ADAPT (1810)
- ADAPT (1807)
- ADAPT (1808)
"...there was a lot of student action. Most every campus had something major going on in it. There were students shot down in the South, too, at one school. I forget the name, but there were six or seven students killed there. It was a black college, so it didn't get the ink. I think it was Jackson State. Same time, right around the same time, you know, he National Guard there opened fire, but it was blacks killed and it never got the attention that Kent State got. That was a real heavy time. The night of the shootings, I had 2,000 people gather in a parking lot, and we marched down to the National guard headquarters, because I wanted to do something, again theatrical, but people were ready to riot. Some wanted to go up there, a lot of my black friends and SDS friends were--it's hard to express how crazy people were--crying, beating on themselves, beating on others--just an incredible reaction. And they wanted to go back up to Kent and challenge the National Guard tanks. hey were surrounded. All of the roads into Kent State were blocked with tanks, so I got them to march silently down to the National Guard headquarters in Akron where the National Guard was based--the Armory. There were cops as far as you could see, with helmets and clubs. I mean, everybody's ready to go at it--because of the tension. It was just thick. We brought in this big vat of water, big laundry vat, and we had 2,000 people dip their hands in the water and hold their hands up like washing their hands, and then we took the water and threw it under the door of the National Guard headquarters. Very powerful. It's one of those things you only see in movies, and it was very therapeutic. I don't know what else could have been done at that point Really, nothing anybody could do. People were shot. So that was a real heavy time..." Wade Blank - ADAPT (1805)
"...I do a lot of theater. One Presbytery meeting, they had the Council of Churches in for dinner, of all the Akron churches, and I hired this guy to dress up like Santa Claus and come in the middle of dinner, "Ho, ho, ho," and he had a big bag of toys, and then I had a bunch of little kids run in behind him--white kids--and everybody thought that was the gig with the supper. So then he's giving out gifts, and then I had twelve black kids run in behind him, and he started hitting them with his bag. We were trying to make a statement on racism in the church. You can imagine how that affected my fellow clergy..." Wade Blank, 1992 - ADAPT (1829)
ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 15TH ANNIVSERSARY ISSUE [image] drawing of a wheelchair April 29, 1987 [Headline] Wheels of Fortune [Subheading] Michael Smith finally found justice for the disabled this spring-twelve years after his death. By Frank Hogan (Wade) Blank sat with Smith from midnight to morning during his last months. The Atlantis office was set up in the living room of Smith's apartment, and Blank would write down the poetry of Smith composed in his head. Poems like this: TO TED I woke up on a cold evening And found you Sitting beside my bed. You looked into my eyes And I saw that death was on its way. You grabbed my hand And put your head on my chest. And began to sob. And all I could do Was put my hands in your hair And cry Until my heart was sore I tried to calm your soul And this seemed strange, in a way, Because I was the one Who was dying. This memory Of you letting your tears flow, Letting me see the real you, Will remain deep within my heart. Smith died in his Atlantis Community apartment on October 1, 1975. His mother was at his bedside. He'd had plenty of time to plan his funeral; Blank conducted the service at Olinger's (which was wheelchair accessible), friends read Smith's poetry poetry and Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" played. Afterward everybody drove up to the Tollgate in Central City and got loaded. Smith was at rest, but his ghost would haunt the courts for twelve more years. Wade Blank would probably puke at the idea, but the Atlantis Community disabled rights activist is the closest approximation to a saint that I encountered while writing stories for Westword. Blank was instrumental in creating the Atlantis Community. He was constantly at Michael Patrick Smith's bedside during the former muscular dystrophy poster child's final days. That was after Smith moved out of a nursing home and into an apartment and filed a lawsuit against Heritage House for violating his civil rights and denying him the care he was entitled to under the Medicaid Act. But it wasn't Blank's tenacity in pursuing the lawsuit for over a dozen years and to a victory on Smith's behalf that most impresses me. Blank's utter fearlessness is what's amazing. In the early years of Atlantis' development, Blank's van was torched, a cinderblock was hurled through his living room window and he was continually threatened and harassed. Through all the obstacles, Blank kept shepherding the disabled rights movement forwards. On July 5, 1978, Blank and nineteen disabled activists in wheelchairs blocked buses at the corner of Broadway and Colfax, demanding wheelchair access to public transportation. Since then they've traveled to major cities throughout the U.S. and Europe, performing acts of civil disobedience to make their point. Twelve years after that historic night in downtown Denver, President George Bush signed legislation guaranteeing the disabled equality in the workplace and ordering all public transportation to be wheelchair-accessible. "A few weeks ago, the City of Denver erected a plaque to commemorate that protest," says Blank. "Next time you're down at Colfax and Broadway, take a look at it. The tourist bureau put out a brochure listing it as a sight to see in Denver." Blank isn't resting on his laurels, though. In October, he'll be in San Francisco, leading 400 wheelchair activists as they try to shut down the national nursing home administrators' convention. "We're going to lock all the doors at the Moscone Center and let them know what it feels like to be locked in a nursing home," Blank says. "Then we'll hit California Clinton headquarters unless we get a position paper by October 1 spelling out that if he's elected, Clinton can and will implement a national attendant service program." That program is Blank's main focus these days. "We need to rethink nursing homes," he says. "The patient is a commodity. You can talk quality care, but when you're a commodity you're not really talking about humanity. It's like saying we want o have nice clean barns before we slaughter the cattle. It's not bad service, it's the system." That's another thing I like about Blank: He's not afraid of hyperbole. His only fault is that he's a Cleveland Browns fan. He stand up to the system and wins. He embodies everything that was good about the Sixties, with a Nineties addition: Blank has a publicity coordinator in Hollywood. Michael Smith's story was made into a television movie a few years ago, and Blank is talking to Quantum Leap producers about dramatizing the 1978 standoff in downtown Denver. And still Blank defects all credit to disabled activists. Even the PR agent furthers the cause of the Atlantis Community rather than Blank's personal triumphs. "Mike [Smith] is the acorn of the oak tree, says Blank. "He left quite a legacy." Blank's leaving quite a legacy himself. Westword 9/2/93 - ADAPT (1783)
- ADAPT (1793)
ACCESS USA N E W S TM [Headline] Tragedy takes life of disability rights leader [Subheading] ADAPT co-founder Wade Blank drowns trying to save son Gary Bosworth It is surprising how seemingly senseless acts of fate can shakeup ones neat, tidy world. That happened to me with an event that shook the disability community to its very soul. Everything around me seemed to be progressing around me in a steady fashion. My hometown of Desert Hot Springs and the Desert Hot Springs Breakfast Rotary had received a joint award of appreciation from the State of California for their joint co-operation on providing access to persons with disabilities in Desert Hot Springs. A London magazine called asking for photos I took in San Francisco at an ADAPT national action, for use in a story they were publishing about the disability rights movement and the politics of the Clinton administration. There was the surprise phone call from Austria from a dear friend telling me she had decided to come for a visit this summer. To cap off the week, over the week-nd I received the latest copy of Access USA News, which listed the top news events of 1992 affecting persons with disabilities. The top three/four listed were all events I considered myself lucky even to be involved in at the scene, with fellow activists from ADAPT. The world around me seemed in order. The worst problem I was facing was trying to find a speaker for the corn-ing Breakfast Rotary meeting. Suddenly, the deck of cards crumbled. That Mon-day evening I received word of the unthinkable. Reverend Wade Blank, founder/leader/guiding light of Atlantis Community and ADAPT was dead. Wade, 52, was killed in a valiant, but futile attempt to save his 8-year-old son Lincoln from drowning in rough seas off a beach at Todos Santos, Mexico, on February 15,1993. Wade, his wife Molly, and their two children were vacationing. Lincoln got caught in an undertow. Wade swam out to save him but they both drowned. Immediately the phone lines across the country lit up as the horrible, unspeakable news spread to every corner of the dis-ability community. Everybody had known many close friends that had died before in the movement, so death was no stranger in our community, but Wade's death was in-comprehensible. So much of what we have can be traced directly to the personal efforts and convictions started by Wade. in 1974, Wade, [boxed text] In Wade's eyes the disability rights movement really symbolized the ultimate in civil rights movements [text resumes] with a small group of nursing home survivors started the second independent living center for persons with disabilities the world. Named for the fabled lost continent, Atlantis Community was for the rebirth of the lost lives of adults with disabilities neglected and discarded by society. Nobody was too disabled to join Atlantis. In a precedent setting $32 million lawsuit by Wade and those survivors against the nursing home that had incarcerated them, it was finally established that even nursing home residents had some civil rights. When public transit refused them, ADAPT, the activist arm of Atlantis was formed. Wade called on his experience of working with Martin Luther King Jr. during the 60's in the south, and the turbulent years of Kent State, where he was pastor of a local church, for his inner guidance. A two-prong offensive was started in both the federal courts and what became the highly honed IN-THEIR-FACE style of non-violent civil disobedience ADAPT became famous for in their dozen year battle that worked towards public transit accessibility and the ultimate passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act - something unthinkable to even the most far reaching idealist just few short years earlier. Wade saw in the disability movement something unique, the grand equalizer - DISABILITY. Becoming disabled could happen to anybody, at anytime without warning. Disability did not play favorites No matter a person's social standing, culture, race, religion, wealth, politics, intelligence, gender, sexual preference, morality, age, whatever; disability could come crash-ing down destroying one's neat little world. In Wade's eyes, the disability rights movement really symbolized the ultimate in civil rights movements. It pained him that the disability movement throughout the decades has steadfastly been shunned and ignored by every other civil rights movement. The ultimate slap in the face came when Rosa Parks, of the AfroAmerican civil rights movement, cancelled a paid speaking engagement with ADAPT because of ADAPT being too controversial. However, Wade turned even that into an asset of organizing. If the disability community was to get civil rights, they must fight for it them-selves, in the trenches, no matter what the cost. The letter of rejection from Ms. Parks hangs on the wall of ADAPT's national headquarters as a constant reminder—this is our fight alone. [image] [image caption] Wade Blank and his son Lincoln (left) joined ADAPT co-founder, Mike Auberger (far right), at the dedication of the monument honoring the disability rights movement. The dedication was on the second anniversary of the signing of the ADA, July 26, 1992. [text resumes] Always mindful of the importance of self-determination, Wade was proud that over 75% of the employees of Atlantis Community have a severe disability, including every major leadership position. Every regional ADAPT activist leader also has a severe disability. Wade, like all the other great leaders, never asked anyone to do something he was not willing to do himself. He spent an untold number of days in jail, alongside his wheelchair warriors of ADAPT, sometimes over 100 people at a time Wade declined personal publicity himself, preferring the larger message of injustice being told by persons with disabilities themselves. Justin Dart, Chairperson of former President Bush's Commission on Employment of Persons with Disabilities would many times refer fondly of the 'army of ADAPTas being the truepatriots of the dis-ability movement just like the early patriots who threw tea into the Boston Harbor'. Last year, Wade traveled to Czechoslovakia, at a joint invitation of the Czech government and the Bush Administration to help them in the drafting of their brand new democratic constitution, so that the rights of persons with disabilities would be included. As powerful as these accomplishments are, they do not tell the whole story. Wade was a gentle soul who always had time for anybody, anytime of the day or night. We were all members of his family. We must remember not only the larger things, but also the seemingly small things that gave glimpses to the inner soul of the person we all loved. In Orlando, Wade was arrested in the middle of a radio inter-view, as he was being taken to the paddy wagon, one of his wheelchair warriors furiously wheeled next to him holding a cellular phone to his head so Wade could continue the on-the-air interview all the way to the paddy wagon. That day, 73 wheelchair warriors were arrested fighting against the inhumanity of incarceration in nursing homes, when attendant services are cheaper and more humane. Several were taken to jail in the back of moving vans commandeered by police. During an action against the Social Security Administration national head-quarters in Baltimore, three persons in wheelchairs instinctively peeled off and captured a public bus that wandered a little too close to the protest. Wade ran over to get them to release the public bus, since they were not the target of the day's actions. Coming back to the rest of the protest he calmly said with a touch of humor "buses are like (all habits) once you have one bus you can't stop". There were the times, out of no-where, I would suddenly get a phone call from Wade saying he had just run across something I had written and he had to call to tell me his thoughts on the article. During an action in San Francisco, when he was told the police were setting over a fleet of paratransit vehicles to do mass arrests, Wade responded with, "So-what do you expect us to do, make reservations (for transportation to jail)?" There were also the intimate times of those special ADAPT weddings Wade conducted at some of the national actions. It was a special way, special couples could share the [boxed text] Wade saw in the disability movement something unique, the grand equalizer --DISABILITY [text continues] joy of their love with the only family that understood-ADAPT. One wedding took place just hours after everybody, including the couple to be married, were released from jail. There are the images of Wade the gentle soul, together with fellow fighter, wife, and pillar of strength Molly Blank, and their children on the protest trails with their extended family of ADAPT. Everybody was important; everybody was equal in the end. The national offices of Atlantis Community & ADAPT was really one big massive room with no walls to create artificial barriers within the movement. The lack of walls symbolized Wade's view on life, civil rights, and equality of all people. He gave meaning to the saying, 'DISABILITY PRIDE.' In his memory, ADAPT shall never forget Wade as the fight for freedom continues with even more vigor and sense of purpose than ever before. [image] [no image caption] [Subheading] Wade Blank Memorial Fund A memorial fund has been established in Wade Blank's honor to continue the fight of defending disability rights. Contributions to the WADE BLANK MEMORIAL FUND can be sent to: WADE BLANK MEMORIAL FUND FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF DENVER 300 SOUTH FEDERAL BOULEVARD DENVER, CO 80206 [boxed text] Tribute to Wade Blank at Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. set for May 9th Before he died, Wade planned a series of demonstrations for personal assistance services to be held in Washington, DC, on May 9th, 10th, and 11th. These will go forward in his honor. There will be a tribute to him on Sunday, May 9th, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. [ADAPT logo] Join together in memory of Wade-on May 9th, today, tomorrow, as long as life remains-to continue his struggle for a truly humane society. [boxed text ends] - ADAPT (1833)
[Headline] RELIGION AND THE DISABLED .. . LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND THE DISABLED MOVEMENT by Rev. Wade Blank In the 1950's and 1960's, as the Black communities organized for freedom, we saw many church leaders become heavily involved In the civil rights issue. The core of the civil rights movement was the Black church, and as time went on, more and more white churches joined the struggle. While the oppression of the Black communities was economic, political, and social, and the goals of the movement were integration, and equality in American society, the rationale for this work for justice was based on theological thinking. The Creator had made all people equal, and there-fore love for each other among all humanity would bring about a community of justice and liberty for all. This was the message of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., which so stirred the country and the world, and it was this theological basis that gave momentum to the anti-war effort during Viet Nam in the 1960's and early 1970's. If the message of Dr. King and the church was so compelling on issues of justice and equality for people of color, then is the message not just as imperative now for the disability rights movement? Why have we not adopted the theological springboard for our civil rights movement"? There are several reasons: 1) All liberation movements evolve as people in history seek justice. This is called "salvation history" in which all humanity seeks equality and justice. This yearning that evolves into struggle is just now beginning to stir in the souls of people with disabilities. 2) People who are disabled are just now beginning to understand that the physical characteristics of disability are not more different that the fact of colored skin — a physical characteristic that locked millions of people out of society. The physical functioning, appearance, or difference should not determine if s/he receives justice and equality. In order for the disability rights movement to become powerful the disabled per-son must "own" his/her disability, as Black people own their Black skin. "This is what I am. I am proud of what I am. I need and demand what other members of my society have. The barriers erected against me in my own community are not the fault of my disability. They were built by others in their ignorance, prejudice, and paternalism." Until that perception becomes reality, we will not have the power of our own convictions to change anything! 3) Once the righteousness of our position is held in our guts — steadfast and unwavering it will begin to transmit itself to the larger society and church leadership will begin to deal with the issues. The church is getting a paternalistic message from the disability movement at this time. Church people honestly believe that all we want are ramps into churches! They don't understand that we are working for empowerment. Therefore, the liberation theology that the church applies to other oppressed groups is not realized for people with disabilities. It is up to us to make our position clear. While we are talking about access, we also demand the right to ride all public transportation, the right to keep our own children, the right to join our neighbors at the polling place, the right to an equal education, the right to eat in public places — entering through the front door with our friends and families, not around back by the garbage cans. These issues are identical to those the Black liberation movement addressed there is no difference and the church must hear that message! American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) has received substantial support from the Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, and Lutherans because we have taken the time to extensively explain our issues to them. If we are to be successful in all communities, every member of the disabled community must see him/herself as a worker in a true liberation movement —steadfast and unwavering—able to triumph over every argument used against us — from "God's will!", through cost effectiveness, special treatment, architectural integrity, tradition, fear and loathing, holding firm until we, too, shall overcome. WE WILL RIDE NEW WORLD / MARCH 1988 - ADAPT (1804)
Rocky Mountain News Mon., Aud. 3, 1992 [Headline] Ex-minister gets radical for disabled Wade Blank was talking to George Roberts, remembering the days before Roberts got arrested. Blank is co-director of Atlantis Community, which fights for rights for the handicapped. Roberts has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair-and is an inspector for Atlantis. The two met 21 years ago, when Blank was an orderly in the nursing home where Roberts thought he would spend the rest of his life. "I remember back when I first met you, I didn't think I'd ever get in trouble. I've been arrested 32 times in protests since then," Roberts said. "George," Blank said, "I always did have faith in you." Last week, Denver installed a plaque on the 14th anniversary of a demonstration by Atlantis members, demanding wheelchair access on all RTD buses. It also marked the day the second stage of the American Disabilities Act went into effect, prohibiting employers from discriminating against the handicapped. Blank, 51, grew up in Canton, Ohio, went to an all-white high school and college, and supported Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon. A black college roommate dared him to go to Selma, Ala., to march with Martin Luther King Jr. Blank became pastor of a church in Kent, Ohio, which became an underground meeting place for the Students for a Democratic Society. After he Kent State killings, he went back to McCormick Theological Seminary and got a masters degree. He moved to Denver and worked as an orderly in a nursing house Roberts had a job counting fish hooks for 10 [cents] an hour. Someone was stealing televisions, so Blank asked him to be a night watchman. A couple of nights later, Roberts pinned the burglar against a wall with his wheelchair. Blank helped residents of nursing homes find apartments and co-founded Atlantis to help them. Atlantis helped fight for the disabilities act. It also has organized sit-ins around the country, disrupting meetings and closing down government buildings. "You'll find that my bitterest enemies are disabled people, because I'm able-bodied and I'm so radical," he said. "I fight the notion they should just be Jerry's kids. I want them to have control." Roberts is married and owns a home. "I couldn't have done it without Wade and Atlantis," he said. "Yes," Blank said. "You could have. You just might not have known it." [image] [image caption] Blank - ADAPT (1827)
- ADAPT (1809)
- ADAPT (1826)
- ADAPT (1796)
- ADAPT (1812)
[This page continues the article from Image 1813. Full text is available on 1813 for easier reading.]