[log in to unmask] wrote:

>  Gang, this speech is still relevant. Mariana
> Ed Roberts Speech, 504 Sit-In Victory Rally, S.F. 4/30/77
>
> All Right!
>
> It was just, what,  three and a half weeks ago that we got here together to
> begin talking about something that we knew that we could do.  You know, we
> didn't come into this with weakness.  We came into this movement to show
> strength, to show what we really are.  Which is people who have learned,
> from being people with disabilities, from being people considered weak, from
> people being people who are discriminated against daily; we've learned how
> to be strong, and we've demonstrated that to the people of this country.
>
> We knew it.  And now they know it.  We have a long way to go.  We talk about
> a long journey.  It's now been about 10 years since some of us have been
> struggling, and for years before that, there are people that will be long
> remembered for their contributions towards opening society; and you know, I
> think these next ten years together, and I don't think we're going to get it
> all done overnight, but we have one fantastic start.  504 is gonna to help
> us guarantee our own civil rights.  And we have learned that through the
> struggle we gain tremendous strength.  We are much stronger than we were
> three and a half weeks ago.  I hope that not only will this record for a
> sit-in be in the Guinness Book of Records for you all to show your
> grandchildren, but that you'll remember what you did here, what we did
> together.
>
> Winston Churchill once said, "Never have so few, done so much, for so many."
>  And this example, this example of people loving each other, committed to
> something that is right, is one that I know I will always remember.   And
> you know, there is nothing like building a movement on success.  We have
> never been defeated. You think about it. Whenever we have brought ourselves
> together, whenever we have joined various disabilities together, we find our
> strength.  Our strength is in our unity.  And our strength is in our
> righteousness.  Because this is a cause that we've all invested our life in.
>   We have to begin to think very clearly, that what  we need to do is help
> raise the consciousness of our fellow Americans with disabilities, to help
> them come out from behind, from the back wards, from the institutions, from
> the places, the garbage heaps,  of our society.
>
> We have to stop the warehousing, the segregation, of our brothers and
> sisters.  We have a long way to go. But we have one giant step ahead.
>
> Together we have achieved something that relatively few people achieve in
> their lives.   We have learned more than anything else, about each other,
> about how much we love each other, and that commitment, that dedication to
> each other, will carry through the rest of our lives.
>
> We have begun to ensure a future for ourselves, and a future for the
> millions of young people with disabilities, who I think will find a new
> world as they begin to grow up.  Who may not have to suffer the kinds of
> discrimination that we have suffered in our own lives.  But that if they do
> suffer it, they'll be strong and they'll fight back.
>
> And that's the greatest example, that we,  who are considered the weakest,
> the most helpless people in our society, are the strongest, and will not
> tolerate segregation, will not tolerate a society which sees us as less than
> whole people. But that we will together, with our friends, will reshape the
> image that this society has of us.
>
> We are no longer asking for charity.  We are demanding our rights.
>
> It's not unusual that a movement like this would have its real heart in this
> area.  There are many committed people in this area --  Berkeley, San
> Francisco, Peninsula, all of Northern California.  People have come together
> and have shown that in our unity is our strength; that in our division is
> our weakness; that we are going to see attempts to divide us so that we can
> easily be conquered.  But we will not allow that to happen.
>
> I want to say to all of you that from the beginning I knew we could win
> this.  And I didn't see any of you waver.  We knew that we had set a course,
> that we all were gonna follow.  We knew the only thing we could tolerate was
> victory.
>
> We are victorious. We are strong.  And we will march ahead together.  And
> nothing will stop our achieving equal opportunity, and the right to move
> about freely in this society.
>
> We will storm the schools and open them up.  We will be sure that each
> person with a disability who has special needs has the money and the power
> to gain what they need to move them back into the mainstream of society. And
> we will assure a future for the millions of people who are not now disabled.
>  You know, you come to think of it, that we are assuring a future for a lot
> of people we don't know at all, and who don't know that their future may be,
> very similar to ours.
>
> I couldn't be prouder of us together. And I couldn't be happier.  And I
> cannot think of a better way to go into tomorrow, but with rededicating
> ourselves to the struggle that's ahead, to enforce 504 Regulations, to open
> up more doors, to create choices for people, not the choice of segregation.
>
> I thank you.   I join you.    I celebrate with you.   I rededicate myself to
> work with you, to ensure the future.