Regional Oral History Office University of California the Bancroft Library Berkeley, California
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University of California Berkeley Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Oral History Series Zona Roberts COUNSELOR FOR UC BERKELEY S PHYSICALLY DISABLED STUDENTS PROGRAM AND THE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING, MOTHER OF ED ROBERTS An Interview Conducted by Susan O Hara in 1994-1995 Includes an Interview with Jean Wirth Copyright o 2000 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Zona Roberts dated October 20, 1994. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Zona Roberts requires that she be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Zona Roberts, "Counselor for UC Berkeley s Physically Disabled Students Program and the Center for Independent Living, Mother of Ed Roberts," an oral history conducted in 1994-1995 by Susan O Hara, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2000. Copy no. / Zona Roberts, 1996 protest march in San Francisco. Photo by Bill Brans ton. Cataloguing information ROBERTS, Zona (b. 1920) Disability rights movement leader Counselor for UC Berkeley s Physically Disabled Students Program and the Center for Independent Living, Mother of Ed Roberts. 2000, xxi, 275 pp. Growing up in Oregon, Washington, and California; marriage to Verne Roberts and raising four sons; PTA work in San Mateo; polio of son Edward V. Roberts at age 15: medical care, iron lung, therapy, transition to home; Ed s continuing education: Burlingame High School, College of San Mateo; first disabled student living at Cowell Hospital, UC Berkeley; Ed s work at Center for Independent Living (CIL) and California State Department of Rehabilitation; Zona s education: College of San Mateo and UCB; work as counselor at Physically Disabled Students Program, 1970-1979; travels in Europe; comments on independence, education, and employment for disabled persons, architectural accessibility and user-friendly equipment; reflections on John Hessler, Jean Wirth, disability community leadership; Zona s work at CIL and as family therapist. Appended interview with JEAN WIRTH (1932-1996), Counselor at the College of San Mateo and Early Mentor of Ed Roberts. Interviewed 1994-1995 by Susan O Hara for the Disabled Persons Independence Movement Project, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Oral History Series was funded primarily by a three-year field-initiated research grant awarded in 1996 by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) , an agency of the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. Any of the views expressed in the oral history interviews or accompanying materials are not endorsed by the sponsoring agency. Special thanks are due to other donors to this project over the years: the Prytanean Society; Raymond Lifchez, Judith Stronach, and Dr. Henry Bruyn; and June A. Cheit, whose generous donation in memory of her sister, Rev. Barbara Andrews, allowed the Regional Oral History Office to develop the grant project. TABLE OF CONTENTS --Zona Roberts SERIES INTRODUCTION by Simi Linton i SERIES HISTORY by Ann Lage and Susan O Hara vii SERIES LIST xiv INTERVIEW HISTORY by Susan O Hara xix BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION xxi I CHILDHOOD 1 Born April 1, 1920, Portland, Oregon 1 Parents 1 Move to Great-Grandparents House, Portland, Oregon 3 Trouble with Mother s Second Husband 4 Love of Music, Tension with Mother s Third Husband 6 II TEEN YEARS 10 Illness, a Year in the Country (Oregon) 10 Following Year in Vancouver, Washington 12 Running Away at Age Fourteen 14 High Schools Portland, San Francisco, Burlingame 16 Marriage to Verne Roberts, 1938, and Birth of First Son, Edward Verne, 1939 18 III RAISING THE FAMILY 21 First House, in Burlingame 21 Learning to Be a Mother: Ed s Childhood 24 Birth of Second Son, Ronald, 1942 27 Parent Teacher Association Work 30 College of San Mateo 32 Co-op Nursery School Work 35 Helen Gahagan Douglas Campaign 37 Anger and the Importance of Fighting 38 Birth of Mark, 1949, and Randy, 1952 41 IV ED CONTRACTS POLIO, FEBRUARY, 1953 46 Onset, Hospital, Paralysis, Iron Lung 46 Financial Issues 52 Treatment 53 Transfer to Children s Hospital, San Francisco 56 V ED S HOMECOMING 60 Preparation 60 High School Classes 64 Health Problems 65 Iron Lung Again 66 Settling into a Family Routine 67 Burlingame High School Once a Week 70 Effect of Ed s Polio on Zona s Mother 71 Fighting for Ed s Graduation from High School 73 VI ED: FROM COLLEGE OF SAN MATED TO UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY 78 Attending College of San Mateo 78 Meeting Jean Wirth 78 Zona and Jean Become Friends 79 Jean Advises Ed to Attend UC Berkeley 80 Ed is Denied Services by Department of Rehabilitation 81 Meeting with Arleigh Williams, Dean of Men, UC Berkeley 82 Meeting with Henry Bruyn, Medical Director, Cowell Hospital 84 Ed and Zona Move into Cowell Hospital 85 Zona Returns Home after a Week 87 VII ZONA: FROM BURLINGAME TO BERKELEY 88 Death of Husband Verne, February 1964 88 Reflections on Family Life with Verne 91 Attending College of San Mateo 97 Working with Jean Wirth in the College Readiness Program for Minorities 99 VIII ED IN THE SIXTIES 104 Ed and John Hessler at Cowell Hospital 104 Basketball Games 105 "Hospital" versus "Apartment" 106 Good Friends 107 Ed and John in Carmel Valley 109 Ed at UC Riverside 109 Ed at Common College 110 Common College Philosophy 111 Zona s Role at Common College 112 IX LIFE IN THE GREEN HOUSE 113 Buying the House 113 Randy Attends Alternative School 115 Mark Attends Merritt College and Rides Motorcycle 117 Ron Enters the Navy 117 Zona s Adventures as a UC Berkeley Student 121 Effects of Anti-War Protests 123 Zona s Graduation Present 124 Ed Goes to Washington, D.C. 125 Students Write Grant Proposal for Physically Disabled Students Program [PDSP] , 1969 126 Rolling Quads Formed 127 X TRAVEL AND GRADUATE SCHOOL, 1969 128 Off to Europe 128 John Hessler in France 131 Zona and Mark on a Motorcycle Through Europe 133 Return Home and Entry to Graduate School 139 XI THE BEGINNINGS OF PDSP, 1970 141 Funding Obtained and Office Established 141 Zona Works at PDSP 144 The Beginnings of the Center for Independent Living 150 PDSP Attracts Publicity 151 Dave Kaplan and the Stanford Medical School Connection 152 Life Around the PDSP Kitchen 153 More on PDSP 155 Influence of Civil Rights Activities 160 Importance of Visibly Disabled Leadership 164 Original PDSP Staff 165 Importance of Knowing Regulations Better than the Agencies Did 167 Donald Lorence as Director of PDSP 171 Physical Accessibility Issues 175 A Vibrant Community 175 Reasons for Success of Independent Living Movement 179 XII CONFLICT, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND CHANGE 184 Troubled Years for PDSP, 1977-1979 184 Attempts to Change 186 Zona Resigns from PDSP 188 XIII TRAVELS, FIRST GRANDSON, CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING 192 Zona Resumes Her Travels 192 Ed s Trip to Japan 193 Ed Marries Catherine Duggan, 1976 195 Lee Roberts Born, 1978 196 Ed Roberts and John Hessler Go to Sacramento Department of Rehabilitation, 1975 197 Zona Trains for Family Therapy 199 Zona s Work at CIL 199 Drug and Alcohol Problems in the Community 201 XIV REFLECTIONS 202 Randy s Death 202 More Travels 204 Zona s Contributions to Ed s Life 209 Public Speaking Events with Ed 212 Zona and Ed Move to Eton Avenue, Berkeley 214 Ed Receives the MacArthur Award 215 Raising Expectations 218 Zona s Private Practice 221 Beads, Dollhouses, Smocking, and Cooking 222 Friendships and Family 226 TAPE GUIDE 229 APPENDIX A Interview with Jean Wirth 231 B Genealogy in the Family of Zona Roberts 266 C Obituary of Jean Wirth 267 INDEX 269 SERIES INTRODUCTION- -The Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement, by Simi Linton When I was asked to write the introduction to the Bancroft Library s oral histories on the disability rights movement in Berkeley, it reminded me of the summer of 1975, when I left New York City and headed out to Berkeley, California.