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Longtime
disability rights activist, Frieda Zames, dies
Frieda
Zames, longtime New York City disability activist and co-author of The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation,
died June 16, 2005.
Zames,
72, and her book co-author and sister, Doris Zames Fleischer, presented at Society for Disability Studies (SDS) meetings several
times and wrote numerous essays on disability rights topics. Their essay on the film Million Dollar Baby appears in the summer
2005 issue of Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ), the academic journal of SDS. The sisters are members of DSQ’s Editorial
Board.
Anne
Finger, SDS Board President 2004-05, explained the devastating loss Frieda Zames’ death is to the disability community.
“Frieda
was a powerful spirit, unflinching in her dedication to making the world accessible,” Finger said. “I know
we all mourn her passing, and extend our condolences to her family and fellow activists.”
Zames
was a founder, former president, and continuing vital member of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York, an advocacy group.
She was a vice president of the organization at the time of her death.
Zames, who had had childhood polio,
used a motorized scooter, and through her work with Disabled in Action improved wheelchair access throughout New York City.
Her advocacy work forced city buses to become wheelchair-accessible in the 1980s.
She retired as a mathematics professor
from New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, N.J. Zames held an undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College and a doctorate
in mathematics from New York University.
She and her sister wrote their
highly regarded book about the disability rights movement in 2001 for the Temple University Press.
Her longtime friend, Anne Emerman,
explained the significance of the book: “Frieda's book with her sister Doris, The Disability Rights Movement - From
Charity to Confrontation is a testimony to the depth of her knowledge, commitment and the richness of her life journey
and the many people she engaged on the path. Many of the victories in the disability civil rights movement we all now
enjoy can be directly attributed to Frieda. A petite woman, she was a giant in our midst, truly a national
and local treasure.
“We celebrate Frieda and
her life of service and advocacy. We have all experienced her love, kindness, generosity, her spirit, humility, vision and
quiet yet forceful strength,” Emerman said.
The cause of her death is unknown
but she had recently had an appendectomy. A funeral was held Sunday, June 19, 2005 at Riverside Chapel in New York.
She is survived
by her sister; and her partner of more than 30 years, Michael Imperiale.
DAILY PRESS:
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Frieda Zames, 72, promoted rights for disabled
BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE
STAFF WRITER
June 19, 2005
Frieda Zames, a disability rights activist who worked closely with the city to improve services for the disabled,
died at her Manhattan home Friday. She was 72.
She was recovering from an appendectomy two weeks ago, said her sister,
Doris Zames Fleischer of Brooklyn.
Zames
came to the movement in the 1970s, during efforts to implement Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which barred
federally funded programs from discriminating against the disabled, Fleischer said.
Zames, a former professor of mathematics
at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, spent her time outside of the classroom attending conferences, giving lectures
and writing on the rights of the disabled. She co-authored a 2001 book, "The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation,"
with Fleischer.
At her death, she was first vice president of Disabilities in Action of Metropolitan New York and was
helping to draft a City Council bill to make taxicabs and privately run ferries wheelchair-accessible, a colleague, Jean Ryan,
said.
Zames contracted polio when she was 2 years old. The disease left her unable to walk without crutches and braces,
Fleischer said. In her last years, she exchanged the braces and crutches for a motorized scooter.
"Given the fact that
she had been given such a hard deal in life, she always found that which was positive," said Fleischer, a professor at the
New Jersey Institute of Technology. "In any experience, she found the positive thing and ran with that."
Zames was
born in Brooklyn in 1932. She received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Brooklyn College and a doctorate from New York
University.
A memorial service is today at Riverside Memorial Chapel in Manhattan.
In addition to her sister,
Zames is survived by her partner of 34 years, Michael Imperiale, of Manhattan; brother-in-law Leonard Fleischer; niece Abby
Fleischer; and nephew Joseph Fleischer of Brooklyn.
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Frieda Zames, 73, Disabled
Activist Urged Accessible Transportation
BY ALEXANDRA
GIBSON - Special to the Sun
June 17, 2005
Frieda
Zames, who died yesterday at 73, was an activist who took a leading role in forcing city businesses, agencies, and transportation
boards to make their facilities accessible to the disabled.
She was
determined that society should not infantilize or make invisible those who, like herself, required ramps, lifts, and other
special equipment to live more normal lives. In 2001, she published "The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation,"
a book often used as a textbook history of the movement.
A
native of Brooklyn, Zames was struck with polio at age 2. The disease left her reliant on crutches, and later a scooter, for
the rest of her life. Undaunted and supported by a determined mother who carried her books and sat with her at classes, she
completed her undergraduate education at Brooklyn College. After college, Zames worked
at Met Life as an actuary and put herself through further schooling at New York University, where she eventually received
a doctorate in mathematics. She taught math at the New Jersey
Institute of Technology between 1966 and 1993, and was named an emeritus professor in 2000.
In
the mid-1970s, Zames took her first step toward instigating political action when she joined Disabled in Action of Metropolitan
New York. She traded in her old crutches for an electric scooter to travel around to protests more easily.
One
of her first demonstrations came in the mid-1970s when Zames and a group of DIA paraplegics surrounded an M14 bus on Third
Street at Avenue A during rush hour to protest the lack of handicapped-accessible buses in the MTA's fleet. It was the opening
salvo in a 20-year battle that led to all MTA busses being fitted with wheelchair lifts.
Zames
became president of the DIA, an office she held several times over the next three decades. At the time of her death, she was
the organization's first vice president.
The
bus demonstration was premised on the idea that federal funding under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 could not discriminate
against the disabled. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, activists had a much more powerful
weapon.
On
the first workday after the ADA came into effect, Zames helped to launch a lawsuit against the Empire State Building to force
the landmark to increase its accessibility.
Among
the renovations eventually agreed to were automatic doors, lowered elevator control panels and areas of the tourist ticket
counter, and periscopes with King Kong-shaped handles for the observation deck.
A
fellow DIA member, Anne Emerman, said, "Frieda instinctively and wisely knew that nobody voluntarily complies with any law."
Zames
also initiated the "One Step" campaign to force local businesses to install entry ramps, starting with her favorite East Village
pastry shop, Veniero's. Eventually, more than 350 businesses were forced into compliance thanks to the campaign, according
to a 2004 article in New Mobility magazine.
Zames
was less than 5 feet tall, but had big eyes and knew how to make her voice heard. She played a prominent role in the ongoing
struggle to make taxis accessible, as well as subways and other modes of transportation.
At
a City Council committee hearing on making ferries more accessible to the disabled yesterday, there was talk of naming a bill
for Zames.
Frieda Zames
Born October 29, 1932;
died June 16 at her home while recovering from a recent appendectomy; survived by her companion, Michael Imperiale, and her
sister, Doris Zames Fleischer.
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Frieda Zames, 72, Advocate for Disabled,
Dies
By MARGALIT FOX
Published: June 17, 2005
Frieda
Zames, a prominent advocate for the disabled who lobbied to make New York City accessible to them, died yesterday morning
at her home in Manhattan. She was 72.
The
cause has not been determined, said Anne Emerman, a longtime friend. She said Ms. Zames had been recovering at home from a
recent appendectomy.
Ms.
Zames, a retired mathematics professor, was a past president of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York, an advocacy group.
At her death, she was a vice president of the organization.
Over
the last several decades, Ms. Zames, who used a motorized scooter because of the effects of childhood polio, worked to improve
access in places like subway stations, movie theaters, stores, restaurants and public restrooms. Her work helped make city
buses wheelchair-accessible beginning in the 1980's; in recent years, she lobbied for wheelchair access to taxis and ferryboats.
With
her sister, Doris Zames Fleischer, Ms. Zames wrote "The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation" (Temple
University, 2001), a historical survey.
Frieda
Zames was born in Brooklyn in 1932. She earned an undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College and a doctorate in mathematics
from New York University. Until her retirement, she taught for many years at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.
In
addition to her sister, of Brooklyn, Ms. Zames is survived by her partner of more than 30 years, Michael Imperiale.
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ELECTRONIC MEDIA:
WBAI 99.5 FM
Frieda Zames, Former WBAI Board Member and Disability Rights Activist, Passes Away
Frieda Zames, a member of the WBAI Local Advisory Board from 1994-2000, longtime leader
of Disabled in Action, coauthor of a book about the history of the disability rights movement, fierce fighter for justice
and beautiful spirit, died on June 16.
Excerpts
from Frieda Zames' candidacy statement for a listener seat on the WBAI Local Station Board, Fall 2003:
I
contracted polio at age of 2 and a half and have been a lifelong advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. I am
the author with Dr. Doris Zames Fleischer of the book, The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation, published
in 2001 by Temple University Press. I am Professor Emeritus of Mathematics of New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in
Newark, N.J. where I taught for twenty-seven years.
When the civil rights movement occurred, I identified with African
Americans. I felt that people with disabilities were discriminated against for their disabilities in the same way that African
Americans were discriminated against because of their race. Several years after the disability movement began, I joined Disabled
In Action of Metropolitan New York (DIA) in the middle 1970s. DIA is a civil rights organization, founded in 1970, committed
to ending discrimination against people with all types of disabilities by fighting to eliminate the barriers that prevent
us from enjoying full equality in American society. We believe in the motto, "Nothing about us without us!"
One major
reason I joined DIA is because it also supports other civil rights groups and progressive issues, in general. For example,
DIA supported the addition of gay rights to the New York City Human Rights Law by participating in demonstrations and testifying
at hearings. DIA has also taken a position against the death penalty.
I found WBAI during the Civil Rights Movement
and the Vietnam War in the middle 1960s. It was a great pleasure to find a radio station that I agreed with about so many
issues. Around ten years ago I was asked to join the WBAI Local Advisory Board (LAB), so I served as a LAB member from June
1994 until June 2000 where I primarily worked on the membership and outreach committees. To increase diversity on the LAB,
the membership committee began placing ads in the Folio asking interested people to send resumes to join the LAB. To encourage
WBAI membership, the outreach committee set-up programs in various WBAI listening areas. I am proud of being one of the seven
WBAI LAB members who were plaintiffs in the LAB lawsuit. While other WBAI members who sat-in at the station were arrested,
the police refused to arrest Anne Emerman and me, no matter how hard we tried because she uses a motorized wheelchair and
I use a motorized scooter.
DEMOCRACY
NOW
June 20, 2005
Disability Rights Activist Frieda Zames Dies
One of the leading
disability rights activists, Frieda Zames, died last week at the age of 72. She was a past president of Disabled in Action
of New York. At her death, she was a vice president of the organization. With her sister, Zames wrote the book "The Disability
Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation."
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