Celebration of Life:
Harriet McBryde Johnson
Celebration of Life:
Harriet McBryde Johnson
Harriet McBryde Johnson, 50, a disability advocate and attorney died June 4th, 2008. She was born with a neuromuscular disease that affected her spine and muscular system.
Harriet attended a private school, College Preparatory School and went on to Charleston Southern University, where she graduated with a degree in history. She received her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the College of Charleston. In 1982, she enrolled in the University of South Carolina's Law School, where she served as the Law Review's executive editor and graduated cum laude with her J.D.
Harriet openly credited her parents, both college professors, for her esteemed education, her ability to work as a disability lawyer, her advocacy and her protests to maintain her own and others’ essential freedom from institutional confinement. They were able to afford to care for her at home and provide her the education and support she needed.
"The presence or absence of a disability doesn't predict quality of life."
~ Harriet McBryde Johnson
Harriet McBryde Johnson was known locally as a fierce disability activist and lawyer; primarily focusing on disability appeals cases concerning the Social Security Administration. Although she had a sweeping contempt for both the ‘pity mentality’ and the ‘entitlement mentality” she worked tediously on the clients’ behalf. Known for her quiet yet outspoken mannerisms and inquisitiveness nature, she helped many. A big supporter of Community Based Services, Harriett loathed institutionalization. Harriet understood the need for resources to help people adapt to their differences or injuries rather than institutionalizing them to keep them separate from mainstream society. She understood that the law was a means for political transformation and used it to effectively advocate for change.
Johnson; a firehouse in the political and legal arena could be remembered as an opponent to those who dared to feel sorry for her. As an adolescent, she rallied against her teacher for fairness in the classroom and as an undergraduate at the University of South Carolina, she took on the Secret Service and Ronald Reagan when the police invaded her private space and tried to shut down her protest of the president's visit to her campus. Later, she became a leading figure in a protest against the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon for promoting the “pity mentality” to attract donations for research and other assistance. She dedicated herself to opposing the telethon for over 20 years. She also won national attention through interviews and letters exchanged with bioethicist Peter Singer, a Princeton professor favoring eugenics, including assisted suicide, abortion and genetic counseling to prevent what he considered the suffering of persons born with severe disabilities.
She made numerous in person and televised appearances across the world and published various kinds of nonfiction, largely in professional publications, the disability press and journals. Titles include: A Memoir: Too Late to Die Young, Accidents of Nature, and various articles on disability and civil rights.
Along with her positions with the NAACP, Protection and Advocacy and other organizations, Harriet McBryde Johnson was a member of the Board of Directors for the disAbility Resource Center, a center for Independent Living serving Charleston, Dorchester, Berkeley, Orangeburg and Williamsburg counties. Some of her involvement included; Secretary of the Board, chairperson of the Personnel Committee, and chairperson of a Special Committee.
~ Reflections from The Director ~
“Her leadership during a time of transition cannot be measured because it was so valuable.” Gwen Gillenwater, Executive Director of DRC says “I cannot imagine dRC without Harriet’s influence. She was the epitome of independent living. Harriet was brilliant and yet she could be so funny and I have learned so much from her. She could also play ‘devil’s advocate’ in ways that helped me greatly. She was a communicator par excellence and most importantly, she loved mentoring young people in the disability community.
Even now, weeks after her death, I find myself reaching for the phone to call Harriet and ask about this or that or simply to “shoot the breeze” as we did so often. While I and the whole organization of disAbility Resource Center will miss her in ways we cannot even express, her spirit will live on. “Harriet was a pioneer in the disability community and her absence will be felt throughout our community.”
Death is natural and necessary, but not just. It is a random force of nature; survival is equally accidental. Each loss is an occasion to remember that survival is a gift. I owe it to others to make good use of my time. When I die, I might as well die alive. – H.M.J.
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