The latest statistics of 1990 tell us that Black Disabled males will outnumber other disabled people within ten years. America and the disabled world may not want to admit this or may make light of it, but Black disabled males are under-represented in all aspects of life, media included. All you have to do is look at our African American newspapers, look at national Black TV shows, and look at our many African American magazines. Disabled brothers and sisters are not there; they are invisible bodies.

To this date Reggie Green is the only brother to grace the small screen in the late 1970's on the sitcom The Facts of Life. He is a paraplegic young man who became an actor. He grew up in Richmond, Calif., and is also known for his starring role in the movie Boys in the Hood. He played the boyfriend of Tootie (Kim Fields) on Facts of Life and Penny (Janet Jackson) on Good Times.

Mr. Green has a most wonderful personality and great smile. Most women I know like and enjoy his company. I've had many conversations with this young man, and he has told me about his struggles trying to get work in the acting industry--an industry where looks are almost everything. Mr. Green is currently looking for another project to work on. Roles are very limited for disabled Black males. Roles tend to be limited for black males, period.

Does this mean there are no Black disabled actors available to be on TV or to be cast in movies? There has been a long drought since the first Black disabled movie, Porgy and Bess. That was a watershed movie for disability rights advocates because it was also the first love story about a disabled person.

Currently, the movie and television industry hires able-bodied Black male actors to play disabled actors. In the movie The Bone Collector (Denzel Washington) plays a disabled doctor. There are other movies like The Water Dance with Wesley Snipes and Article 99, with many actors playing on the disabled basketball team, that hire able-bodied actors to play disabled actors.

The American public wants to see named actors, not actors they don't know. So this has become a never-ending cycle for bright and talented Black disabled actors and actresses. One would rather see Denzel or Wesley than Mr. Green, or me. It is just a basic human reaction; we all like beautiful people. Since the industry is just trying to make money, many disabled actors and actresses don't get a chance to show off their great acting abilities.

Don't despair--my fellow white disabled actors are having the same problems--Daniel Day Lewis played the role of the independent and feisty sole Christie Brown. Mr. Brown was a young man with Cerebral Palsy that lived in Ireland. It was one of the first mainstream movies about Cerebral Palsy.

I really enjoyed this movie because it was like seeing myself grow up in front of everybody. It took a few minutes to catch what he was saying with the Irish Cerebral Palsy accent. Mr. Lewis studied his role very well; his speech was just the same as if he really had Cerebral Palsy. It impressed me that Mr. Lewis would take the time to study the little things people with Cerebral Palsy do.

Christopher Reeves played a role in the new movie version of Rear Window. Mr. Reeves is currently an advocate for the disabled, since his accident six years ago.

The small screen has many other shows with white able-bodied men playing disabled men. Night Heat (CBS), Wise Guy (NBC), T.J.Hooker (ABC), Dark Angel from the WB Network, and, lest we forget, the late Raymond Burr played the role of inspector in the show Ironsides (CBS) which became the first show with an actor to use a power chair in a positive way. Black able-bodied men played roles in M.A.N.T.I.S (WB), Becker (CBS), Malcolm in the Middle (Fox), and War of the Words (Fox)

The first disabled actor or actress with a starring role every week was a most fabulous woman named Jewell. She played the cousin of Blair on the Facts of Life. Jewell carried the torch for all severely disabled folk in the late 70's and early 80's. This woman carried it very well, without any support from the disabled community. Jewell has a mild case of Cerebral Palsy.

NBC was very nervous about whether the American public would understand her when she spoke. Jewell kicked the door down for other disabled actors and actresses in America. She has also appeared in Magnum P.I., among other shows.

NBC seems to be taking the lead once again with the now famous Dr. Weaver of the long running show ER. This doctor really has polio and she plays the role of the head of the ER department in the show. I'm really happy about this role because it portrays a disabled person in a leadership role; something America needs to see. It is a role to break the stereotypes about people with disabilities. There needs to be more disabled leadership model types for younger disabled people in America. Just like Bill Cosby (I Spy) and Dianna Carrol (Julia) did for African Americans in the early 1960. There has to be a road warrior to blaze a path for others to follow.

Last is the wonderful actress Marlee Matlin, who plays a lawyer Tess Kaufman in the TVshow Reasonable Doubt. She has been on many talk shows the past ten years discussing the problems and wonders of being deaf in an industry that uses its ears and eyes for everything. This woman starred in the movies Children of a Lesser God and Bridge of Silence. She became a regular on the very popular show, Pickett Fences. Ms. Matlin has made it possible for other companies to make commercials with the deaf involved. She is what the media industry is looking for: an assertive, attractive, and mobile actress with a disability.

One thing I have noticed about the movie and small screen business: White disabled women seem to hold on to their jobs longer then other disabled people. Another thing is that you do not see any disabled women of color in any movies, TV, or commercials. One tends to wonder about this issue and question the industry's efforts to employ disabled women of color. White disabled women just seem to fit into the system better than male disabled actors, or they would be working too.

People get more uncomfortable seeing a disabled male than a disabled female. Most Americans feel helpless when they see these individuals. Seeing more disabled folk on the screen and on the tube will ease this feeling and will let Americans ask other questions about disabled persons' lives. Is there sexism in reverse? You bet; can it be changed? The American public will have to decide that. So check out these movies and the small screen shows. []

That's
THE GRAY LINE