Like most disability advocates and arts advocates, I’m not sure what to make of President Obama’s decision to appoint Chicago attorney Kareem Dale to two key positions. After the election, Dale was named to be the President’s special assistant for disability policy. Now, according to news reports, Dale has been chosen to head a White House initiative on arts and culture. No one seems to be sure whether he will be expected to carry both responsibilities, or whether someone else will be given the disability portfolio.
Should we be worried about Dale’s double duty? Does this mean that both arts and disability will get only .5 FTE worth of attention? Are the disability community and the arts community — both big supporters of Barack Obama during the campaign — getting short shrift?
Perhaps. But could there be another, more hopeful, possibility? Maybe this signals a new, high-level recognition of disability arts and culture. Maybe the dual appointment represents a view of these two issues as not only important, but somehow linked.
What might come from a White House-led boost for both disability rights and art? Here are a few possibilities —
We can hope, right?
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