Catherine Blakemore: a Fierce Civil Rights Leader for the Disabled

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Citation: Vol. 09 No. 2016 Pg. 01
• Publication year: 2016
• Pages: 01
• Year: 2016
• topic: Civil Rights,Public Sector Law

Catherine Blakemore: A fierce Civil Rights Leader for the Disabled No. 2016 #01 California Bar Journal September, 2016

Amy Yarbrough Staff Writer

Although she's been involved in key national efforts and systemic litigation that have helped ensure the rights of thousands of people with disabilities, Catherine Blakemore says sometimes even basic things can leave a big mark.

In the late 1980s, Blakemore filed a class action that helped speed the release of people from state institutions. As a result, one of the class members, a man with intellectual disabilities named Jimmy White, got something else also very important to him: to wear his hair the way he wanted.

"When we saw him, he had grown his hair out and wore a very full beard," said Blakemore, explaining that the institution's staff previously made White's grooming decisions for him. "Someone like Jimmy White isn't going to know he has a choice."

White now lives independently in the North Coast area, helped by support staff.

"I think it's very compelling to kind of secure people's freedom for them," she added.

It's for those victories - both big and small - that Blakemore, the executive director of Disability Rights California, has been selected as this year's recipient of the Loren Miller Legal Services Award The award recognizes people who've shown a long commitment...