I wasn’t born here, but I quickly realized this was the kind of place where you could grow.
In 2014, as a junior in high school, I started a nonprofit called Terminally Trill to bring awareness to physical disabilities in the local music scene. There wasn’t a big plan, just a desire to help fulfill the definition of inclusion, to promote my friends’ bands, and to raise money for charity. I’m writing this to the city, and to its residents, for continuing to diversify and expand what that word means.
Before I go further, I should add something personal. I was born with a rare neuromuscular terminal illness called Friedreich’s ataxia (FA). It’s progressive, and over time it’s reshaped my body and my life. I’m becoming increasingly powerless in the ways that matter most, which is why I feel a pull to say this now.
Life had me on a haunted adventure before my birthday 28 years ago. Navigating a world that is, in many ways, built against people like me has been the biggest challenge. Yes, there are invisible disabilities, but mine is not one of them. Society often fails to see the obvious differences, and when it does, it rarely knows what to do with them.
Despite that, despite the disagreements, the pain, the ableism, and the frustration of not being able to enter certain places or visit spots like Texas Beach, Richmond became my home. Everything my body limits, I’ve learned to test. Richmond gave me the will to exist, regardless of judgment, and that’s what accessibility really means.
I was crowd-surfing in my wheelchair at nearly every show I put on or attended. I demanded to be seen and to be heard, and this city gave me that chance.
Years passed. We got older. We drifted apart. The conversations about inclusivity faded, but that’s the thing about inclusion: it has to be practiced, not just mentioned and left alone.
To others like me, I’ll say this, you have to make the first move, however hard that is. You can’t expect to just be without showing that need to exist.
So thank you for having me, Richmond. It’s been a great ride.
by Becca Denius
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