Civil Rights Reporter 

From Queens, New York to Columbus, Ohio: Walking in the Shoes of an Extern

“Batter up” is a familiar phrase heard on baseball diamonds all across the nation. Now, thanks to some creative, out-of-the-box (batter’s box, that is) thinking, Ohioans with both physical and mental disabilities can participate in America’s Pastime. It’s called Buddy Ball. 

Commissioner Madhu Singh is one of the newest appointees to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC). Learn more about her background and how she uses her experiences as she serves Ohioans as a member of the commission.

Do ADA obligations to accommodate a person with a disability apply to a police officer when making an arrest? The quick answer is yes, if doing so could easily be accomplished without endangering the officers or public safety and without interfering in the lawful execution of the officers’ duties.

Commissioner Lori Barreras’s interest in civil rights started at an early age. On her first day of kindergarten, her teacher informed the class that they could speak only English at school and made name tags and stuck them on the kids, so they could learn their names. Commissioner Barreras, who is of Hispanic descent, told her teacher that her name was Lorena, and the teacher wrote that name on her sticker. But, later in the day, when the same teacher was labeling her crayon box, she decided to change Lorena to Lori. In that instant, a scared little girl was Anglicized. That moment in kindergarten, Commissioner Barreras reflects, was the catalyst for her consciousness about civil rights issues.