On May 22nd, 2009, we interviewed Donna Hill about her Passioneer’s journey, and also featured her as a guest on our blog talk radio show, Passions and Possiblities on June 19th. She is an author, singer/songwriter, recording artist, speaker and avid knitter in rural Pennsylvania. Donna started her music career as a street performer in Philadelphia, where she sang for thirteen years. Hear her music at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill. Born blind, Donna works to foster understanding of and improve opportunities for blind Americans, as a volunteer publicist for the nonprofit Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind: http://www.padnfb.org.
She is courageous, talented, creative, and extremely passions about the rights of blind Americans. Learn more about her story below.
What’s Your Definition of Passion, Donna?
Something that you feel so deeply that you are compelled to act on it.
What Are Your Passions, and How Are You Expressing Them?
I have a passion for nature and am expressing that by living in the country on 17 ½ acres with a pond. I’m just in love with frogs, which I never thought that I would be…We took a leap by moving out here. As a blind person, it was a leap. I’d always wanted to live in the country. Many blind people live in the city because of the transportation and other services.
I played piano and guitar when I was supporting myself as a musician. I’m doing the piano more nowadays. My hands do numb up. I had a long run in Philadelphia with music, and had three guide dogs during that time that all developed their own fan clubs. It was wonderful! That was my initial passion in terms of my music. I’m a songwriter, but I don’t support myself that way anymore. I’m a semi-retired folk singer. Writing music is definitely a passion of mine. I don’t “try” to write a song; very rarely do I try. Most of the time, it’s an inspiration, it’s what I feel so deeply that I can’t put it aside. The song is within me and it needs to come out. So I write and record it, and there it is. It’s something that I do, it’s part of me.
Where I spend most of my time now is working for the rights of blind people in America - to bring attention to the dire situation that most blind people are in. That’s the driving passion at this part of my life. After I had cancer (diagnosed twice), I put a stop to my regular music career. …At a certain point, you have to persevere. What do you do if you don’t go forward in some way?
How Did You Come to Express Your Passion in this Way?
It was partially about trying to come to terms with what had happened in my own life with blindness issues. A few years ago, I was speaking and singing at a Lion’s club convention; singing and talking to them about blindness to try to express in music about having goals and reaching your dreams. I met this young lady who was also blind, just out of high school, who had gotten herself a job as a receptionist in the town where she lived. I found out that she was learning Braille through a correspondence course. “They didn’t teach me it at school,” she said. I thought things had changed…I felt so overwhelmed and thought ”this didn’t go away.” When I was a kid, 50% of folks were taught Braille. Most blind people don’t work, and those who do are Braille readers. Yet people are turning their backs on this.
This is a civil justice movement: I really think that the core is that people don’t really understand blindness; they’re afraid of it, they may have seen or heard something (about it) and they think that everyone’s like that. They extrapolate. We really do have to change people’s minds. It’s really a civil rights issue. Americans view people with disabilities as fundamentally different from themselves, feeling fear and pity most often.
Most blind people, over 80%, grew up sighted and grew up with the general society’s image of blindness…Most of them believe that their life is over…that they no longer will be productive or happy…They have a deep core belief. Getting beyond that deep core belief takes a lot.
There are blind people living productive lives, but we are in the shadows. The media rarely present the issues. The reason that it’s news? It counters the belief that it’s possible.
We are an invisible, but growing minority. One that includes people who have no incidence (of blindness) in their family. We aren’t a separate group. We are part of the normal culture. But part of the normal culture that has been hereto for ignored. It’s changing, but it’s not changing in a huge way.
If you look for prominent blind individuals who are on the national stage, politics, entertainment, there’s David Patterson of NY and Stevie Wonder, but I would ask you, where are the blind women? We have a lot of young blind women who are entertainers in a lot of field; and they are still unknown and aren’t household words. Young blind people need role models as they grow up. The boys have some, but the girls don’t.
What’s Next for You Donna?
I’m doing a series of articles for the American Chronicle (http://www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885)
Thanks Donna
s pull up and they get out of the bus and ask “Can I take a picture of your iguana?” I said “for a dollar,” and they all started handing me dollars. That’s how I became the lizard man of Hollywood – that’s how I survived.
myself. I don’t know where rent is going to come from, I don’t have any health insurance, I don’t eat right, just like many I often sit in my crisis. But I have a choice: I can lay in my bed which I call “blanket time” and cry, or I can get up and take action and help someone else. And that’s what I choose to do. And in doing that, I’ve been flown to New York and Seattle; I’ve been to Phoenix, to Sacramento. And I’m a guy that doesn’t have an income! If you do the math, this shouldn’t be happening! I do look for work. I haven’t given up. In the meantime, I scream real loud about homelessness and poverty. During this trip housing programs have been started, feeding programs, kids who don’t have shoes to go to school now have NEW shoes. It’s been amazing. And the road trip is still only half way done!
r herself, and became the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard. Her story inspired Christopher Reeves to direct a movie about her life, The Brooke Ellison Story. Our phone interview took place on May 26th , and you can also hear her 7/1/09 radio interview on Blog Talk Radio:
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