I recently attended the Special Olympics 30th Anniversary Ceremony. As a special-education teacher, I have participated in the Special Olympics for more than 20 years.
The pictorial publicity and programs supplied by the Tribune and the Chicago Park District displayed everything that is wrong with Chicago. Anyone who had not attended a Special Olympics activity would believe that only white athletes and coaches were involved. As long as I have been participating, the athletes reflected the racial and ethnic makeup of the city. Not so the publicity. It looked like the “Special White Olympics.”
It is indeed sad that we are almost at the close of the 20th Century, and we still cling to the prejudices of the 19th Century. How can we help our children when our handicap is so much greater than theirs?
