Bernstein continues to advocate

Richard Bernstein, blind since birth, has finished 14 marathons, several triathlons and an Ironman competition.

The attorney from the Bernstein Law Firm told a campus audience October 12 that he loves athletic competitions. “It’s the most powerful tool a disabled person has to take away the bigotry,” he said.

Bernstein was the keynote speaker during Disability Awareness Week, sponsored by the Disability Support Resources office. Familiar to many because of the law firm’s TV commercials, Bernstein said he entered races after finding an organization called Achilles International, which helps people with disabilities learn to run races by providing them with guides.

“I learned to follow my guide’s directions on a course: hard left, right,” Bernstein said. “It pushed my boundaries and gave me the opportunity to run marathons.”

He said while great advancements have been made to help people with disabilities attend college and race marathons, more work needs to be done to change attitudes. “I wish faculty would be more empathetic,” said Bernstein, who also teaches a course at the University of Michigan. “Students with disabilities who ask for extra time on a test, or whatever it is, are asking for it because they need it to survive.”

Bernstein is currently working with the Israeli government to help make that country’s military more accessible to people with disabilities who want to serve.