March 24, 2014
James Madison University, one of the most prestigious university’s named after the fourth President of the United States, is host to 4 Wheel City for their 5th Annual Disability Awareness Week.
Published On Breezejmu.org:
It can often to be difficult to find places that accommodate those who are physically handicapped. While accessibility continues to improve for those with disabilities, there still is room to improve.
4 Wheel City, sponsored by the JMU Office of Disability Services and led by motivational speakers Namel “Tapwaterz” Norris and Ricardo “Rickfire” Velasquez, use hip-hop music as a means of increasing public awareness about the struggles of paraplegics.
Both men sustained their injuries through gun violence when they were young adults. Norris was accidentally shot by his cousin at his sister’s 16th birthday party, while Velasquez was shot in the back while walking home from school. After spending months in rehabilitation, they both returned home to find that they had few friends who decided to stick around, and even less who could still relate to them.
Norris was having trouble adjusting to life as a paraplegic when his mother introduced him to Velasquez. She approached the latter after seeing him come outside of his apartment building. This helped her son connect to another person with a disability.
“I wasn’t there when she went up to him, and asked him to be my friend. But before my injury, I didn’t know anyone in a wheelchair, and after I got injured, she saw him in the next building. We ended up finding out that we both had an interest in rap music. He was producing and I was rapping, and from there we just came together as friends and became 4 Wheel City,” Norris said.
The group aims to “inspire, activate, educate and entertain.” The two men grew up in the same Bronx, N.Y. neighborhood, but had not met until then. Norris had dreamed of becoming a musician before his injury, and reaffirmed that goal after meeting Velasquez. As they shared their experiences, they realized that they had a lot to write songs about.
“At first it was just for moral support, we didn’t plan to record the music or go on tour,” Velasquez said. “I don’t want to say it changed our lives, but it kind of did because it gave us something besides our disability to set our sights on.”
While their target audiences are people with disabilities and at-risk teenagers, they know that their message can resonate with many others as well. 4 Wheel City has performed for schools, fundraisers, hospitals and rehabilitation centers, to name a few.
“I think [Office of Disability Services] is amazing. I just started working here, and I have never felt so passionate about a job. It feels great to spread awareness and help others,” Jorge Medrano, a peer access advocate said.
The event was part of fifth annual JMU Disability Awareness Week, which aims to create a conversation and understanding about the challenges and stigmas faced by disabled individuals. Hurtful words, exclusion, shame and insensitivity are just a few things handicapped individuals can experience on a regular basis.
“I think it will be very enlightening and eye-opening,” Dina Manco, sophomore writing, rhetoric and technical communication major, said. “I came to this event for an assignment and I think I’ll walk away with a greater understanding of what it is like to live with a disability.”
For others facing less visible disabilities, such as Matthew Calcagno, theirs is a hope this attitude will extend to them.
“The entire week is great. I actually have a disability, though it is one that cannot be seen. I think events like this help to make the community more sensitive about these things,” Calcagno, a sophomore math and quantitative finance major, said.
CDs of the group’s music were sold after the live event, and a majority of the proceeds will go to raise money for spinal cord injury research.
Some of the other events held throughout the week were an open house, painting of the Spirit Rock and a keynote address by President Jon Alger.
