Disability Activist Bernadette Thompson Wins 2015 MLK Award

Bernadette Thompson has spent more than 20 years working in the Independent Living Rehabilitation Program.  Photo: Urban News
Bernadette Thompson has spent more than 20 years working in the Independent Living Rehabilitation Program. Photo: Urban News

Bernadette Thompson was named the winner of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award at the MLK Association’s annual Candlelight Service January 11, held this year at St. Matthias Episcopal Church.

Thompson has worked as a Rehabilitation Counselor with the state’s Vocational Rehabilitation Services, which helps others with disabilities live productive lives. She has spent more than 20 years working in the Independent Living Rehabilitation Program, providing services to individuals with severe disabilities to help them function at home, in the community, and in the job market.

Her own recent experience reflects that of her clients: dependent on her wheelchair-accessible van to drive herself, she has spent many months without it, having to rely on others for transportation. The Asheville community has held numerous fund-raisers to assist her in replacing it, and she hopes to be back in the driver’s seat very soon.

Thompson served on the board of Asheville-Buncombe Community Relations Council, where she was able to help implement new regulations protecting the disabled under the Fair Housing Act; and in several capacities on the board of Mountain Housing Opportunities, working to improve housing situations for low-income citizens and, especially, people with disabilities.

She has also been active locally on the boards of the Western Alliance Center for Independent Living, The Educational Initiative, and The Western North Carolina Radio Reading Service, and as president of The Greater Asheville Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association.

She has served on Statewide Task Forces for Nursing Home Transitions, and has represented North Carolina at a national conference in Texas.

Thompson is also active with St. James AME Church, where she leads a Moments with the Children ministry, sings with the choir, and is a member of the Missionary Society and Superintendent of the Sunday School.