In case you weren’t sure, let me be clear: I think inclusion is a civil rights issue just as I think same-sex marriage or racial equality are civil rights issues. I have a little home library of inclusion documentaries, but my favorite, and by far the most professional and compelling, is “Including Samuel,” produced by photojournalist Dan Habib to tell the story of his family’s work to include his youngest son Samuel in everything they do, every day. The three-minute trailer is below, but go to the film’s web site and watch the extended 12-minute trailer — it’s worth it. And then make sure you watch “Including Samuel” on PBS — it will be shown locally in the Bay Area on KQED Channel 9 at 6 p.m., Sunday Oct. 18.
My favorite speech in the whole movie is when Samuel’s mother looks right into the camera and says:
Now that I’m so close to a person with a disability I can’t believe that I was so blind to what people with disabilities in our community, in our country, in the world deal with every day. There was this huge civil rights issue, this huge amount of prejudice going on, and I never noticed it before.
Rachel Norton 