If I Can't Do It

Arthur Campbell has a sign on the back of his wheelchair which reads: "If I can't do it--it ain't worth doing." Filmed over a six-year period by Walter Brock, this inspiring program focuses on a man born with cerebral palsy in a Kentucky mountain cabin, who was 17 before anyone thought to teach him to read, and whom the medical community treated as a psychiatric case. Charting Campbell's odyssey from the backwoods to the forefront of activism, the P.O.V.-aired If I Can't Do It takes an unflinching look at how a child with a disability can effect family relationships (Campbell finally broke free of his overprotective clan in his late 30s). In telling his own story, Campbell writes "I began to realize that I didn't need to be changed or healed--society did." He became involved with Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT), participated in the movement's blockading of city buses in Louisville, and eventually joined the push for the Americans with Disabilities Act (getting arrested for occupying the Capitol Rotunda with other demonstrators). The video features interviews with Campbell, his family and friends, but most of the story is in his own words. For years he has been writing his autobiography, slowly tapping out the letters one at a time on a manual typewriter or having a friend's help on occasion. Although the price is steep, this is still recommended for those libraries who can afford it. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Reagan)