UniversityofCalifornia Berkeley Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Oral History Series Zona Roberts COUNSELOR FOR UC BERKELEY S PHYSICALLY DISABLED STUDENTS PROGRAM AND THE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING, MOTHER OF ED ROBERTS An Interview Conducted by Susan O Hara in 1994-1995 Includes an Interview with Jean Wirth Copyright o 2000 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Zona Roberts dated October 20, 1994. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Zona Roberts requires that she be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Zona Roberts, "Counselor for UC Berkeley s Physically Disabled Students Program and the Center for Independent Living, Mother of Ed Roberts," an oral history conducted in 1994-1995 by Susan O Hara, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2000. Copy no. / Zona Roberts, 1996 protest march in San Francisco. Photo by Bill Branston.