ST PAUL, Minn. — Dupree Edwards has a great story to tell, but he wants to tell it through rap.
With a beat and a smile, he rapped to WCCO: “My testimony is all about me. Dupree’s gonna set you free.”
Edwards is a performer and always has been.
“A girl’s best friend is a diamond, my best friend is a microphone,” he raps.
His smile is big, and so is his pain: Edwards suffered lead poisoning as a child, which damaged the frontal lobe of his brain.
“I think I was called when I got on the yellow bus, or the short yellow bus,” Edwards said.
But that was a long time ago: Edwards developed computer skills and a career as an independent living advocate at the University of Minnesota, appearing on podcasts and speaking about what it’s like to live with a disability.
“They don’t think we can do the work, they don’t think we can support ourselves, but here you are, here I am,” Edwards said.
When he’s not performing, he’s a passionate campaigner for higher wages for caregivers in Minnesota.
“These people are part of our community, they take us places so we can live the best life we can. They should be paid a higher wage and get what they deserve,” Edwards said.
He is also committed to ensuring that people with disabilities receive the dignity they deserve.
“Because we look different, we act different, we are different people, we should be able to do the same things as people who don’t have disabilities,” Edwards said, “and that’s what this fight is about, so that we can be part of the community.”
Edwards says there are two big ways people without disabilities can support those with disabilities: by making their businesses accessible and by considering hiring people with disabilities.
Minnesota has a program to help pay for lodging.
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Susan Elizabeth Littlefield