By Williamena Kwapo | OBSERVER Staff Writer
At any given day, you can find Tremmel Watson either at the California State Capitol, a community forum, or local event advocating on disability rights. As a member of the Sacramento Disability Advisory Commission, his passion for advocacy lies in a unique journey.
Watson became deaf in adulthood and was suddenly thrust into a life where communication was no longer simple and every interaction became a fight for basic human connection.
After a pool accident as a toddler, Watson’s world started to grow quieter.
The water pressure from nearly drowning blew his eardrums, but the full impact took years to unfold. At first, he was identified as “hard of hearing,” struggling to catch everyday sounds like a knock at the door or a voice on the other end of a phone call. But by the time he was incarcerated, the silence had settled in.
“I became fully deaf when I was incarcerated,” said Watson. “That’s when I really experienced ableism, full ableism,” he continued, using a term which describes discrimination in favor of able-bodied people.
Within the prison walls, Watson, 33, was confronted with systemic barriers that deaf and disabled individuals often face.
Growing up as an English learner, he had limited proficiency in sign language upon his incarceration. With this gap, he discovered that sign language interpreters could arbitrarily decide whether to provide services based on their perception of his sign language proficiency. They often denied him those services, effectively denying him equal access to information and institutional support.
“I wasn’t able to really follow everything.” he said. “That’s not really good when you’re having legal procedures and trying to help your legal strategy. You’re not gonna win if you can’t fully participate.”
Post-incarceration, Watson discovered that the communication hurdles he faced in prison persisted in society at large. Many legal, healthcare, and professional environments lacked adequate provisions for deaf individuals, particularly those who, like him, did not grow up immersed in Deaf culture or using American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary mode of communication. Traditional sign language interpreters often fell short, and alternative communication methods were scarce.
There had to be something else—something that could bridge the gap between his minimal ESL proficiency and the language he already knew.
That something was a tool called Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART).
CART is a live captioning service that transforms spoken language into instant text using a specialized stenographic machine operated by a professional captioner. This technology can be connected to various electronic devices like laptops, tablets, projectors, and large screens, providing immediate, verbatim, real-time, text translation for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.
CART offers a direct, real-time translation of spoken words into text.
For Watson CART was transformative.
“During interviews, whether in legal or healthcare settings, having a live captioner makes it easier for me to follow,” he said, highlighting that CART isn’t just a convenience but a vital tool for genuine communication accessibility.
Since this technology provides proper accessibility for Watson, under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, if Watson requests this service in public meetings and events, it must be provided.
Accessibility has long been a critical issue when discussing disability rights and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act ensures that access is granted to those with disabilities. The section mandates that all organizations and programs receiving federal funds must provide equal access and reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.
However, the conversation around Section 504 access is facing new legal battles that could impact what access is granted to those like Watson.
A group of 17 states has sued the U.S. government in Texas v. Becerra, challenging federal disability protections under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Initially excluded from the Rehabilitation Act, Section 504 became a critical turning point for disability rights after intense activism.
In May, the Biden administration expanded Section 504 to include gender dysmorphia as a protected disability. The lawsuit, originally filed in September by 17 states, challenges the constitutionality of this expansion and seeks to remove enforcement of section 504.
If successful, the lawsuit challenging the act could weaken or remove requirements for federally funded institutions to provide equal access and accommodations for people with disabilities, further disenfranchising people like Watson.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over 28% of adults in the US have some type of disability. Those disabilities range from cognitive to physical and non-visible disabilities such as Watson’s deafness.
That is a significant portion of the population for whom proper accessibility is a necessity, not an afterthought.
Eric Harris, Director of Public Policy at Disability Rights California, cautioned that accessibility is not a one-size-fits-all concept, but a multifaceted approach. “Disability is a part of every aspect of life. If you’re thinking about transportation, if you work in a tech field, if you work at a school, if you work anywhere, there are disabled people that either are working there or want to have access there.”
Harris stresses that true accessibility means actively including disabled people in decision-making processes, ensuring that “there shouldn’t be a policy made without communicating first with the folks who are going to be impacted by the policy.”
This approach recognizes disability as an intersectional experience, acknowledging that disabled individuals are part of diverse communities and that their specific needs should be thoughtfully addressed.
This is precisely why Watson does not just advocate for access for himself but for everyone who faces unequal access because of their disability. He’s also working with various organizations to improve accessibility policies.
For those like Watson, accessibility isn’t a privilege, it’s a right; ensuring they too get a chance to participate in everyday life. “Disabled means experiencing barriers. So if I make a request for something and you give me exactly what I requested I’m no longer disabled. It’s that simple.” he explained.