My Carolina Experience: Frank Barham
March 17, 2015 | JV Men's Basketball
Update – June 3, 2015
In a tragic turn of events, less than 30 miles from his destination, Frank Barham's Wheel 2 Live Tour was cut short when a tractor trailer hit the escort van that was following behind him on Georgia's route 21.
Margaret Kargbo, a pillar in the Atlanta arts community and an advocate for women in politics, who was documenting the inspiring and commemorative journey was also killed in the accident. The driver of the van, Carrie Johnson was air lifted to the burn center in Augusta, Ga. as the trailer burst into flames shortly after hitting the van.
Barham's journey was one that shed light on an issue in which current debates encourage invisibility. His fight was not just about demanding justice for those who are physically unable but to show the world that acknowledging their needs is not about placing them in a box of helplessness. His fight was about affording them the opportunity to be triumphant over their barriers. Barham believed this acknowledgment had the ability to help all people break through barriers in their lives.
The Athletic Department would like to extend its condolences to the family of Barham and Kargbo, and well wishes to the Johnson Family. It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of this Tar Heel and his friend who took it upon themselves to make a difference in the world. Though the ADA has come a long way since 1981 there is still work to be done and the family is asking all who would like to commemorate Barham to donate to the Wheel2Live foundation in order to carry on his legacy and inspire continued steps to a future where public perception of the physically disabled can shift away from pity and towards equality.
***
By Zoya Johnson, GoHeels.com
Frank Barham's Carolina Experience paved the way for him to push aside limits in his life. He started college the fall following a summer when a pool accident left his father a quadriplegic.
The accident was one that constantly weighed on Barham and as such, when his friends suggested it he thought it would be trivial to announce his intent to try out for UNC's Junior Varsity Team.
“I told my Dad when I made the final cut and it totally blew him away, which felt like I had done something really positive for him.” Barham says, “Through my experience of being a part of that team I began to think a lot was possible and that was new for me.”
At that point basketball became a light in Barham's life. It became something he could pull his strength and confidence from and so he put down his high school musical instruments to pick up Carolina Basketball.
Despite coming from a family of Duke fans from Durham, Barham had managed to fall in love with Carolina. He grew up going to Dean Smith's basketball camps and cheering on UNC, so it was a dream come true to be playing in Carolina Blue.
After graduating with a political science degree, Barham suffered a car accident that broke his back and left him wheelchair bound. “When I came out of rehab in November of 1980 I was in an old school wheelchair that was not easy to get around in and accessibility was not in the attitude of society.”
As Barham looks back on the process of redefining who he was and wanted to be he realizes he leaned on lessons from his time at UNC. “The whole process of freshman year basketball was like pushing you beyond your limits and that really impacted me in a big way, it was something that I took with me.
“It served me well when I was dealing with going from being a person that was able bodied to being a person with a disability and doing so at a time when I wasn't covered by equal employment opportunity. My experience as a part of the junior varsity team allowed me to discover and overcome what I perceived my limitations were and those were big lessons that kept me going.”
Though Barham had the lessons he'd learned from basketball to lean on during his physical and emotional recovery, he was no longer able to lean on the sport itself. Music became his outlet and he used the process of relearning a craft to help himself rebuild.
Fast forward to today and Barham has released an EP called Levitating with his band, Brazilian Fusion. He's also taken on the challenge of spreading the word about Disability Ability Rights and the importance of a quality wheelchair.
“When I released the EP in August I was thinking about how I wanted to promote it and longing for a physical challenge. Having been a Disabilities Rights Activist and marching for access to public transportation down here in Atlanta I wanted to highlight the idea of disability rights being civil rights and the idea of ability and disability being able to coexist within a human being.”
Starting May 11, Barham will be doing just that with his Wheel 2 Live Tour. He will be rolling 30 miles a day behind his band's van in his everyday wheelchair for a total of about 302 miles from Atlanta to Savanah, Ga. Proceeds from the concerts performed along the way will go towards providing quality wheelchairs to those who are unable to afford them. As an activist he is excited about the opportunity to highlight how far equal opportunity has come in the 34 years he's been in a wheelchair as well as how far it still has to go.
Starting at the National Center for Civilian and Human Rights, the tour will take the path of Sherman's Union Army march to the sea. The aim is to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act while raising wheelchair awareness. Barham hopes to use the path to encourage people to reevaluate perceptions of disability and limitation within their lives.
Thanks to sponsorship from C4 Atlanta, the group will be able to offer tax deductible status to all donations made towards the cause. They will also be receiving corporate support from AMS Vans in order to make The Wheel 2 Live Tour a possibility.
“I'm excited to be able to do something like this at 59 years old. At a time when I thought I would just be sitting back and relaxing I'm still exploring and discovering and reaching and that was a big part of what I was encouraged to do academically and athletically at Carolina.
“The idea that you are able to do more than you think you can was driven home day to day in practice and in my classes. I had some incredible professors and coaches while I was at UNC and I'm eternally grateful for my Carolina Experience.”
All the wheelchairs donated through Barham's project will be donated from Whirlwind Wheelchairs. To find out more about the project and Barham's efforts, or to make a contribution visit www.wheel2live.net