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Blindness hasn't defined activist

She says vision problems made her more determined.

By ROBBYN MITCHELL
Published July 23, 2006

Retinitis pigmentosa has permanently limited Debra Thompson's eyesight, but she has not let the disease become her handicap.

Thompson, 51, was diagnosed with the genetic eye disorder as a child growing up in the Midtown area of St. Petersburg, but she didn't let that stop her from pursuing a master's degree and getting involved in government.

"I don't think it affected her at all," said her mother, Betty Keys. "If you meet Debra you wouldn't even think that is was a problem for her."

One of six daughters, Thompson was married at 21.

While earning a bachelor's degree at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Thompson got into the civic mind frame that would shape her adult life, she said.

"I think it was just a part of the atmosphere at the college in the '70s. Everyone was ready to make a change, and I kind of just soaked up those ideas."

In 1999, while involved with Movement for Change, Thompson was at the forefront of a hot-button issue in Pensacola.

"People were on all sides of the issue to name a street after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," said council member Jack Noble of Pensacola. "We had already named a plaza after him, and people were upset because they wanted to preserve the old Spanish names given to the streets when Pensacola was founded."

Movement for Change had been lobbying for the naming of the street to follow suit of other American cities, and when the idea hit a roadblock in the council chambers, Thompson decided to throw her hat in the ring.

"I was elected in May, and the street was named after Dr. King by November," she said.

The relative ease of influencing the council inspired Thompson to go further and try to make the leadership more accessible to people.

She organized discussion of issues on radio stations to offer another avenue for residents of Pensacola to find out what was going on.

"She was very, very supportive of the community and very, very active in it as well," Nobles said.

While serving as a council member, she continued to work with Movement for Change on some initiatives such as getting more black teachers in the Escambia County school system and voter education and registration.

She also joined the board of directors of Independence for the Blind of Northwest Florida to serve a community she shares a common interest with.

"The program provides services to help blind people function on their own, no matter how or when they became blind," she said.

Since leaving office in 2001, Thompson, who is legally blind, has stayed active in these groups and added others to her repertoire of aids to the disadvantaged.

She is as passionate about music as she is about civic duty. As a singer-songwriter, she holds annual workshops in June to help gospel musicians fine-tune their writing skills.

"We take people who want to learn voice and music and we give musicians a little instruction on how to write songs and lyrics."

Thompson's latest accolade comes straight from the top of Florida government. She was named a member of the Florida Rehabilitation Council by Gov. Jeb Bush.

"The former superintendent of Pensacola schools nominated me, and I was appointed last year," she said.

The council meets quarterly in different locations around the state and deals mainly with the vocational training and placement of disabled people.

Thompson said she is honored to serve this underrepresented group, especially because she qualifies as one of them.

"I think my vision problems have made me a better person and have made me more determined to do certain things," she said.

The married mother of two has served Floridians in several capacities long after she was classified as legally blind and has not let her disability interfere with her ambition.

"I'm not sure what's next for me politically," Thompson said. "There is always the possibility of getting back into it."

[Last modified July 22, 2006, 20:48:46]