Access to Life

In this episode of Connections, host Ebony Flake sits down with Nakisha Adams, a lifelong Birmingham resident whose experience navigating the city is shaped by accessibility at every turn. Nakisha uses a wheelchair and relies on fixed-route buses and paratransit to move through daily life. For her, transportation isn’t just a convenience—it’s a lifeline to work, healthcare, community, and independence. She shares what it takes to plan each trip, from navigating broken sidewalks and missing curb cuts to scheduling paratransit weeks in advance and building her life around service availability. With added insight from Courtney Hertlein of United Ability, the conversation widens to examine what it truly means to move through Birmingham when accessibility determines every choice. Together, the episode explores how systems built by the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority and the Birmingham Department of Transportation shape dignity and autonomy—and why accessible transit remains a civil rights issue rooted in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Because transportation isn’t just about getting around. It’s access to life.   Connections is goBHM’s official podcast, produced in partnership with the Birmingham Department of Transportation (BDOT) and the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA) as part of the Multimodal Transportation Plan. Produced, written, and hosted by: Ebony Flake