Darline Graham's career centered disability. Now she could help shape national policy
To former colleagues and the disability advocates who have worked with her, there is little doubt in Darline Graham's capabilities.
Sara Luterman, The 19th Sara Luterman, The 19th
This story was originally published by The 19th .
Unlike her late brother Lindsey, whose political career spanned 33 years, Darline Graham has never run for or held elected office — until she was appointed to serve the remainder of the U.S. senator's term this week. Instead, she has worked in vocational rehabilitation, publicly funded programs that help people with disabilities overcome barriers to employment.
"She loved her brother. He raised her," said Kimberly Tissot, president of Able South Carolina, the state's Center for Independent Living, or CIL, a federally funded center that provides peer support and services for people with disabilities.
"Family is what defines her, but she's not her brother. That's what I've been telling people [in disability advocacy]," said Tissot, a cancer survivor and amputee who has known and worked alongside Graham for over a decade. "She is a leader, but she's not the kind of leader to ever brag about what she's done."
