Today is the 25th year of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I feel I had a tiny part leading up to it's passage in 1990 by participating in the group, Disabled in Action, in New York City in 1972-73. One memorable event was our group stopping commuter traffic on Madison Avenue to demonstrate against Nixon's failure to push for the regulations of the Rehabilitation Act.
Sitting in my wheelchair with the bumper of a bus just a foot away from my handrim was scary to say the least. Nixon's re-election campaign headquarters was near our corner and after a while the police hustled us out of the road and we went to the campaign office. The many wheelchairs blocked access in and out of the office and we managed to stay a couple of hours until a representative in Washington, DC agreed to discuss our issues with our group's leader (a quad who is now a high level disability rights administrator).
It was empowering for me to recognize the need to speak out about disability issues, not just in the streets but in my daily life and community. In spite of ADA it's still necessary to do so.
Sitting in my wheelchair with the bumper of a bus just a foot away from my handrim was scary to say the least. Nixon's re-election campaign headquarters was near our corner and after a while the police hustled us out of the road and we went to the campaign office. The many wheelchairs blocked access in and out of the office and we managed to stay a couple of hours until a representative in Washington, DC agreed to discuss our issues with our group's leader (a quad who is now a high level disability rights administrator).
It was empowering for me to recognize the need to speak out about disability issues, not just in the streets but in my daily life and community. In spite of ADA it's still necessary to do so.
Happy Birthday ADA
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