#ada26

[andreashettle]

The Honorable Steve King Chair, House Judiciary Subcommittee Constitution and Civil Justice 2210 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Steve Cohen Ranking Member, House Judiciary Subcommittee Constitution and Civil Justice 2404 Rayburn House Office Building Washington,...

U.S. Congress is trying to pass a law that would significantly weaken civil rights protections for Americans with disabilities. Please sign the petition at the link to stop it! The proposed "Opposition to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Education and Reform Act" (H.R. 620) introduces new rules that would make it much harder for people with disabilities to protect themselves against violations of their civil rights under the ADA. Even in cases where a person with disabilities might eventually succeed in enforcing their rights, H.R. 620 would make them have to wait much longer before achieving that success, meaning their rights to an accessible environment would continue to be violated during that time. Please follow the link to read more details about why H.R. 620 would be harmful, then sign the petition there, thanks.

[obamawhitehouse]

“Our country does best when everyone gets their fair shot” —President Obama on National Disability Employment Awareness Month. In 2010, the President challenged the federal government to hire 100,000 people with disabilities within 5 years. By 2015, we reached that goal, hiring over 109,000 people with disabilities—and leading to the highest percentage of people with disabilities in federal service in the last 35 years.

[awn-network]

#GetWokeADA26: Disabled People of Color Speak Out, Part Two

This is the second of a 2-part report looking at the lives and stories of disabled people of color by Vilissa Thompson and Alice Wong for Ramp Your Voice! and the Disability Visibility Project. Par…

[awn-network]

#GetWokeADA26: Disabled People of Color Speak Out, Part 1 - Ramp Your Voice!

#GetWokeADA26: Disabled People of Color Speak Out, Part One by Vilissa Thompson and Alice Wong Introduction On July 5th, we published the #GetWokeADA26 Call for Stories, asking for disabled people to share how the Americans with Disabilities Act has impacted their life experiences, gaps in the mandate that fail to support the unique challenges of …

[obamawhitehouse]

👋 As the People’s House, the White House belongs to every American. To mark the 26th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we asked West Wing Receptionist Leah Katz-Hernandez for a special tour of the West Wing in American Sign Language. Come along!

(Video description: West Wing Receptionist Leah Katz-Hernandez narrates a tour of the West Wing in American Sign Language, visiting the West Wing Lobby, the West Colonnade, the Rose Garden, the White House Press Briefing Room, the Cabinet Room, the Roosevelt Room, and the Oval Office. Watch here for a full audio description!)

[annieelainey]

[Description: outdoors in the sunshine, two women in wheelchairs on a patio with party hats, blowing on celebratory kazoos. Text in the foreground, "Happy B'day ADA!"]

This week was the 26th anniversary of the American's with Disabilities Act.

In 1990 ADA was signed into law, laying the foundation for equal access and opportunity that had been systematically and institutionally denied to people with disabilities since the founding of our union. The president declared, "Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down"

It's ONLY been 26 years, as long as I have been alive (easy way to remember, ADA and I have the same birth year), since this country enforced accessible transportation like buses and airplanes, public restrooms, businesses like restaurants and stores, places like schools and swimming pools, since the demand to create new city plans to add accessible parking spaces and curb cuts and ramps, since the first legal act to attempt to integrate the disability community and allow them equal access and participation to the things many non-disabled folks might take for granted.

But even so, to this day, MANY structures and cities, whether they made plans at the time or not, are still inaccessible.

I love Jody's commentary on how "disability doesn't discriminate" and change is hard, but the disability community has some pretty good people (like her and her guest Ligia, like myself ') and you don't have to wait to become disabled to care about disabled lives and disability justice. This is about equality for ALL people.

Remember this day, remember we still have far to go.

Please check out fellow disabled YouTuber Jody's video/channel, I met her at VidCon this year and she was so lovely and has such cool things to say :)

[obamawhitehouse]

All week, we’ve celebrated 26 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act working to make the country more accessible to everyone—and today White House staffers with disabilities are taking over the White House Instagram to tell their stories. Check the stories out here, and follow the White House on Instagram.

Pictured here: My name's James Dennehy, and I'm a college student from Virginia studying at Christopher Newport University to pursue a career in public policy. Being a person with a disability, it's been an honor to serve as the intern for the White House liaison to the disability community. That's because the work we do here at the White House to advance President Obama and his Administration’s work for Americans with disabilities has a direct impact on my life. This Administration is working to help the United States to truly be a nation of opportunity for all. #ADA26

(Image description: Three photos show James standing on the steps outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C.; sitting in the Office of Public Engagement using his feet to file papers; and writing with his feet on a folder marked "LGBT + Disability" to file papers about his work with this community.)

[iamthethunder]

ADA's 26th anniversary was overshadowed by a reminder of how much hatred the disability community still faces.

Disability is met with ignorance, mostly, low expectations, and failure to make even inexpensive modifications and accommodations that just plain make sense, but hate is out there, too. Even in stable, wealthy, democratic societies, there are those who wish we would just “disappear.” Every so often, one of those people feels the need to issue us a reminder. That hatred, and the indifference that allows it to fester and sometimes explode, are American problems, too. If you’re not convinced, read the comments on any English-language news source with a primarily U.S. audience that covered the massacre. See the serious bigots and trolls. See, almost worse, the armchair philosophers discussing the value of certain kinds of people and whether it was really so wrong.