January 23 in California is Ed Roberts Day. It is a day set aside for the disability community, and all people, to learn more about and celebrate the life and legacy of Ed Roberts, an instrumental figure in the disability rights movement. Explore how he championed for equal rights and accessibility, leaving a profound impact that resonates to this day.
Read MoreIn April 2012, Atlanta, Georgia, became a pivotal meeting ground for The ADA Legacy Project, an initiative dedicated to preserving and promoting the history, legacy, and achievements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This blog post explores the significance of this gathering and its contributions to the ongoing fight for disability rights.
Read MorePart of my goal for this blog is to become a resource of information for news and events happening within the disability community. I want to help spread the word but also include my perspectives. An opportunity to do so came across my desk when I read through my recent New Mobility Magazine issue.
Read MoreLearn about the pivotal disability rights Supreme Court Case of Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W. Understand the legal, social, and practical outcomes of this landmark decision that said that separate is not equal when it comes to where disabled people live. SCOTUS affirmed that disabled people should have the right to live in the community of their choosing.
Read MoreWhen I first learned about the 504 Sit-in protest in 1977, it enriched and deepened my pride in being a disabled person. It made me even more honored to be a part of the disability community. It educated me on the struggle for securing our civil rights and ignited a passion to continue to fight for disability justice and equality.
Read MoreIt's ironic when you think about it. An international human rights treaty that is said to have been inspired by the Americans with Disabilities Act exists without ratification by the United States itself. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocols were adopted at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on December 13, 2006, and opened for signature on March 30, 2007.
Read MoreFour years before the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, a report called Toward Independence was issued by the National Council on Disability (NCD), based in Washington D.C. The Council comprises roughly a dozen council members and is led and supported by an executive director, legislative and administrative support staff.
Read MoreIt's hard to underscore the importance of the personal testimonies of the Discrimination Diaries that lead to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Just hearing statistics and third-person references about being disabled isn't the same thing as hearing what living with a disability is like, directly from someone living it.
Read MoreOn the 28th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it seems appropriate to look back to some of the critical disability rights cases that the Supreme Court has ruled on since the ADA became law. If anyone tries to say that the rights for access and equality for disabled people over the last 50-60 years are permanent, immune to legal challenges or regulatory rollbacks, don't believe them because it is just not true.
Read MoreThanks to legislation passed in California mandating that students learn about disability history in school, future generations will know who Ed Roberts was and the significant contribution he made to the disability rights movement. Of course, we in the disability community are very familiar with Roberts and how he made history.
Read MoreThe Americans with Disabilities Act is turning 25, and it's time to celebrate! A quarter-century of civil rights legislation has allowed people with disabilities all over the country the opportunity to go to school, build careers, start families, and travel the world. Young people in the disability community today, benefiting from the hard-fought victories of the generation before them, are armored with a sense of pride and self-confidence that says,
Read More
