WALK Albuquerque: "Road to Freedom" Bus Tour -- Keeping the Promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Claude Morelli
“Road to Freedom” Bus Tour:
Keeping the Promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Dear WALK Albuquerque Friends and Supporters—
This “Road to Freedom” event should be of interest to all who support the creation of more-livable neighborhoods and places within our region. As I’m sure most of you know, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is of profound importance to creating more accessible and walkable places within our communities. This exciting event will celebrate the Disability Rights Movement and the ADA.
I hope you will find the time to attend and to show your support.
Claude Morelli
Executive Director
WALK Albuquerque
Voice: 505.344.9742
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WHAT: Arrival of “Road to Freedom” Bus -- Rally in Support of the Americans with Disabilities Act
WHEN: Thursday, 8 March 200, 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM
WHERE: Rotunda of the State Capitol in Santa Fe
WHY: Celebrate and engage the public on the Americans for Disabilities Act
SPONSORS: Governor's Commission on Disability (http://www.gcd.state.nm.us/)
New Mexico Department of Aging and Long-Term Services (http://www.nmaging.state.nm.us/)
AARP (http://www.aarp.org/)
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Dee Martinez at the New Mexico Governor's Commission on Disability if you have any questions.
Phone/TTY: (505) 476-0412. Toll Free (in state only): 1-877-696-1470. Email: g...@state.nm.us.
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ABOUT THE ROAD TO FREEDOM BUS TOUR:
Keeping the Promise of the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA)
“The Road To Freedom” Bus Tour is a national awareness campaign inspired by the historic journey of Justin and Yoshiko Dart to mobilize support for passage of the ADA. The cross-country bus journey began in Washington, DC and aims to engage audiences across the United States in the story of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the history of the disability rights movement. The goal of the bus tour is to mobilize Americans to keep the promise of the ADA – freedom, inclusion, and opportunity for children and adults with physical, mental, cognitive and developmental disabilities.
Throughout the year-long journey, national and state disability leaders will be joined by young people with disabilities to restore and strengthen the ADA.
“The Road To Freedom” Bus Tour will stop at more than 80 locations nationwide, from disability conferences to sporting events to malls and parades. In New Mexico, the bus tour has stops scheduled in Santa Fe (March 8th) and on the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona.
The bus will be parked outside The Roundhouse (Eastside) on Thursday, March 8, 2007. There will be a day-long exhibit inside The Roundhouse from 8a.m.-3 p.m. An outside press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. on the 8th in front of the tour bus.
A major part of the bus tour is Tom Olin’s stunning photographs of the struggle for disability rights. Olin’s work has been featured at the Smithsonian Institute. And, he has been a major photographic contractor for the State in its efforts to implement Mi Via, the new Medicaid self-directed home and community based waiver. This exhibit also includes a narrative of the history of the disability rights movement and the ADA.
The Road to the ADA
The history of the ADA did not begin on July 26, 1990 at the signing ceremony at the White House. It did not begin in 1988 when the first ADA was introduced in Congress. The ADA story began a long time ago in cities and towns throughout the United States when people with disabilities began to challenge societal barriers that excluded them from their communities, and when parents of children with disabilities began to fight against the exclusion and segregation of their children.
Like the African-Americans who sat in at segregated lunch counters and refused to move to the back of the bus, people with disabilities sat in federal buildings, obstructed the movement of inaccessible buses, and marched through the streets to protest injustice. And like the civil rights movements before it, the disability rights movement sought justice in the courts and in the halls of Congress.
Spurred by a draft bill prepared by the National Council on Disability, Senator Lowell Weicker and Representative Tony Coelho introduced the first version of the ADA in April 1988. A Senate hearing was held in September of 1988 and the room overflowed with hundreds of persons with disabilities, parents and advocates. After the hearing, Senators Ted Kennedy and Tom Harkin and Representative Major Owens committed that a comprehensive disability civil rights bill would be a top priority for the next Congress.
On May 9, 1989, the new ADA was introduced in the 101st Congress. From that moment, the disability community mobilized, organizing a multi-layered strategy for passage. Congress received boxes loaded with thousands of letters and pieces of testimony from people whose lives had been damaged or destroyed by discrimination. People with disabilities came from around the country to advocate for the Bill, explaining why each provision was necessary to address a very real barrier or form of discrimination. Individuals came in at their own expense, slept on floors by night and visited Congressional offices by day.
On July 12, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives on a vote of 377-28. The next day, it passed the Senate on a vote of 91-6. Shortly thereafter, on July 26, 1990, the Act was signed by then President George Bush, flanked by Justin Dart and Even Kemp, on the South Lawn of the White House in front of over 3,000 disability advocates, the largest bill-signing ceremony that had ever taken place at the White House; including numerous disability-rights advocates from New Mexico. (Excerpted from Arlene Mayerson’s – “A History of the ADA”)
“Passage of the ADA sent an unmistakable message: It is unacceptable to discriminate against someone simply because they have a disability. Moreover, it is illegal – in employment, in transportation, in public accommodations, and in telecommunications. However, these years have not been without challenge. Too often, the intent of the ADA has been misconstrued by our courts, which have given it a narrow construction that its authors never intended.” — Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Lead House Sponsor of the ADA.
Promise: Broad Protections for Americans with All Types of Disabilities
§ Courts have narrowly interpreted the ADA. People with diabetes, heart conditions, cancer and mental illnesses have had their ADA claims kicked out of court because, with improvements in medication, they are considered “too functional.”
Promise: To End Segregation of People with Disabilities
§ The institutional bias in America’s healthcare funding system still forces children and adults with disabilities out of their homes and into isolated institutions.
Promise: Equal Access to Employment
§ In 2005, only 35 percent of working age people with disabilities were employed compared to 78 percent of people without disabilities.
Promise: Equal Access to Economic Opportunity
§ People with disabilities are two–and-a-half times more likely to live in poverty. In 2005, median household income for people with disabilities was $35,000 compared to $61,500 for people without disabilities.
Promise: Freedom from Discrimination in the Workplace
§ More than 98% of ADA employment-related cases are dismissed – without regard to the alleged discrimination – because judges rule that people with epilepsy, diabetes, mental illness or other disabilities are not “truly” disabled.