by Penny Reeder
July 26, 2000, marked the 10th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). During the month of July, in particular, anniversary celebrations seemed to be taking place every day, everywhere, and at all hours of the day and night!! Advocates, legislators, policy-makers, businesspersons, people with disabilities, and just regular Joes all had something to say about the culmination of the first post-ADA decade.
Never being the kind of people to turn down an opportunity to celebrate, or to advocate, ACB was there — at nearly every ADA celebratory event, including:
• Briefings presented by people with disabilities to Capitol Hill staffpersons and legislators, detailing positive changes the act has made in attitudes and opportunities for many;
• Displays of cutting-edge technology which holds out promises of inclusion and opportunity for people who must find ways around the restrictions imposed by their disabilities;
• Conversations with the vice president about what people with disabilities expect the executive branch of government to do to fully implement the ADA, execute its mandates, and lead by example;
• Speeches by the President, the First Lady, Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Hatch (R-Utah), whose leadership guided the act through the political shoals of the legislative process, former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh and others in the Bush administration, and Liz Savage from the Department of Justice, and others in the Clinton administration, all of whom have developed and implemented the policies and procedures that attempt to make the guarantees of the law a reality;
• Oversight hearings by the Access Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the National Organization on Disability, where progress was marked, deficiencies were noted, and promises were made;
• The historic Federal Communications Commission hearing during which commissioners approved a number of telecommunications-related mandates — including, most significantly for ACB, the requirement for major television networks to broadcast video descriptions of 50 hours per quarter of prime-time programming, accessible through the Secondary Audio Programming channel, beginning in 2002;
• Local celebrations as the ADA torch was carried from one city to another by people with disabilities, including many people who are blind;
• A glittering gala, sponsored by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), and others.
There were speeches and stories, songs and ceremonies. Emotions ran high, as many realized how far we have come, and, at the same time, recognized the necessity to rededicate ourselves to stronger advocacy, heightened commitment, and the hard work that continues to need to be done if the civil rights guarantees of the Americans with Disabilities Act are to be realized in meaningful ways by every American with a disability.
Capturing the sentiments of every event were the words of Justin Dart, who is the patron saint of the disability rights movement. Dart spoke movingly at the first ADA briefing ACB staffpersons attended, at the Hart Senate Office Building, on July 20. At every subsequent 10th anniversary event, his words were read, and celebrated.
I include them here because they are the subtext of every ADA celebratory event, because they express so well my own personal sentiments, and because they are a fitting tribute to the millions of Americans who struggle every day to achieve the self-actualization promised by the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is a time for celebration — because, no matter how far we still have to go, the Americans with Disabilities Act is, in fact, a real law, with real teeth, and real promise. This is a time to be wary — as the Supreme Court takes up yet another challenge to the civil rights law. And this is a time for re-dedication to the principles of equality and justice for all.
“Colleagues in justice, I love you.
“Happy Independence Day! Congratulations!
“Thanks to you, we celebrate the passage of the world’s first civil rights law for people with disabilities.
“Thanks to your passionate advocacy every day for 10 years, we can proudly say that, compared to civil rights laws of the past, ADA has been successful.
“To the critics who complain that ADA has not achieved total justice in 10 years, I say what about the Bill of Rights and the Ten Commandments? Have they achieved total justice? Is there something wrong with them?
“I join you in celebrating ADA. But as we celebrate we are mindful that we have taken only the first steps in a long journey to justice. As we celebrate, ADA is under attack. Democracy is under attack.
“The world is watching America. The world is watching ADA. The world will follow what we do. Failure is unthinkable.
“The coming elections will decide our fate for decades. Get into politics as if your lives depended on it. They do. And the lives of hundreds of millions in future generations.
“Let us reconsecrate ourselves to the revolutions of 1776, 1964 and 1990.
“Let us rise above politics as usual. Let us join together, Republicans, Democrats, Americans. Let us embrace each other in reverence for individual human life. Let us unite in action to keep the sacred pledge — liberty and justice for all.
“Let us unite to fight as we have never fought before.
“Colleagues, I’m the luckiest man in the world because I’m in the best movement in the world with the best people in the world, you. The beauty of working with you keeps me alive.
“I love you so much. I am with you always.
“Solidarity! Together, we shall overcome.”
— Justin Dart, July 26, 2000