Upon the completion of the 25 years of the ADA, The New York Times has been publishing series of articles since yesterday. Visit this link to read the debates: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/07/26/the-americans-with-disabilities-act-25-years-later?gwh=EE336121DCD708188C7A9BAE1762C536&gwt=pay&assetType=opinion
Rosemarie Garland-Thomson is a professor of English and bioethics at Emory University and co-director of the Emory Disability Studies Initiative. What the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 accomplished was in full view on July 20, at the White House. President Obama had gathered 500 leaders and advocates of disability rights to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the passage of that momentous civil rights law that promised equality to people with disabilities – the largest minority group in America. All of us will be disabled at some point, either by injury, age or illness. Disability is not a problem to fix, but a part of the human experience. It was the biggest crowd of disabled people outside of a rehabilitation center or a protest I've seen in my 20 years as a professor in disability studies and a leader in disability education. Disabilities proliferated: people signing, service animals, white canes, all shapes and sizes, and of course, plenty of wheelchairs. This combination – even contradiction – between what we think of as important people at the White House and groups of people with disabilities was striking. This could never have occurred 25 years ago. As disabled people, we are everywhere now, included in the fabric of social life and public engagement made possible by the A.D.A. However, many of us remain hidden, and barriers – despite the proliferation of ramps – remain. The first generation under the A.D.A. was literally about getting in the door; now we must seek fuller inclusion. To fulfill the full promise of the A.D.A., disabled people must make ourselves as visible and out in everyday life as we were in the White House. We must teach more about disability culture, justice and equality to educate our future advocates and leaders. With the inclusion of so many people with disabilities in places we've been excluded from before the A.D.A., we must now work together to make disability inclusion seen as a resource gain, not a resource drain. Providing the accommodations mandated by the A.D.A. can be difficult, expensive and challenging at times for the non-disabled to understand. Keep in mind, though, that all of us will be disabled at some point, either by injury, age or illness. Disability is not a problem to fix, but a part of the human experience. These accommodations that allow proud disabled people to flourish, and fully participate in the privileges and obligations of citizenship, benefit us all. Join Op -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
