News & Advocacy in Disability Rights

A Lifetime's Work

By Cyndi Jones, Publisher

Ron Mace, the father of universal design, was a speaker and central figure at "Designing for the 21st Century: an International Conference on Universal Design" June 16-21, attended by 436 people, 175 of them from 20 different countries. A week later, on June 29th Ron died of a heart arrhythmia in his home in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was 58.

Ron launched his magnificent career in accessible architecture 28 years ago with his consulting firm Barrier Free Environments, Inc. Now, 28 years later, his work is beginning to have a worldwide effect.

Ron helped to develop the country's first accessible building code, adopted by North Carolina in 1973. This code became the model for the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. He created the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State as a national resource and focus for universal design concepts and philosophy. MAINSTREAM did a cover story in August 1994 highlighting Ron's work.

When I spoke with Valerie Fletcher, Executive Director of Adaptive Environments and primary convenor of the conference, she said that "Ron was clearly celebrated at the conference. Around the world, the only thing some people know of universal design is Ron Mace's name. He was roundly applauded and appreciated for his lifetime's work on universal design. Everyone should have such a wonderful experience before they go."

A lifetime's work. There are many in our community whose "lifetime's work" is for the good of our community. But do we take time to celebrate and acknowledge them?

Disability Rights is usually a thankless job. Many who do this work chip away at the barriers, obstacles, legislation, and attitudes every day. Most of the work goes unseen, unnoticed until one day we stop, look back and say, "WOW! How did we get this far?"

Sure, everyone can cite the work of Justin Dart, Ed Roberts or Judy Heumann. There is a top echelon that everyone knows. But much of the work goes on at a much lower level þ people chipping away at it every day, person by person, task by task.

In an interview a few years ago, Doug Martin, assistant to the Chancellor of UCLA and a respected analyst of social security issues affecting persons with disabilities, said after reflecting on his work to change the social security system: "If I had known how long this would take, I never would have started."

This is how most of our work is. It is often a blessing that we can't see the future. Many of us would never make that first phone call, appointment or written that first letter þ if we could see, as Doug Martin found out, that it would take 12 years before he could begin to see the fruit of his labor.

I hope you, like Ron, live long enough to see your work bear fruit and to be acknowledged for your contributions.

Cyndi Jones is Publisher of MAINSTREAM.

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