By William G. Stothers
We all had a great time. With marching, music and munchies, people with disabilities in my town celebrated the seventh anniversary of the signing of the ADA.
We were not alone. All over the country, people with disabilities, their families, friends and supporters marked this great occasion. Mark Smith of Justice For All told me of nearly 50 events he had tracked, and I'm sure there were others.
The events varied. Folks in Birmingham, Alabama held an ADA celebration and training, while people in Little Rock, Arkansas held a picnic in a park. In Georgia, an ADA memorial race and rally was planned in Gainsville, and in Chicago, the Mayor's Committee on Disability put on an ADA awareness celebration and expo for a huge throng on Navy Pier.
In Topeka, Kansas they held a parade, in Paducah, Kentucky an ADA training workshop. And in St. Louis, where they put on one of the premier ADA events, Rep. Dick Gephardt (who looks like he's running for president in 2000) and Justin Dart addressed the crowd.
The people in Jackson, Mississippi, celebrated with a birthday party and ADA forum. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina they threw an ADA breakfast celebration; in Greensboro, they put on an ADA awareness fair.
Up in New Hampshire, some 200 people marked ADA with a day at the beach, and in New York City, 500 or so folks turned out for an afternoon extravaganza of speeches and music and fun.
In Austin, Texas, home for a tough ADAPT crowd, people celebrated with an ADA barbecue for 150.
People with disabilities had a great time celebrating the law that spells out our civil right to participate fully and equally in the affairs of this country. We have many accomplishments to be proud of.
The ADA is the law of the land. We've got the Rehabilitation Act, the Air Carriers Access Act, and not long ago, President Clinton signed the reauthorization of IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).
More and more people with disabilities entering the mainstream. We are out there visibly, shopping, going to school, the movies, and working.
Yes, much to celebrate. But much yet to advocate for. We all know that we are not living in Nirvana. Our unemployment rate is still off the scale. Since the ADA (with its prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability), employment of people with disabilities has increased a paltry 3 to 4 percent, to about 29 percent. That leaves about 70 percent of us jobless. And the government itself throws up barriers against us, with disincentives that effectively punish any initiative to get off benefits.
Too many places and facilities are still not accessible.
Negative attitudes persist. Just after our ADA party here, I was shopping for shoes at a Nordstrom's sale. It was busy, but some sales clerks were free. They ignored me. I went to check on my wife, who also was looking for shoes. She felt ignored also. I summoned a sales clerk to help her and returned to the men's department. Once again, I was ignored.
I itched. I scratched.
First, I asked a cashier clerk if the sale was successful. Yes, she replied. I thought so, I said, because no one seemed to want my business. I subsequently spoke to the person in charge of the shoe department at the time and to the assistant store manager on duty. I told them, as a long-time customer, how offended I was. They apologized and offered to help me make a purchase. I refused and told them they would not sell me anything that day, and maybe not for a long time. I am not accustomed to such treatment at Nordstrom's. It cost them.
The other day here, the police busted 18 vehicles at the football stadium for illegal use of disabled parking placards. The culprits face a $500 fine and loss of the placard, which they were not entitled to have or use. They thought they were clever and that it was okay to take parking places from people who really need them.
It can happen anywhere, of course. And it too often does for many of us.
Seven years have passed since the ADA was signed. The U.S. Justice Department and, even more significant, many individuals around the nation are pushing access through lobbying, cajoling, sweet talk and lawsuits.
Whatever it takes to gain and secure access, to help implement and enforce the ADA, we must do. Whenever we itch, we must scratch. And celebrate.
William G. Stothers is editor of MAINSTREAM.
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