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Disability Rights Movement

ReplyDisability and Elderly CareNovember 17th, 2009Cheryl Weisz

wheelchair

So can you spot what’s wrong with this picture? If not, let me give you a hint. It has something to do with the name that you see on the building. If you still do not get it, this article might give you an idea.

How many times have you been to a building with no ramp/s for those on wheelchair? Or go to a parking facility with no parking slots dedicated for the handicapped? Or ride an elevator with no brails on the floor buttons? Hopefully, not too many.

For some of us, these things I mentioned are considered useless and, worse, a waste of precious resources, be it money, work and space. Not everyone realizes though that there is a reason why we have these now, and that people before us fought hard for us to have these “useless” things.

For centuries, people with disabilities have had to battle against biases, stereotypes, and fears. Since the mid 1900s, these people have been fighting for recognition and fair treatment. The stigmatization of disability resulted in the social and economic marginalization of generations of men and women with disabilities, and like many other oppressed minorities, left them in a severe state of impoverishment for centuries. This continued up to the two World Wars. During the 1930s, the United States saw the introduction of many new advancements in technology as well as in government assistance, contributing to the self-reliance and self-sufficiency of people with disabilities. A great advocate for this was the late great US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had a disability himself. In August 1921, before he became president, while the Roosevelts were vacationing at Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Roosevelt contracted an illness believed by his physicians to be polio, which resulted in his total and permanent paralysis from the waist down. This did not stop Roosevelt from dreaming and achieving greater things, making him one of the most popular US presidents in history. In fact, on October 20, 1995, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and the World Committee on Disability established the Franklin D. Roosevelt International Disability Award to recognize and encourage progress by nations in improving the lives of their disabled citizens. This award is still being given up to now by the United Nations.

In the 1940s and 1950s, disabled World War II veterans placed increasing pressure on government to provide them with rehabilitation and vocational training. World War II veterans made disability issues more visible to a country of thankful citizens who were concerned for the long-term welfare of young men who sacrificed their lives to secure the safety of the United States. Despite these initial advancements made towards independence and self-reliance, people with disabilities still did not have access to public transportation, telephones, bathrooms and stores. Office buildings and work sites with stairs offered no entry for people with disabilities who sought employment, and employer attitudes created even worse barriers. Otherwise talented and eligible people with disabilities were locked out of opportunities for meaningful work. This began to change by the 1960s. By then, the civil rights movement began to take shape, and disability advocates saw the opportunity to join forces alongside other minority groups to demand equal treatment, equal access and equal opportunity for people with disabilities. The advocacy continued until in 1973, the Rehabilitation Act was passed, and for the first time in history, civil rights of people with disabilities were protected by law.

Yet all these advancements were not enough.

In the 1980s, disability activists began to lobby for a consolidation of various pieces of legislation under one broad civil rights statute that would protect the rights of people with disabilities, much like what the 1964 Civil Rights Act had achieved for Black Americans. After decades of campaigning and lobbying, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, and ensured the equal treatment and equal access of people with disabilities to employment opportunities and to public accommodations. The ADA intended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in: employment, services rendered by state and local governments, places of public accommodation, transportation, and telecommunications services.

The rest, as they say, is history. And knowing this made me grateful to those who fought for disability rights in the past, and for those who are still fighting for it now. Make no mistake, the struggle continues and it is upon ourselves, the current generation, to make sure that all what the others before us fought for will not go to waste.

Still do not know what’s wrong with the picture? I’m sorry. I gave you all the clues already.

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This entry was posted on Nov 17th, 2009 at 10:32 AM and is filed under Disability and Elderly Care.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can Leave a response, or Trackback.

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