The ADA Twenty Years Later: Part Two . . . On Civil Rights And a Civilized Society

The 20th anniversary of the ADA is an opportunity for us as individuals, as a local community and as a nation not only to celebrate but also to assess our progress in truly implementing the letter and the spirit of this important civil rights legislation. So, to paraphrase former New York mayor, Ed Koch, “How are we doing?” As with any major civil rights movement, progress can be slow and uneven.
In my lifetime, I have witnessed the unfolding of another civil rights struggle, most dramatically coming to the general public’s attention in the 1960s. Although certainly rooted in the actions and hearts of many long before that decade, to my generation the struggle for racial equality seemed to gather momentum from the Brown vs. the Board of Education decision of 1954, the courageous actions of Rosa Parks in 1955, and the impassioned “I Have A Dream” speech of Martin Luther King in 1963.
The subsequent history of this quest for racial equality is similar in many ways to that of the struggle for disability rights and equality. Legislation is introduced, debated, passed, challenged in the courts, and sometimes revised and/or enhanced (as in the ADA Restoration Act of 2008). Based on a survey of disabilities legislation in the U.S. just since the 1970s, one would think that we have indeed come a long way in this struggle.
But as we know from the civil rights movement of the 60s, legislation without enforcement and without an attitude of commitment to change is a hollow victory. In 1987, Justin Dart, U.S. Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, was forced to resign after he testified to Congress that “an inflexible federal system, like the society it represents, still contains a significant portion of individuals who have not yet overcome obsolete, paternalistic attitudes toward disability….”
We have come a long way in the letter of the law — civil rights legislation for individuals with disabilities — since 1987. But, even as we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the original Americans with Disabilities Act, real progress toward a more inclusive and civilized society will only come when a broader segment of our citizens — like the civil rights marchers of the 1960s — takes this cause to heart.
There is much discussion of the need for more civility in our society today. What better place to start than in our treatment and attitude toward the most vulnerable of our citizens. Civil rights legislation is one means toward that end but real progress requires more. Will we look back with pride in 20 years because as individuals, as a local community, and as a nation we have finally put energy and heart behind our disability rights legislation?
DID YOU KNOW?
• The Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN) is sponsoring an important event in Cape May for parents of children with special needs. Basic Rights in Special Education is a free workshop to be presented on Tuesday, August 10, 2010 from 6 to 8 pm in the Intermediate Room of the Cape May County Administration Building on Moore Road in Cape May Court House. For more information contact Paulann Pierson at the Cape May County Office of Disability Services (609-465-4117 Ext. 28 or 609-408-2554).
Pierson is the Coordinator of the Cape May County Office of Disability Services