August, 2002
Greetings Californian Readers! My name is Denika Dallimore. I am Systems Change Coordinator for Central Coast Center for Independent Living. I will be taking over the Disability Awareness Column previously authored by Michael Bradshaw. Mr. Bradshaw has taken a new position in our organization, managing our branch office in Capitola. Congratulations Michael! I only hope that I can continue your tradition of writing thought-provoking, educational and humorous columns on disability issues. I think I can handle thought provoking and educational, humorous however, well, we will have to see...
I could not have hoped for a better time to take over the column then the latter part of July, because you see, July 26, 2002 was the twelfth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For those of us in the disability field, the ADA is the most important civil rights statute on the books and it is a body of law that governs our work on a daily basis. Birthdays in our society are a time to celebrate, to take a moment to acknowledge your achievements. They are also a time for reflection, a time to look back at what you have accomplished, and what remains to be done. So, on this the 12th birthday of the ADA, I would like to share with you the basic tenants of this law, what it has accomplished and what is yet to come.
On July 26, 1990, with 3000 disability rights advocates and members of Congress looking on; President George W. Bush Sr. signed the ADA into law. The five titles of the Act prohibit discrimination in employment, state and local programs, public accommodations, telecommunications, transportation, and miscellaneous other services.
While a comprehensive explanation of each of these titles would put me well over my word limit, a tremendous fear among all new columnists, the most important thing to remember is that the ADA is not about disability, it is about discrimination. It allows people with disabilities, as a popular bumper sticker proclaims, " to boldly go where everyone else has gone before."
Thanks to the ADA, people with disabilities have greater mobility, they can patronize shops and restaurants, go to movies and not be confined to the back of the theater, ride a bus that has a lift and visit buildings they can actually get into. However, reflection on this birthday reveals that the ADA has much farther to go and is at best, misunderstood.
An example of this would be the barrage of recent Supreme Court decisions narrowing the scope of this law and turning Congress' original intent inside out. The Court has decided that disability as defined under the ADA is like the eligibility criteria for Social Security or other benefit programs that should be restricted to those for whom the benefit was intended. The premise behind the ADA is that people with disabilities are just people, and so the protection against discrimination that the ADA affords were intended to extend to all.
Another example would be the recent push for an amendment to the ADA that would prohibit individuals from bringing lawsuits against public accommodations for failure to bring their facilities into compliance without an additional 90 days of notice, despite the fact that they have had twelve years to do it. A lack of compliance with the requirements of this law should not be rewarded with additional notice. Businesses who have spent the money to comply voluntarily should not be placed at a disadvantage, by businesses that have more financial resources resulting from their failure to comply. The ADA is like any other civil rights law, and the notion that additional notice should be required is without logic.
So, as you can see, despite the accomplishments of this law, fundamental misunderstandings still surround it. People with disabilities must work together to increase understanding and compliance. So, you ask, how do we do it? Call me and I will tell you...let's not wait for another birthday.
For more information about the ADA or how you can get involved in ADA related advocacy activities, contact me at (831) 757-2968 or via email at ddallimore@cccil.org.