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- ADAPT (496)
Tues., September 26, 1989 [Headline] Disabled Try to Block Access To Elevators [Subheading] Protesters Continue Russell Building Sit-In By Alma E. Hill and Pat Burson, Staff Writers [This is the full text of the story that appears on ADAPT 496, 509 and 488.] Protesters in wheelchairs moved to block elevators in the Richard B. Russell Federal Building today in their second straight day inside the building, as federal officials increased security. Ed Driver, chief of law enforcement for the General Services Administration, said six security guards were brought in “so that we can maintain access to and from the building." “We're not going to do anything, we just want to be able to maintain an element of safety in the building," Mr. Driver said. At 11:50 a.m., leaders of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT) gave the signal and protesters began to chant and roll their wheelchairs in front of the doors on the plaza level of the federal building to restrict access to and from the building, as they had done Monday. Moments later, in an apparent shift in tactics, the group moved toward elevators to cut off access to upper floors in the high-rise. Protesters said they will continue to demonstrate until President George Bush or Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner complies with their demands to issue a federal mandate requiring new buses purchased with federal dollars to be equipped with wheelchair lifts. Judges who work in the federal building avoided problems getting out of the building by leaving before the noon takeover. And the doors to the Peachtree Federal Employees Credit Union, located in the southwest corner of the building, closed as soon as protesters began to shout. Visitors are being directed out of the basement and second floor exits. The Rev. Wade Blank, of Denver, said officials from the Urban Mass Transit Administration came over to the building to meet with pro- Disabled Group Stages Protest For Wheelchair Lifts on Buses from page A1 [starts on 496, continues here 509, ends on 488. Overlap with 509 and 488] ...test organizers. However, the meeting never took place. “They got on the elevator and didn't tell us what floor they were going to. so we said, ‘The hell with it."' the Rev. Blank said. The protesters began their demonstration Monday to coincide with an appearance by Mr. Skinner at the American Public Transit Association (APTA) convention at a downtown hotel. After occupying the plaza floor of the federal building for eight hours Monday, more than 100 disabled activists were evicted at the close of the business day, only to be allowed back inside after President Bush personally intervened. “We're here until the order gets signed." Michael W. Auberger, of Denver, one of the co-founders and organizers of ADAPT, said Monday. Mr. Auberger and other demonstrators from throughout the country lined their wheelchairs two and three deep near the doorways to the federal building. located at the corner of Spring Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, trying to stop anyone from leaving or entering. Mr. Auberger, who has been disabled since he suffered a spinal cord injury 17 years ago, and others blocked revolving doors by attaching chains and iron bicycle locks around their necks and locking them to door handles, a tactic used to prevent security from simply lifting protesters out of their wheelchairs to clear the doorways. At one point Monday afternoon Mr. Auberger, 35, said, “They'll have to carry everybody out or arrest them." At 6 p.m. Atlanta police and officers from the General Services Administration, who provide security for the building, ordered the protesters to leave and began carrying them outside. The guards used large bolt cutters to sever the chains holding some demonstrators to the doors. At about 8 p.m., as guards were removing the last of the demonstrators, Gary C. Cason, regional administrator of the General Services Administration, told police and maintenance workers to allow the protesters back into the building. “The decision is to let them stay in the building because of the president's deep commitment to the handicapped and their right to protest." Mr. Cason said. Mr. Cason said Mr. Bush also said he was concerned about the protesters sitting outside in the chilly overnight temperatures and rainy mist. Maintenance crews appeared a half-hour later with blankets. Mr. Cason said the protesters would be restricted to the lobby floor and would have access to the restrooms. Protest organizers credit White House counsel C. Boyden Gray for Mr. Bush's action. Mr. Auberger said they contacted Mr. Gray, who took their case to Mr. Bush. The president then called the head of the GSA, Richard G. Austin in Washington, telling him to allow the demonstrators back inside. The protest forced most visitors to the building Monday to use a basement entrance adjacent to an underground parking lot. Mr. Auberger said the group planned to stay in the building overnight and would block the entrances again at noon if the Transportation Department does not order changes in transit-access rules. “At noon the administration has to decide whether or not they are going to arrest us, or we’re closing the building down again,” he said shortly before 11 p.m., as the protesters ate Chinese food they had ordered and made themselves comfortable in the hallway on the Spring Street side of the building. The demonstration was the second in as many days held by ADAPT, a nationwide organization. The event was held in Atlanta to coincide with the annual conference of the American Public Transit Association (APTA), meeting this week in Atlanta, and to attract the attention of U.S. Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner, who spoke to APTA Monday morning. APTA opposes legislation pending in Congress — that ADAPT supports — called the Americans With Disabilities Act. The proposal would remove barriers in public transportation by requiring public transit authorities to have wheelchair lifts on any new buses purchased 30 days after the measure was enacted. APTA officials say they oppose that portion of the measure because it would cut into limited federal funds. While Mr. Skinner has said he supports the bill, ADAPT wants him to issue an executive order so the stipulation can take effect immediately — prior to congressional action. Protesters demanded to talk with Mr. Skinner while he was in Atlanta, but Mr. Skinner departed for St. Croix without meeting with them. Robert Marx, a spokesman for Mr. Skinner, said the secretary does not have the authority to issue such an order, only the president. Spokesmen for ADAPT believe Mr. Skinner is not championing their cause because of a lawsuit the group won against the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) two years ago, when Mr. Skinner was chairman of the city's Regional Transportation Authority. The court ruling required the CTA to purchase wheelchair lifts when ordering new buses. Photo: Looking down the long narrow glass walled lobby. In the foreground a man is lying bundled in a blanket on the floor. Beside him his motorized wheelchair sits empty. A little further back in the lobby several people sit in their wheelchairs and scooters by a cardboard box and some bags and papers. photo by ANDY SHARP caption: Woody Osburn of Tulsa, sleeping, and others, seen early today in the Russell Building. - ADAPT (497)
This is a continuation of the story on ADAPT 498. The full text appears on 498. - ADAPT (498)
The Atlanta Constitution For 121 Years the South's Standard Newspaper TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1989 SPORTS FINAL Photo: A tall man holding a toddler in one arm stepping over and between two motorized wheelchairs blocking the passage. One woman [Christine Coughlin] in a red jacket and headband faces the camera, while the other wheelchair user, in a blue jacket and hood, faces away. Photo by DIANNE LAAKSO/Staff Caption: A man steps over protesters in wheelchairs blocking the doors of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building on Monday. Bush Order Lets Disabled Resume Courthouse Sit-In Protesters Demanding Access To U.S.-Funded Transit Systems By Pat Burson and Alma E. Hill, Staff Writers After occupying the plaza floor of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building for eight hours Monday, more than 100 disabled activists were evicted at the close of the business day. only to be allowed back inside alter President Bush personally intervened. Boxed quote on the side: "The decision is to let them stay in the building because of the president's deep commitment to the handicapped and their right to protest" -- Gary Cason, GSA Main story: The protesters, who formed a human blockade near the main entrances to the 26-story tower about 10 a.m. Monday, vowed to remain until federal regulators require wheelchair lifts on all buses purchased with federal dollars. “We're here until the order gets signed," said Michael W Auberger of Denver, one of the co-founders and organizers for American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT). Mr. Auberger and other demonstrators from throughout the country lined their wheelchairs two and three deep near the doorways to the federal building, located at the corner of Spring Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, trying to stop anyone from leaving or entering. Mr. Auberger, who has been disabled since he suffered a spinal cord injury 17 years ago, and others blocked revolving doors by attaching chains and iron bicycle locks around their necks and locking them to door handles. a tactic used to prevent security from simply lilting protesters out of their wheelchairs to clear the doorways. At one point Monday afternoon, Mr. Auberger, 35. said, “They‘ll have to carry everybody out or arrest them." At 6 p.m., Atlanta police and officers from the General Services Administration, who provide security for the building, ordered the protesters to leave and began carrying them outside. The guards used large bolt cutters to sever the chains holding some demonstrators to the doors. At about 8 p.m., as guards were removing the last of the demonstrators, Gary C. Cason, regional administrator of the General Services Administration, told police and maintenance workers to allow the protesters back into the building. “The decision is to let them stay in the building because of the president's deep commitment to the handicapped and their right to protest," Mr. Cason said. Mr. Cason said Mr. Bush also said he was concerned about the protesters sitting outside in the chilly overnight temperatures and rainy mist. Maintenance crews appeared a half-hour later with blankets. and cots were promised. Mr. Cason said the protesters would be restricted to the lobby floor and would have access to the restrooms. Protest organizers credit White House counsel C. Boyden Gray for Mr. Bush's action. Mr. Auberger said they contacted Mr. Gray, who took their case to Mr. Bush. The president then called the head of the GSA, Richard G. Austin, in Washington, telling him to allow the demonstrators back inside. Mr. Auberger said the group planned to stay in the building overnight and would block the entrances again at noon if the Transportation Department does not order changes in transit-access rules. “At noon the administration has to decide whether or not they are going to arrest us, or we're closing the building do\vn again," he said shortly before 11 p.m., as the protesters ate Chinese food they had ordered and made themselves comfortable in the hallway on the Spring Street side of the building. The protest forced most visitors to the building Monday to use a basement entrance adjacent to an underground parking lot. The demonstration was the second in as many days held by ADAPT, a nationwide organization. The event was held in Atlanta to coincide with the annual conference of the American Public Transit Association (APTA), meeting this week in Atlanta, and to attract the attention of U.S. Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner, who spoke to APTA Monday morning. APTA opposes legislation pending in Congress — that ADAPT supports — called the Americans With Disabilities Act. The proposal would remove barriers in public transportation by requiring public transit authorities to have wheelchair lifts on any new buses purchased 30 days after the measure was enacted. APTA officials say they oppose that portion of the measure because it would cut into limited federal funds. While Mr. Skinner has said he supports the bill, ADAPT wants him to issue an executive order so the stipulation can take effect immediately prior to congressional action. Protesters demanded to talk with Mr. Skinner while he was in Atlanta, but Mr. Skinner departed for St. Croix without meeting with them. Robert Marx. a spokesman for Mr. Skinner, said the secretary does not have the authority to issue such an order, only the president. [This is a combination the story on ADAPT 498 and 497] - ADAPT (499)
[Headline] Handicapped Demonstrators Block Building [Subheading] Dozens Of Disabled Protest Poor Transportation Access Alma Hill and Sandra McIntosh, Staff Writers 9-25-89 PHOTO (by Dianne Laakso/Staff): Paulette Patterson, lying in her manual wheelchair in a red top, yells and holds a power fist in the air while 4 police men push her down the street. The group is isolated alone in the middle of the empty street. Wooden red and white police barricades line the street on the left side and along the bottom of the picture, and behind them a mass of ADAPT protesters look on. Caption: A protester in a wheelchair is moved back behind a barricade Sunday at the Atlanta Hilton Hotel, where the the American Public Transit Association was meeting. About 100 demonstrators called for more accessible public transportation. **************** Dozens of disabled people blocked access to the Richard B. Russell Federal Building today by parking their wheelchairs in front of revolving doorways to protest the lack of handicapped accessibility on public transportation. The protesters converged on the federal building to demand that Secretary of Transportation Samuel Skinner sign an executive order requiring any bus purchased with federal dollars to have wheelchair lifts. They also want the Air Carrier Accessibility Act of 1986 implemented. The act requires equal access in airports for disabled people. The protest coincided with Mr. Skinner's appearance in Atlanta as part of the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) convention. The association has said local governments should be given the option of purchasing wheelchair lifts on buses, but the demonstrators want them mandated by federal law. “We're here and we aren’t going to leave until Sam Skinner signs the executive order," said\.Diane Coleman of Nashville. Ms. Coleman. who has been using a wheelchair since she was 11, said her disability is not the problem. “The problem . .. is discrimination,“ she said. “And behind that, the barrier is attitudes. We've been discriminated against for too long. and we‘re not going to sit for it any longer." The demonstrators forced scores of employees and people doing business at the federal building to exit from the basement. if they wanted to leave. All main level entrances to the building were blocked. After some people stepped over wheelchairs to get out, protesters lined their wheelchairs two and three deep to prevent people from walking over them. But some onlookers sympathized with the protesters. “I think these people have every right in the world to be concerned about their ability to gain access to public facilities. If it means I am temporarily inconvenienced, that's OK with me," said Edward Katze, a lawyer. The demonstrators vowed to hold their positions until Mr. Skinner comes to the federal building and suffered a spinal cord injury 17 years ago, and others blocked revolving doors by attaching chains and iron bicycle locks around their necks and locking them to door handles. a tactic used to prevent security from simply lilting protesters out of their wheelchairs to clear the doorways. At one point Monday afternoon, Mr. Auberger, 35, said, “They‘ll have to carry everybody out or arrest them." At 6 p.m., Atlanta police and officers from the General Services Administration, who provide security for the building, ordered the protesters to leave and began carrying them outside. The guards used large bolt cutters to sever the chains holding some demonstrators to the doors. At about 8 p.m., as guards were removing the last of the demonstrators, Gary C. Cason, regional administrator of the General Services Administration, told police and maintenance workers to allow the protesters back into the building. “The decision is to let them stay in the building because of the president's deep commitment to the handicapped and their right to protest," Mr. Cason said. Mr. Cason said Mr. Bush also said he was concerned about the protesters sitting outside in the chilly overnight temperatures and rainy mist. Maintenance crews appeared a half-hour later with blankets. and cots were promised. Mr. Cason said the protesters would be restricted to the lobby floor and would have access to the restrooms. Protest organizers credit White House counsel C. Boyden Gray for Mr. Bush's action. Mr. Auberger said they contacted Mr. Gray, who took their case to Mr. Bush. The president then called the head of the GSA, Richard G. Austin, in Washington, telling him to allow the demonstrators back inside. Mr. Auberger said the group planned to stay in the building overnight and would block the entrances again at noon if the Transportation Department does not order changes in transit-access rules. “At noon the administration has to decide whether or not they are going to arrest us, or we're closing the building do\vn again," he said shortly before 11 p.m., as the protesters ate Chinese food they had ordered and made themselves comfortable in the hallway on the Spring Street side of the building. The protest forced most visitors to the building Monday to use a basement entrance adjacent to an underground parking lot. The demonstration was the second in as many days held by ADAPT, a nationwide organization. The event was held in Atlanta to coincide with the annual conference of the American Public Transit Association (APTA), meeting this week in Atlanta, and to attract the attention of U.S. Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner, who spoke to APTA Monday morning. APTA opposes legislation pending in Congress — that ADAPT supports — called the Americans With Disabilities Act. The proposal would remove barriers in public transportation by requiring public transit authorities to have wheelchair lifts on any new buses purchased 30 days after the measure was enacted. APTA officials say they oppose that portion of the measure because it would cut into limited federal funds. While Mr. Skinner has said he supports the bill, ADAPT wants him to issue an executive order so the stipulation can take effect immediately prior to congressional action. Protesters demanded to talk with Mr. Skinner while he was in Atlanta, but Mr. Skinner departed for St. Croix without meeting with them. Robert Marx. a spokesman for Mr. Skinner, said the secretary does not have the authority to issue such an order, only the president. - ADAPT (5)
[this page contains a letter and below it an article from the newspaper Rocky Mountain News] Atlantis Community Inc. 619 south broadway denver, co 80223 303-297-3056 March 12, 1975 For Immediate Release At a recent meeting between Dr. Parnell McLaughlin, Director of the Colorado State Dept. of Vocational Rehabilitation, his staff, and representatives from the Atlantis Community it was discovered that an additional $400 will probably be needed to finalize the Atlantis Early Action Program. Dr. Henry Foley, newly appointed Director of the Colorado State Dept. of Social Services, announced at a press conference, March, 1975 that a $3,000 grant will be matched with a $12,000 federal grant for the rehabilitation of seven apartment units at the Las Casitas Housing Projects. These apartment units will be designed specifically for severely disabled young adults in wheelchairs. Although officials from the Denver Housing Authority and the Architectural Consultant from Atlantis estimated the cost for rehabilitating the apartments to be $14,000-15,000, a more detailed study puts these costs in the neighborhood of $16,500. Since no more emergency funds are available from the Dept. of Social Services, the Atlantis Early Action Program will fall short about $400.00 in State matching monies. The Atlantis Community is therefore appealing to the citizens of the State of Colorado for this money. In the event that more than $400 is raised, this extra money shall be used for furniture, transportation and printing costs. Applications for the Atlantis Early Action Program are now being taken. Disabled individuals should write Atlantis Early Action Program, 619 S. Broadway, Denver, Colorado 80223 for applications or call Cindy Montgomery, Glenn Kopp or Ingo Antonitsch at either 321-7269 or 297-3056. [signed] Atlantis Rocky Mountain News Handicapped to get chance in apartments photo: head shot of a man looking to the side. He is balding and has glasses, a jacket and tie. Caption reads: Henry A. Foley Fourteen severely handicapped young persons will be given a chance to live together in apartments instead of being confined in nursing homes because of a jointly funded pilot program called "Atlantis." The program was announced Thursday by state and city officials to an audience of about 25 handicapped persons who may become eligible to be the project's first residents. "This program may not be unique in the country, but we hope it will become a model," said State Social Services Director Henry A. Foley. He said the state has pledged $14,500 to remodel the seven apartment units which will be used for Atlantis residents. The apartments, which will each house two handicapped persons, are located in the Las Casitas housing project on Federal Boulevard between 11th and 12th Avenues. Ingo Antonitsch, director of the Denver Commision of the Disabled and chairman of a seven-member board created to administer the project, said he hopes the first residents can move in next month. The board will screen handicapped persons now living in nursing homes or with relatives to determine which are best suited, he said. Antonitsch said the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department has pledged $80,000 in federal funds to help plan the program. The Denver Department of Health and Hospitals has agreed to provide Atlantis residents with part-time medical assistance, he said. Residents wlll be required to pay rent for the apartments. “We want to prove that even the severely disabled, when given a little moral support, can become sell-sufficient and integrate with the community at large," Antonitsch said. - ADAPT (50)
Red Rock Journal, Community College of Denver, vol.1, number 2, April 12, 1977 HEW Occupied Disabled Demand Rights by Jim Walker Will the forgotten minority finally be heard? Last Tuesday about one hundred and fifty disabled people gathered in front of the Federal building to demand their rights by protesting the delay of the signing of a bill by Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Califano. Between bursts of chanting and sign waving, several disabled participants lodged verbal protest against the delay. Ingo Antonisch, the executive director of the Mayor's Commission on the Disabled along with Don Galloway, the executive director of the Governor's Advisory on the Handicapped were also there to voice their discontent. Lyle Peterson, master of ceremonies, lead the group in the chanting of "We Want our Rights," while converging onto a downtown street. Clad with wheelchairs and crutches and a stretcher they continued to hold up traffic for about fifteen minutes until Denver police came to break it up. During the detainment of downtown motorists, one parking lot manager, James Chidlaw, started to detour traffic through his lot. In doing this, he came in conflict with a demonstrator named Dennis Wilcox. Chidlaw allegedly assaulted Dennis, throwing him out of his wheelchair. The manager was later cited in county court for two charges of assault. The crowd then proceeded to block the halls of the HEW regional offices on the 10th floor of the Federal Building, where Wade Blank, director of the Atlantis Community, and the participants of the rally demanded that a call be placed to Washington and the conversation be put on the portable intercom system. Califano supposedly was unable to talk at that time and passed the buck on to one of his assistants, who in turn told the angry group that the secretary intended to sign the bill after he had read it carefully. Ingo Antonisch then got on the phone and said, "We hear the message but we want to see the action." Nearly four years has gone by since Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act was made into law in 1973 under the Nixon administration. The handicapped have fought secretary after secretary under Nixon and Ford and are tired of being shoved around. “It takes $25,000 minimum price to rehabilitate a person from a spinal cord injury, yet we are thrown out into society and left there to hang and dry with our guts in the wind," said one angry protestor. The law when it takes effect, will grant the same rights as racial minorities and women as it does for the disabled. There is another rally scheduled for the 29th of April at the State Capitol. Perhaps there will be more than one person in attendance from Red Rocks Campus. PHOTO by Stephen Jalovec: A sign that reads HUMAN RIGHTS FOR DISABLED fills most of the picture, and below the sign are several people in wheelchairs. Caption reads: Handicapped persons staged an overnight protest demonstration in the offices of Health, Education and Welfare at the Federal Center downtown last week. Another demonstration is scheduled for April 29. - ADAPT (500)
ON THE MOVE [Headline] Disabled Win Partial Victory in Sit-In Over Bus Access By Alma E. Hill Staff Writer The second day of protests by disabled persons — who blocked the main entrances and elevators of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building — ended Tuesday afternoon when an agreement was reached between officials of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) and leaders of the demonstration. American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT) protested a lack of access for the handicapped to public buses and demanded an immediate order from the federal government that all new buses be equipped with wheelchair lifts. In an impromptu meeting on the front steps of the building with protest leaders, Steven A Diaz, chief counsel for UMTA, said it was not within U.S. Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner's authority to issue such an order. However, he agreed to ask Transportation Department officials to meet with the protesters to establish a process to identify public transit authorities that are deliberately speeding up purchase of new buses to circumvent a bill pending in Congress mandating that such buses have wheelchair lifts. The Americans With Disabilities Act would require new buses purchased with federal dollars to be equipped with lifts. The equipment would add about $12,000 to $15,000 to the cost of a new bus and an additional $2,000 per year to maintain, according to John A Cline, associate administrator of UMTA. Without the lift, a bus costs about $155,000. UMTA also agreed to relay to Mr. Skinner ADAPT‘s concerns about the slow implementation of the Air Carriers Access Act of 1986, which stipulates that airports be accessible to the handicapped. The agreement fell short of demands protesters had made at the start of the demonstration, but ADAPT leaders said ... DISABLED Continued on B5 [we do not have second part of this article] PHOTO 1 (by Andy Sharp/Staff): A wiry grey haired man in an ADAPT T-shirt, raises himself in his motorized wheelchair, using his arms and legs to push out of the seat, mouth open yelling. Behind him a young woman with an ADAPT headband around her forehead looks at him and yells. Someone's hand is grabbing the armrest of his wheelchair. The two are trying to hold an elevator door open to block the elevator. Behind them a policeman in a hat with a tattoo on his arm tries to push them out and close the door. Caption: Police try to stop Arthur Campbell of Louisville, Ky., from blocking an elevator in the Federal Building Tuesday; at right is protester Rhonda Lester. PHOTO 2 (by Marvin Hill, JR/Staff): A woman, yelling, presses her motorized wheelchair up by the glass doors. There is a "Do Not Enter" sticker above her head. Beside her a man sits in his wheelchair with his back to the door, blocking it. Behind them several other protesters are visible through the reflections on the glass of the door. PHOTO 3 (by Andy Sharp/Staff): A disabled man lies on the floor on his side by a wheelchair while another young man with a backpack stands beside him holding a sports chair over his head as if ready to carry it over the man on the ground. Behind them a man stands on one side and on another a woman stands with her arms akimbo as if trying to balance. A small crowd is visible through the confusion. caption for photos 2 & 3: Christine Coughlin of Phoenix, Ariz. (above) joins in Tuesday's protest; Bob Kafka (right) lies on the floor to help block access to the building's elevator. - ADAPT (501)
Photo Only (By Tom Olin): (Right to left) Mark McTimus, Barbara Toomer, Mike Auberger, Stephanie Thomas, Frank Lozano and Frazier block the front of a Greyhound bus. Mark is on a tiny yellow scooter holding a yellow sign that says "Lifts Not Lies." Barb is in a manual chair and short sleeved shirt holding a camera; her red sign - taped across her legs -- reads "Go Greyhound And You'll Leave Us Behind! Mike has one long braid and a beard and mustache, his hands are on his hips and like all the others he is chanting; his left leg is elevated in front of him on a padded footrest with no shoe, only a sock (this is to protect an injury he got in the LA County Jail). Stephanie is facing slightly away from the camera with several buttons and stickers on her sports wheelchair and overalls. She is wearing blue-rimmed mirror sunglasses and her sign, also taped over her legs, reads "ALL Aboard." To her left Frank stands wearing his backpack and an ADAPT headband. He and Frazier, his white lab dog guide who sits in front of him, have the same noble expression on their faces. Frank's sign which he holds in one hand, reads "We Will Ride." - ADAPT (502)
THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF THE ARTICLE IN ADAPT 492. See ADAPT 492 for the complete story. - ADAPT (503)
Handicapped Coloradan [Headline] The night they drove old APTA down Photo: About a half dozen folks in wheelchairs and one standing person sit together in the parking lot by a van and the entrance to the Holiday Inn Days Inn. Some are in manual wheelchairs, others in electric wheelchairs. They are faced toward the hotel and away from the camera. Caption reads: In our motel parking lot. By RENATE CONRAD Special to the Handicapped Coloradan Friday, Sept. 22-Arrived at the Days Inn in Atlanta at 9:15 p.m. Got room assignments and collected luggage. Saturday, Sept. 23-Bob and I went to the Hotel Hilton at 10:45 pm. to request press passes. We were told to come back between l p.m. and 6 p.m. to talk to Albert Engelken, PR person for APTA. 5:15 p.m.—Returned to the Hilton. Mr. Engelken had left for the day, We were asked to return in the morning at 9a.m. l-5:15 p.m.-First meeting. Topics discussed included the ADA bill and the Air Carriers Act. Some comments: "Everyone thought it was a joke when 35 people started ADAPT, but now no one is laughing. . . You’ve created a Utopia."-Wade Blank “Paratransit is a gun to disabled persons’ heads . . . We've taken the bullets out of the gun."-Arthur Campbell, Jr. "We've sent a message to Bush that we are serious." There was a good deal of applause and then the conversation shifted from the ADA bill to transportation. Julie Farrar from Los Angeles said that she had been to a large human resources conference given by APTA. In the course of the conference it was stated that “everything would be accessible if it wasn‘t for ADAPT." This was greeted with obvious boos and hisses. Later Julie Farrar told the group that Fred Curry of the Greyhound Company said, "If the ADA passes as it is the private bus industry will go broke." After that introductions were made and strategies discussed as to the next day. It was decided that there would be a march beginning at l:30 from Hurt Park to the Hilton Hotel where APTA is staying. Sunday, 9:15 a.m., Hilton Hotel - Albert Engelkin, PR for APTA, met with us. We asked him if he thought the ADA bill will pass "Yes " he said. “I feel that it will. Now we must ask that ADAPT join with us to go to congress and get monies to pay for our effort, the cost being $6 billion. This is a 20-year plan. Now we must come up with a marketing plan." Received press packet and pass with very little difficulty. The only problem was finding the correct elevator. We got a few strange looks entering and leaving the elevators, and many people were noticeably relieved to see our yellow press passes. The only comment we got from the PR director was that “APTA was a little nervous about people in wheelchairs." 11:30 Amid cries of “Access now!" "We will ride!" and "Access is a civil right!" a large flag is unfurled, with red and white stripes and stars on a background of blue that form the shape of a wheelchair. The march to the Hilton begins. lt is a long pull. Atlanta is a very hilly city, which comes as quite as a surprise because I had always envisioned it to be a rather flat place. Cries of “We will ride!" ring out along the way as approximately 200 people make the long haul to the Hilton. When we reach the front of the line and look down the street, we see a four-block-long procession of bumper to bumper wheelchairs. l spoke with four different police officers and was given an estimate of between l8 and 150 police pulling extra duty for this "parade." We reached the hotel and within minutes the barriers were in place. At that point the press was informed that NO press was being allowed inside. The question was then asked, "When will the press be allowed in?" The answer, from Major Holly of the Atlanta police, was: “That depends on the hotel." Later press members were allowed to talk to Jack Gilstrap of APTA, who stated that “there is a great deal of opposition to the ADA bill." NO ARRESTS were made. Monday, Sept. 25, 11 a.m.—At the Hilton Hotel, Secretary Samuel Skinner gave a rousing speech. He said they had completed the outreach portion of their policy, that the needs and problems of the population concerning transportation were discussed, and that they had spoken with citizens and businessmen alike and that early January was the projected time for the policy to be released. "We must look at the forest rather than the trees." The first priority is that 40 percent of the unemployed are in the cities, the second priority is finding a way to get people to jobs. “There is a greater need for state and local moneys,” he said. “[The ADA] is not a new issue, but an issue that has been around too long. We need mainstream access as soon as possible. There has been a lot of give and take. It's not perfect, but we support the legislation. "l ask how can we achieve our goal of total access? We must find a way to make it happen. We need to be concerned about dollars, but this legislation is not a sham or a shell. Access for personal and business reasons is our goal. "Why should a skilled worker be left at home because we are not smart enough to get them to work?" Bob and I chase Skinner through the kitchen area after his speech and catch him as he is getting into the elevator. As we were attending the meeting at the Hilton, people had gotten into the Federal Building and blocked it off with 125 people inside. Tuesday, Sept. 26, 7 a.m.-By executive order President Bush asked that blankets, food and cots be brought into the Federal Building to accommodate the protesters. No arrests were made. Amid chants of "Access now!" and horns blasting, protesters who have been up all night block doors into the Federal Building. 12:50 p.m.—ADAPT members capture the elevators. 1:50 p.m. - l have been told that they are trying to get the President's office on the phone. 2:01 p.m. - Police ask for cooperation to get a meeting set up. 2:07 p.m. - People are meeting with UMPTA now. 2:15 p.m.- Agreement has been reached . . . no arrests have been made. (See text reprinted elsewhere in paper.) 12:45-4:30 p.m.—Went down to the cafeteria. At that time elevators were again shut off and we could not get b[ack] to the first floor lobby. 4:30 p.m.—Maintenance personnel turn elevators back on. 4:45 p.m.—Back to the hotel. Wednesday, Sept. 27—Chanting "We will ride!" 27 people were arrested at the Greyhound Terminal after blocking and chaining themselves to buses. They were taken to jail in a lift-equipped bus and released on their own personal recognizance. Criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct were the charges filed. The bus station and buses were in turmoil for five hours, starting from 3:30 when the protest began. Thursday, Sept. 28 - Home!! Photo 2: In a low-ceilinged room with folding partitions pushed back the big group of ADAPT folks is gathered, facing approximately in a circle. Wade Blank is standing on a chair or something so he is above the crowd, with his right hand held up, he is speaking. Behind him Lincoln is standing. In front Bernard Baker is looking over his shoulder at the camera. Kate Jackson has her back to the camera as do many others in the room. Through these people you can see Mike Auberger's head and someone else's head. A line of people sit across from Wade. There are a couple dozen people visible in the meeting. Caption: Everyone thought it was a joke when 35 people started ADAPT. - ADAPT (504)
Court Says Yes Again Bush agrees to back lifts, allows ADAPT to occupy federal building [This is part 2 of the story that starts on ADAPT 508, the full text of the story appears on 508] - ADAPT (505)
PHOTO (by Tom Olin): Mike Auberger lies, knees bent to fit, in the baggage compartment of a Greyhound bus. The compartment and the one beside it are empty except for him. His empty wheelchair with its raised leg rest sits by the bus. You can see the compartment would not really be tall enough to sit up in and it is not long enough to lie down in with bending at the knees. The metal walls and door mechanisms are visible. Outside Mike's compartment a sign is taped, it reads Stop your lying! Tell the Truth! - ADAPT (506)
PHOTO (by Tom Olin?): The scene is diagonally divided by a line of red wooden barriers with white stripes. A single slight policeman, with a bullhorn on his hip, walks toward the barriers. On the other side of the barriers a mass of wheelchair users, as well as people standing, face mostly toward the barriers but some face in other directions. People are bundled up for the most part, and behind them is a low dark building. Toward the center of the barriers is a large dark blue banner with red writing that reads (something unreadable on the top line) “WE WILL RIDE.” At the far end of the group there is another policeman partially visible and ADAPTers at that end of the crowd hold a red flag and an ADAPT flag (an American flag with the stars arranged in the wheelchair symbol on the blue part of the flag.) - ADAPT (507): 300 strong ADAPT waits outside APTA Hotel
PHOTO (by Tom Olin): Black and white photo looking up the street divided by the wooden barricades. The picture is taken from behind the ADAPT people behind the barricades which curve across to block the whole street in the foreground. A car comes down the empty side toward the camera. Metal barriers divide the other side of the street from the sidewalk where there are a couple of low temporary structures. A police officer in a helmet and leather jacket stands at one side of the picture, handcuffs and gun visible on his or her belt and radio on the shoulder. All the ADAPT folks seem to be looking up the street at the approaching car. The crowd is two or three people deep and seems to extend a city block or possibly more. Bernard Baker wears a “We Will Ride” sign on the back of his motorized wheelchair and Mike Ervin has a sign reading “On It or In Front of It” on his. In the far distance, beyond the car a policeman seems to be talking with some of the protesters. - ADAPT (508)
The Handicapped Coloradan AUTUMN 1989, VOL. 12, NOS. 4 & 5 [This is the full text of an article that appears in ADAPT 508 and 504] [Headline] FEDS GIVE IN! [Subheading] It ain't over till it's over—and it’s over A struggle that began ten years ago in falling snow on the streets of Denver may have ended this October in Atlanta, the city where Martin Luther King, Jr., preached the value of civil disobedience from the pulpit of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. As more than a hundred demonstrators held the Richard B. Russell Federal Building hostage, representatives of President Bush and the American Disabled for Public Transportation (ADAPT) hammered out an agreement that will eventually put a wheelchair lift on every bus in America. The statement stopped short of a full promise to mandate lifts, but it did contain this Statement: "Full accessibility in public transit is the President's policy." And it did promise that the government would try to prevent any transit system from purchasing non-equipped buses before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is adopted. That measure does mandate full accessibility and is expected to be approved by Congress and signed by the President. Privately, federal negotiators told ADAPT that they would guarantee that no more systems buy liftless buses, according to informed sources, who said that a videotape of this promise exists. It is probably too late to block the purchase of non-accessible buses in Pittsburgh and Albuquerque, however, since these cities have already had their proposals approved. The Atlanta agreement comes in the wake of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia that reaffirmed an earlier decision by the court that persons with disabilities must be provided effective access to public transportation services throughout the nation. In the 9-3 ruling, the Court of Appeals struck down a regulation issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation limiting the amount that transit systems had to spend on disability access to three percent of their operating budgets. The Court said that the limit was "arbitrary and capricious.” By an 8-4 vote the Court ruled that existing buses need not be retrofitted but that all new buses must be equipped with lifts. Timothy M. Cook, director of the Washington-based National Disability Action Center, who argued the appeal on behalf of ADAPT, said the decision will lead to the adoption of multi-modal systems that include accessible mainline buses as well as door-to-door transit for those who are unable to board lift-equipped buses. The July 25 ruling reaffirmed a similar ruling made in February by three of the judges. That decision had been appealed by the DOT. The Court of Appeals has sent the case back to the lower court with instructions that it set a specific time-table for the issuance of new regulations by the Secretary of Transportation. One of ADAPT's founders, Wade Blank, said the court decision and the concessions made by the President in Atlanta were very satisfying, but that somehow the group was unable to celebrate, at least in a formal fashion. “I went down to a meeting [of the RTD Handicapped Advisory Council] and told the people there that we had won this great victory, and most of them didn't even know what I was talking about," he said. Blank said the accessibility victories that had already been won in Denver had made these people complacent. It was a different story in Atlanta, however, where scores of demonstrators from across the country had converged to picket the annual convention of their arch-nemesis, the American Public Transit Association (APTA), which has consistently opposed any attempt to require mainline wheelchair accessible service. ADAPT has been picketing national and regional conventions of APTA since the organization met in Denver in 1983. Except for Denver, where the demonstrators had the endorsement of the city’s mayor, Federico Pena, those meetings have been marked by demonstrators being arrested for picketing the APTA convention headquarters and for blocking city buses. The story was a little different in Atlanta where the demonstrators made a token push at the barricades around the Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Oct. 24, before they moved on to their real objective, the Russell Federal Building, the next day. Wheelchair protesters poured into the building, jamming hallways and blocking elevators, which trapped federal employees on the top floors of the building. At 6 p.m. federal marshals moved in and began physically removing demonstrators, but with little success. As marshals pried open a door and wheeled one demonstrator out, several more sped inside. One demonstrator managed to be escorted out of the building seven times. It was a game of musical wheelchairs until President Bush intervened, ordering the marshals to let the demonstrators back into the building. Things quieted down until the next day, Tuesday, Oct. 26, when the demonstrators once again poured into the building and blocked the elevators. “It got a little ugly," Blank said. "Some of the disabled people were attacked by federal employees." But even as demonstrators and federal employees were battling to see who would eventually gain control of the building, the historic agreement that would end non-accessible public transit was being signed. ADAPT had won, although a few blocks away APTA officials were arguing that the group had not been instrumental in the decision. With a public transportation victory in their hip pocket, ADAPT turned its attention to the private sector on Wednesday by halting bus service at the Greyhound terminal in downtown Atlanta for more than five hours. Demonstrators blocked the driveways and in some cases chained themselves to the drivers’ steering wheels. More than two dozen of them were arrested, but all were later released on their own recognizance. Greyhound regional manager Tom Street said that only four buses, carrying a total of 80 passengers, left Atlanta during the siege, instead of the normal 20 buses and 600 passengers. Greyhound has a “Helping Hands" program where persons in wheelchairs may ride the buses so long as they are accompanied by an able-bodied friend, who rides free. Demonstrators said that this policy severely restricts their freedom of travel. They were also upset that Greyhound does not allow battery operated wheelchairs to be transported on their buses. Boxed Text: Text of statement signed by Feds, ADAPT in Atlanta The following is the text of the statement issued on Sept. 26, I989, in Atlanta by representatives of ADAPT and the federal government. We have had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the disabled community here in Atlanta today. We have mutually agreed to the following points: 1. The Urban Mass Transportation Administration will recommend to Secretary Skinner that officials of the Department of Transportation and representatives of the disabled community shall promptly meet and confer for the purpose of establishing a process for identifying and dealing with any eleventh hour attempt to circumvent the principle of accessibility prior to the adoption and effective date of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Full accessibility in public transit is the President's policy, We are making this recommendation because the Department cannot issue a summary order commanding immediate accessibility, including wheelchair accessibility for all transit. We would, if we could. 2. Because the President shares the sense of urgency of the demonstrators here in Atlanta for the passage by the House of Representatives of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we have agreed to recommend that a workable arrangement be negotiated to accommodate a continuing symbolic presence by the disabled community at the Richard B Russell Federal Building. 3. We have also agreed to communicate to Secretary Skinner the concern expressed here that the current rule-making for implementation of the Air Carriers Access Act of 1986 is not on a sufficiently tight timetable and should be resolved at the earliest practicable date. End of boxed text. PHOTO (by Tom Olin?): A medium close up of Lillibeth Navarro, a small Phillipina, who leans forward intensely, chanting or yelling full force. She sits in her motorized chair her right hand in a fist resting on her armrest. Her large glasses and glossy dark hair seem almost out of place with her intensity. She is wearing and ADAPT shirt that says "I Will Ride" and has the old "no steps" (a set of steps covered with a circle and a diagonal bar across - the no symbol) logo surrounded by "American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit." On the left shoulder of her shirt you can see the list of cities ADAPT had held actions. In her lap a bandanna covered with the "no steps" logo. Caption: I am a disabled person. Hear me roar.