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主頁 / 相冊 / The Rolling Freedom Express & Washington DC, fall 2000 54
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THE DENVER POST 10-03-00 [image] [image caption] DISABILITY PROTEST: Dan Ham of Denver, center, joins other members of the disability rights organization ADAPT at a protest Monday outside the White House. The group says Medicaid has an institutional bias favoring nursing-home 'bondage' over community-based care. Associated Press / Kamenko Pajic DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2000 [Headline] Denver disabled activist among protesters in D.C. Associated Press WASHINGTON--A Denver man was one of dozens of disabled people in wheelchairs who blocked entrances to the Republican Party's headquarters for five hours Tuesday, demanding a meeting with George W. Bush. The protest forced the cancellation of a fundraiser and kept party employees from leaving the build-ing, although some climbed out of first-floor windows. The protesters began dispersing after police prepared to make arrests. "We accomplished as much as we could here," said Michael Auberger of Denver, a spokesman for Adapt, the group that organized the protest. A quadriplegic since age 17, Auberger is executive director of the Atlantis Community in Colorado. He received a Colorado Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award this year. Protesters want the Texas governor to sign a pledge supporting the 10-year-old Americans With Disabilities Act, a law barring dis-crimination and requiring wheelchair ramps and other accommodations Bush's father signed the legislation into law. "A letter would have been sufficient but we will convey their request" for a meeting with Bush, said GOP spokesman Cliff May. "We asked them to take a look at the governor's record on disabilities issues."
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THE DENVER POST 8B Wednesday, September 20, 2000 [image] [image caption] Rick James heads for Washington, D.C., for a national protest to call attention to a legal challenge to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Denver Post / John Leyba [Headline] Disabled group to join D.C. rally By J. Sebastian Sinisi Denver Post Staff Writer About 30 wheelchair users gathered outside the Atlantis Community independent living center in south Denver on Tuesday morning to cheer members of their group who were leaving by van for Birmingham, Ala. There, they'll join a national dis-abled protest over the Garrett vs. University of Alabama case, now being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, that they fear could undermine disabled rights. About 1,000 are expected in Birmingham on Friday, said wheel-chair user Joe Ehman, who helped organize the privately funded tour from Denver. Ehman is the housing coordinator for the American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, or ADAPT, arm of Atlantis. In Birmingham, the eight-member Denver group will shift to a bus for news conferences and rally stops in eight other cities, including Atlanta, Philadelphia and Baltimore. More demonstrators will join the Denverites along the way. The tour ends with a rally expected to bring at least 3,000 to the U.S. Capitol at noon Oct. 3 to draw attention to the Garrett case, which questions the constitutionality of the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed a decade ago. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Oct. 11. "I'm not looking forward to rid-ing eight hours a day in a van ev-ery day, but everything we've gained under the ADA is now in jeopardy," said Rick Viator, 40, in a wheelchair for five years because of a gunshot wound. "People need to know that our rights are in danger," said Rick James, 50, who was also making the trip. James has used a wheel-chair since childhood. Atlantis-affiliated demonstrators engaged in the first disabled civil disobedience anywhere in the U.S. when they chained their wheelchairs to bus stops at Broadway and Colfax Avenue in 1977 to protest lack of wheelchair access on Denver buses. As a result, Denver was the first city in America to have wheelchair lifts on buses, long before the ADA made such access mandatory nationwide. ADAPT made front-page Denver news last February when members handcuffed themselves to Currigan Hall entryways during a homebuilding industry exposition to protest a dearth of disabled: friendly home construction. That action resulted in 17 arrests.
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Chief of Staff to the President The White House October 2, 2000 Dear Ms. Toomer: The Clinton Administration shares your commitment to providing increased choice for home and community based services and supports. We have received your policy recommendations and we are reviewing them with Secretary Shalala. As we discussed in today's meeting, the President will convene a meeting with Administration officials, members of ADAPT, and leaders of other disability groups in October. My office will contact you to arrange the date and time of this meeting. I look forward to a discussion of these issues. Sincerely, [signed] John Podesta [typed] John Podesta
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The Washington Times WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2000 /PAGE C3 [Headline] Blockading the GOP Hundreds of disabled people protesting outside the headquarters of the Republican National Committee last night blocked in staffers and prevented partygoers from attending a reception at the adjacent Capitol Hill Club. Some tuxedo-clad partygoers used ladders to climb through second-story windows at the Capitol Hill Club as the protesters chanted, "Don't be stupid." The protest, which started at 4 p.m., eventually forced cancellation of the fund-raiser. The protesters, who used their wheelchairs to block the Capitol Hill building's entrances, said they are angry at Republican presidential nominee George W Bush for his refusal to say whether he would sign a renewal of the 10-year-old Americans With Disabilities Act, signed originally by his father, President George Bush. "We will stay here until he agrees to sign the pledge" to re-new the bill, said Marcie Roth of Maryland. Police blocked off the streets around the RNC headquarters in the 300 block of First Street SE. The protesters began dispersing after police prepared to make arrests by moving buses up to the building. Democratic nominee Al Gore has signed the pledge to renew the ADA, but protesters said they are unhappy with him as well. The Clinton administration has proposed adding money in the budget for nursing homes and institutional care, but not for home-based care, protesters say. Activists would not rule out a future blockade of the Democratic Party headquarters downtown. Sean Scully contributed to this column, which is based in part on wire service reports.
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AARP October 4, 2000 Mr. Bob Kafka ADAPT 201 S. Cherokee Denver, CO 80223 Dear Mr. Kafka: AARP agrees to meet with representatives of ADAPT within the next thirty days as per our discussion today to discuss issues related to aging and disability. The meeting will include Horace B. Deets and other staff with appropriate legislative responsibilities. Sincerely, [signed] John Rother [typed] John Rother Director Legislation and Public Policy
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A14 YNE Wednesday, October 4, 2000 National Report The New York Times [image] [image caption] Affirming their rights: Demonstrators on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington supported the Americans with Disabilities Act yesterday. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments next week on whether states are immune from lawsuits by their public employees for violations of the federal law
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October 5, 2000 Heard on the Hill [Headline] Under Siege. Rep. Tom Davis (Va.) and his fellow House GOP leaders don't just have Democrats storming the gates anymore. By Ed Henry On Tuesday evening, hundreds of protesters with disabilities trapped a rather peeved Davis and scores of his National Republican Congressional Committee staffers in their First Street, SE, headquarters for more than seven hours. Sources tell HOH that House Sergeant-at-Arms Bill Livingood's folks finally had to be called in to help Davis and several others sneak out a back window. The protesters, who are fighting for the constitutionality of the Americans With Disabilities Act, chanted over and over, "You can't get out!" Although the protest threw off some GOP staffers' plans to watch the first presidential debate away from the office, others took it in stride. "I feel like Bernie Shaw," NRCC spokesman Jim Wilkinson cracked to HOH via telephone during the siege. "I'm about to crawl under the bed." Then on Wednesday, GOP vice presidential nominee Dick Cheney was visiting the NRCC when his Secret Service detail freaked out after word spread that the protesters were returning for another round. Cheney escaped before there was trouble. But at press time last night, the protesters were indeed headed back for more.
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[Headline] Disabled rights act defended at rally downtown Supreme Court case challenges constitutionality By DARLA CARTER The Courier-Journal Chanting "Don't tread on the ADA!" about 40 people gathered in the pouring rain in downtown Louisville yesterday to show their support for keep-ing the Americans with Disabilities Act intact. Their rally in front of the Mazzoli Federal Building near Sixth and Chestnut streets took place during a brief stop by the Rolling Freedom Express, a caravan of ADA supporters that began in Alabama and is heading to Washington for a march on Oct. 3. The protesters are concerned about a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that challenges the constitutionality of the ADA, a 10-year-old federal law that provides for various public accommodations for disabled -people and prohibits job dis-crimination against them. The case, University of Alabama vs. Patricia Garrett, was brought by a university employee who was demoted after taking time off for breast-cancer treatment. After oral arguments Oct. 11, the Supreme Court will decide whether the 11th Amendment bars such suits against states in federal court. Advocates for the disabled argue that the ADA is about civil rights, not states' rights, and should be left alone. "It seems like it's being chipped away piece by piece, and we just need to let people know that it's an important piece of legislation and that people with disabilities really need it," said Alan Richardson of the Center for Accessible Living in Louisville, which helped publicize yesterday's event. The center's director, Jan Day, agreed. "Any kind of weakening amendments to the ADA would just be devastating," she said. "I can't think of any other civil-rights legislation where we've gone back into it, saying it was too difficult to impose." Sue Davis, an activist for the disabled who led yesterday's rally, said she worries that the case could set off a flurry of changes in the ADA that could set disabled people back by decades. Furthermore, "it shows we can never really let up putting our shoulder to the wheel," said Davis, of the Kentucky chapter of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, known as ADAPT. Yesterday's speakers included disabled residents as well as the city and state ADA coordinators, who voiced the sup-port of Mayor David Arm-strong and Gov. Paul Patton. Sandra Williams, Louisville's ADA coordinator, said the city doesn't want to see any changes in the ADA. And Pamela H. Wallace, the state's ADA coordinator, got the crowd fired up by saying: "There are a lot of efforts afoot to weaken the ADA to do away with it, and we're not going to allow that to happen, are we? We're going to support the ADA and keep our civil rights as American citizens." The crowd remained steady despite weather that Williams joked was lovely for ducks, polar bears, and anything with fur or fins. Rebecca Duncan, an ADAPT member who has cerebral palsy, said that braving such weather is warranted when the topic is "our rights." Duncan, who uses a wheelchair, said that without ADA she'd be institutionalized and left out of society. Instead, she's able to live in an apartment and to get in and out of buildings because of accommodations, such as ramps, that the ADA brought about. "It's very important to keep ADA," she said. Tuesday, September 26, 2000 Neighborhood news B2 Kentucky and the Region B4 Weather B4 Briefs B4 Deaths B6
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Wednesday, September 27, 2000 The Columbus Dispatch [Headline] SUPREME COURT CASE [Subheading] Disabilities act in danger, advocates say By Malt Ferenchik Dispatch City Hall Reporter Advocates of the Americans with Disabilities Act from Ohio are on their way to Washington, where the U.S. Supreme Court is to hear arguments next month in a case the advocates say could weaken the act. About 100 people chanting "Don't tread on the ADA" rallied at noon yesterday outside the State, house, including a busload of 40 activists traveling to nine cities on their way to Washington Ohio is one of seven states that have filed a "states' rights" brief in support of Alabama in its case against two state employees. In the case, University of Alabama v. Garrett, Alabama is arguing that plaintiffs suing states for money under the 'disabilities act should have to sue in state courts rather than federal courts. The Ohio Statewide Independent Living Council and other groups say the case challenges the constitutionality of the disabilities act. "The Garrett case is a wake-up call that says • the ADA is under attack and could be weakened or, lost," said Kimberly Harper, 30, of Columbus. Harper, who works for Mobile Independent Living, is hearing-impaired and used sign language to deliver her comments. "What's going to come out of this," said Woody Osburn, executive director of the Ohio Statewide Independent Living Council, "is whether the states' rights supersede the ADA." He said advocates worry that if Alabama wins, a private-sector case could come along "that renders the act useless to us." But the Ohio attorney general's office says the [text cut off.] [image] [image caption] Kimberly Harper of Columbus signs her message at a Statehouse rally in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act Activists say a pending Supreme Court case could weaken the law. Neal C. Laurim/Dispatch [text resumes] "This whole case is about proper jurisdiction," said Joe Case, a spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery. "WI not about dismantling or chipping away at the ADA." Montgomery wrote Osburn that the states' brief to the Supreme Court "stresses that the states must still follow every single substantive requirement of the ADA, and it stresses that the. states can still 'be sued by citizens who feel that their state is not doing enough under the law." Osburn said any Supreme Court ruling should not affect the federal consent decree Columbus entered into last year in which it promised to build wheelchair Curb ramps. The cost to the city now stands at $27.8 million, and city attorneys are negotiating with Osburn's group and the Equal Justice Foundation to extend a Jan. 1 deadline to build 10,853 ramps. The question before the Supreme Court is, "Does the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution [text cuts off] [text resumes] under the Americans with Disabilities Act against nonconsenting, states?" Nonconsenting states are states that are not complying with the ac the 11th Amendment limits federal-court jurisdiction. The other states filing, the brief supporting Altanta are Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada and Tennessee. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Oct. 11 in the case — actually two cases combined in a lower court. Patricia Garrett sued the University of Alabama's Birmingham medical center for demoting her and then transferring her from her job as a supervisory nurse after she was treated for breast cancer. In the other case, Milton Ash, a corrections officer with asthma, sued Alabama's youth corrections agency for not enforcing no-smoking rules and not servicing state cars that emit noxious fumes. Disability advocates. will hold a March for Justice in Washington on Tuesday. The bus tour [text cuts off]
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Incitement Incitement Incitement Volume 16 No. 3 A Publication of ADAPT Fall 2000 [image] [image caption] Bell forged from the shackles that used to bind the feet of psychiatric inmates across the nation. A reminder of what Liberty really means and why we must never stop until we are all free. [Headline] ADAPT returned to DC by Stephanie Thomas This fall ADAPT returned to DC. Everyone is sick of that town and all that goes on there. But someone must do the dirty job of making folks account-able. Following up on our issues, ADAPT folks do what needs to be done! [Subheading] THE BILLION DOLLAR BLUNDER To begin our week of actions, ADAPT took on the biggest issue. Just the week before the President had announced a billion dollar give away to the nursing home industry. After all the work and effort that has gone into trying to reverse the institutional bias, the President's action was a slap in the face to the disability community. Not only would this be a trip to the federal candy store for the nursing homes, but it would also require states to kick in the match money, and in all likelihood this would have to come from the states efforts to fund implementation of the Supreme Court Olmstead decision. ADAPT had met with Secretary Shalala about our concerns earlier in the week, but as she could not commit to any solutions at that time, we knew we had to take the issue to the door of the one who caused the problem. So on Monday, 400 strong ADAPT took to the streets of DC to confront President Clinton. At one point the police, for some unknown reason, pulled in two police cars and then a bus to park diagonally across an intersection in an attempt to block our march. But ADAPT would not be stopped, and going around these obstacles, headed up Pennsylvania Ave. to the White House. [boxed text] ADAPT / Incitement 1339 Lamar SQ DR #101 Austin TX 78704 (512) 442-0252 v/TTY (512) 442-0522 FAX Incitement is produced from the offices of Topeka Independent Living Resource Center (TILRC). Articles, letters, compositions, displays and photos are encouraged. Please contact Tessa Goupil for deadlines for submission of materials. The Editor reserves the right to edit or omit any material that is submitted. For more information, contact Tessa Goupil at TILRC or Stephanie Thomas at ADAPT. Topeka Independent Living Resource Center, Inc. 501 SW Jackson St , Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66603-3300 (785) 233-4572 V/TTY (785) 233-1815 TTY (785) 233-1561 FAX [two images] [no captions] [text resumes] Lining up along the fence, those who were willing to be arrested chained themselves with handcuffs and motorcycle chains to the fence. With so many of Ica/ our brothers and sisters locked away in nursing homes, and President Clinton working to block our efforts to free them, a symbolic message needed to be sent. 400 of us who were chained began the chant "I'd rather go to jail than to die in a nursing home." We stretched across the entire fence in front of the White House. Inside the fence the secret service men in black moved out across the grass, onto the roof tops, with submachine guns poorly secreted inside what looked like dry cleaning bags. Through the fence we could see a media event had been prepared, but it seemed the White House was not interested in holding the event with 400 angry disabled people as a back drop. But for once the national media took an interest and came out to cover the issue. White House staff came out after a long while and took our demands. It was hot, not much was happening on the surface of things, but no one wandered off to see the sights. Everyone held firm, chanting as the hours went by. Finally our leadership team was invited to send a delegation inside to negotiate with the Chief of Staff John Podesta. After some tough wrangling, Podesta committed the President to meet with ADAPT before the end of October. [Subheading] GARRETT RALLY [two images] [no image captions] Tuesday was the day of the Rally for the Garrett case. A big logistics question was how to keep our ADAPT folks together enough in the larger crowd at the rally so we would be ready for some "direct action" once the rally was over. C rack troops and crack leadership turned that potential nightmare into a smoothly executed operation. The rally, sponsored by American Association of People with Disabilities, was held at Upper Senate Park and featured an array of speakers: from Jessie Jackson, Martin Luther King III and Ted Kennedy Jr. to Mike Auberger, Mike Oxford and Justin Dart. The Mental Health Association brought a huge eight ton bell forged from the shackles that used to bind the feet of psychiatric inmates across the nation. Gallaudet University turned out in force despite a murder on campus the day before and prob-lems with police investigation of the case. Thousands of advocates from all across the country gathered to send a message to Congress and the Supreme Court "Don't Tread of the ADA!" [Headline] SUPREME FOLLIES After a long hot afternoon of speakers, everyone at the rally lined up and marched to the Supreme Court for a closing ceremony. However, this event was be-smirched when the Capitol Police would not let the interpreters stand on the Supreme Court steps so they would be visible above the crowd. Just as the back of the line was arriving, the interpreters were being threatened with arrest, but were refusing to back down. We began chanting "Let them Interpret, Let them on the Steps" and the police were reminded that there were hundreds of ADAPT folks and others who would, likely, be joining the interpreters on the steps (a highly illegal activity during a rally at the Supreme Court) if they were not Is-allowed to be elevated so they could be seen. Suddenly a solution was found, and almost as quickly as it started the ceremony ended the rally. [Subheading] ADAPT TACKLES SOME ELEPHANTS But ADAPT's work was far from done. We had already hit the Democratic Administration for their failures to promote real choice. However, the Republicans also have a far from stellar record on this issue. Presidential candidate Bush's states' rights stance on ADA could prove a greater threat than the Billion dollars, and he had ignored requests by ADAPT and other groups to meet and discuss the issue of promoting real choice and getting rid of the institutional bias, or ADA civil rights versus states rights. So we simply headed from the Supreme Court down First street a couple of blocks to where the Republican National Headquarters were conveniently located. Our goal was to get the RNC to broker a meeting between Governor Bush and ADAPT representatives. This being the night of the second Presidential debate, there was a flurry of activity going on when we arrived. It seems they had planned a major fundraising party where people were to pay $1,000 to come and watch the debate and sip Champagne or martinis and munch on hors d'euvres. But these plans were adapted. Though we didn't get inside, we shut down the headquarters and the Re-publican Social Club next door. All doors, even the garage were blocked and no one was moving until we got a commitment of a meeting. After a while the police began negotiations and then our negotiation team was let inside to talk with their staff. The usual lines of "he can't be reached," etc. were used and then it seemed we were making some headway and would get a date for a meeting. Meanwhile, a few die-hard Republican staffers and supporters climbed in and out of windows, and party goers began to gather and then, as time passed, to trickle away. [two images] [no image captions] About 9:30 PM, the cops made their brilliant move. Sirens wailed from a squadron of cop cars, and a small fleet of Metro buses came squealing up the street and stopped on the sidewalk by the club. Pull-ing certain people away from the doors on the north side of the building, the police brought everyone out of both buildings and loaded them onto the city buses. Then almost as suddenly all the buses and cop cars pulled away. Though we had not won a meeting, we had flushed out Bush's position. The message was clear: Bush would rather loose a half million dollars than meet with representatives of the disability community! It was almost the witching hour when ADAPT headed back. One more day of actions lay ahead of us. [Subheading] DAVID AND GOLIATH Our last day in DC we had one more message to deliver. MiCASSA is our fall back if the Supreme Court overturns Title II of the ADA, and we have not forgotten this bill. Thought it will not pass in totality this session, included in this years' proposed (but as of this writing not yet passed) bud-get is a section to help states transition from their current institutionally biased system of services to a more community based one. However, we want to see the entire bill pass, and for that we want more supporters. A group, which had remained notably silent on the bill was the infamous AARP, American Association of Retired Persons. Though they had on numerous occasions been asked to take a position, and several letters had requested a meeting, AARP had not bothered to respond. We were taking our third day to rectify that situation. [image] [no image caption] Before we headed to their marbled halls however, we stopped on the national Mall to hold our big meeting. With Washington Monument behind us and the US Capitol as a backdrop ahead we discussed the actions of the day before, and as much as possible in such public location, what still lay ahead. Then we turned and headed up 7th St. AARP is such a big deal they don't just have a headquarters building in DC, they have two buildings which take up literally half a city block. Their brass plated double doors lead into two marble lobbies which connect via an open atrium between the buildings. Most surprising, their security is greater than at most Federal buildings, with a small army of security guards, buzzer systems and locked doors. When entering simply to get a brochure one is given an escort through the building. Despite the Fort Knox quality of the place ADAPT would not be kept out. The first half of the group headed for the farther building, while the second half stopped and entered the nearer building. A tussle at the doors of the further building slowed that group down, but not by much. Soon negotiators in both lobbies were calling for the CEO Horace Deets to meet with ADAPT. Within an hour our negotiation team was meeting with their people to hammer out an agreement on the actual meet-ing, and within another hour ADAPT had completed the final action with another victory. Tentative date for this meeting is November 9th. At the ADAPT final meeting that night new people from across the nation spoke out about how the week had transformed them, and those of us there who were older hands at these actions listened and thought how we too had been rejuvenated by the power of our people together, united and focused on our goals. [Subheading] ROLLING FREEDOM EXPRESS SPREADS CALL FOR JUSTICE With less than two month's notice and planning, members of ADAPT and other disability groups across the United States, pulled off a major campaign for justice and civil and disability rights this fall. The Rolling Freedom Express, RFE as it was called, was an eight day, 10 city bus caravan which travelled from Alabama to the nation's capital. It's purpose: to raise awareness about the latest attacks on the Americans with Dis-abilities Act, ADA, especially the Garrett vs. U of Alabama case which threatens the constitutionality of the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, and which went before the Supreme Court on October 11th. Delegations from Colorado, Georgia, Kansas and Texas ADAPT formed the core group and were joined by supporters along the way. RFE Coordinators Babs Johnson, Tony Perrone and Greg Jones, as well as the other road warriors agreed with Jones "it was great to see people come out and be involved. The tenacity of the groups was terrific. This has been an impressive turn out for a very important cause!" Babs added "we were welcomed in each city. It was wonderful." Here are the highlights of this historic event: BIRMINGHAM, AL The origin of the Garrett case seemed the obvious launching point. So on September 22nd, with excellent help from the Birmingham CIL, the RFE began. Patricia Garrett and Milton Ash, the two folks in the Garrett case, were there and extremely appreciative of the over 150 supporters gathered in downtown Birmingham at Ingram Park, a site often used during civil rights campaigns. They had thought they were alone in their fight, they said, but now knew better! The Mayor of Birmingham, wearing a "Rolling Freedom Express - Don't Tread on the ADA" T-Shirt, also spoke to those assembled and promised his complete support for the ADA. The event, covered by National Public Radio, NPR, and lots of other media, ended with supporters riding the bus (beautifully wrapped in its Rolling Freedom Express message of support for the ADA) out of town with the procession on it's way to Atlanta. ATLANTA, GA — The King Center was the next site for the RFE, Don't Tread on the ADA rally. Kate Gainer, of the Multicultural Coalition and long time [image] [no image caption] [image] [no image caption] ADAPT member, delivered the opening and closing remarks. The President of People First of Georgia, a representative of the Multicultural Coalition on Disability & Diversity, and Daniel Levitas Executive Director of GARUS spoke powerfully about this case's importance for civil rights. As a symbolic connection with the mental health bell (created from the iron shackles in which patients at psychiatric institutions used to be chained not so long ago) a bell was rung for freedom. After the rally the RFE caravan took off, first from the King Center to the State Capitol and Attorney General's office, then on to site number three. [Subheading] NASHVILLE, TN Gray and rainy weather did not daunt the spirit of the crowds which came from across the volunteer state, from Memphis to Knoxville. At the Capitol's Bicentennial Mall, speakers from the Memphis Center for Independent Living (Deborah Cunningham), ADAPT of Memphis (Tim Wheat) and of Nashville (Paul Ford), as well as the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities called for justice and an end to the attacks on our civil rights. "This case, the Garrett case, is much more than a employment case. A negative ruling could end our equal opportunity" Wheat said. [Subheading] LOUISVILLE, KY — Neither rain, nor sleet, nor dark... kept the ZFE from its fourth event. Plans to move the press conference and rally onto the bus proved unnecessary as the weather broke! Despite a desolate morning, about 100 people turned out along with local media, to cheer support. The Governor's representative Pam Wallace read a letter from the Governor supporting the ADA, and the Mayor's representative Saundra Williams delivered a proclamation from the Mayor also sup-porting the ADA. Louisville ADAPT's Laura Evanoff told the crowd "the ADA signaled equal opportunity and equal rights for all persons with disabilities. We finally felt the day had come when we could honestly say 'America for All!'.... But now a decade later our rights are under massive attack from all sectors." She added, "I am not a lawyer, but I've been told that losing the Garret case could be the domino that topples the whole ADA." Afterward local supporters joined the RFE caravan as it headed north to Ohio. [Subheading] COLUMBUS, OH The sun shone, for a change, and the beautiful day welcomed the caravan and 200 local supporters gathered at Ohio's Capitol building. Three TV stations, two local radio stations, the newspaper and both NPR and the Associated Press were there. Mary Butler and other speakers from the Center on Deafness, Mid-Ohio center for independent living (MOBIL), and the Arc, all expressed their concerns regarding the Garrett case now in the Supreme Court and the attempts to whittle away at the rights of disabled people. Roland Sykes, who kicked off the event, said "Passage of the ADA was a struggle and protecting it will be one too. Let me be more adamant it will be a war with many fronts, a war we must not lose! Many of us may have started to take these positive changes for granted. We advocated for many years and now we wanted to just get on with our lives. Well the Garrett case is a wake up call. A wake up call that says the ADA is under attack and could be weakened or lost! We must be united!" [Subheading] PITTSBURGH, PA — With a band playing and folks lunching at tables and restaurants around the bustling Market Square, plenty of members of the public heard the RFE message in downtown Pittsburgh. Mayor Tom Murphy and City Councilmember Alan Hetzberg joined the RFE crowd of 200 to declare their support for the ADA, welcoming this important event to their city. Bill Crisner, Executive Director of the Three Rivers Center for Independent Living, Kathleen Kleinmann of ADAPT and Tri-County Patriots for Independent Living Director, Mark Murphy from the Disability Law Project, Kyle Glozier of ADAPT and Lucy Spruill former ADA Coordinator for the City were among the disability advocates who spoke out against the attacks on the ADA and the importance of civil rights protections for all. Another victorious advocate who spoke at the event was Diana Lesmeski, the famous "flagpole mom" who chained herself to a flagpole to dramatize her fight for educational services for her disabled son. Several van loads of locals joined the caravan as the beautifully decorated RFE bus led the way out of town. [Subheading] HARRISBURG, PA --- At the state Capitol building droves of advocates called for an end to the attacks on the ADA. Linda Anthony of Keystone ADAPT and Executive Director of Pennsylvania Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, PCCD, rousingly opened the event. Glenn Niman of PCCD; Kevin Casey of the Protection and Advocacy agency; Statewide Independent Living Council Executive Director Sandi Webber, and Vince Portzline of ACT, all spoke eloquently about the importance of the ADA and what loosing it would mean to the disability community. Chico Ross, of PCCD and ADAPT, told of being institutionalized and fighting to get out, and how a loss in the Garrett case could mean our fight to get folks out of nursing homes and other institutions could go down the toilet. The Disability Law Project's Tom Earle addressed the legal threats and the current court battles. Doris Washington, mother of a son with autism, talked about her son's discrimination and fear of lack of protections if the ADA were to be erased. Ending with a march across the bridge which spans the Susquehanna river, the caravan then rolled on to the City of Brotherly Love. [Subheading] PHILADELPHIA, PA — where the Constitution of the United States was drafted, where states' rights versus federal protections were first debated, hosted Friday's Rally. Over 200 people gathered to hear speakers decry the states' rights threats to the ADA. With the Liberty Bell as their backdrop, disability rights advocates spoke out. A man from Speaking for Ourselves sang "We Shall Over-come." Philadelphia ADAPT's Erik von Schmetterling called for justice for all, pointing out that when rights of some are denied, the rights of all are threatened. Larry Bricks, a deaf advocate, Dorothy Ruffin of Philly ADAPT, and Connie Schuster of Artists for Recovery, talked about the importance of the ADA's guarantees in their lives. [image] [no image caption] [paragraph continues] Tom Earl of the Disabilities Law Project, and Fran Fulton of Liberty Resources (which shut down their office for several hours so that all the staff and consumers could participate in the rally) warned of the real threat this case and others in the pipe-line to the Supreme Court. Three TV stations and NPR were there. [Subheading] BALTIMORE, MD — The last day of the RFE began in Baltimore's Fort McHenry, site of a critical Civil War battle. There Bernie Fitzpatrick told the gathered crowd that recent burns to his legs and trouble finding home care to change his dressings had put him at risk of being admitted to a nursing home. He implored the crowd to "...keep fighting for me, and I'll be there to fight with you. ADA Today, ADA Tomorrow, ADA Forever." [Subheading] WASHINGTON, D.C. — After 10 cities in 6 states over 8 days, the Rolling Freedom Express rolled to a stop in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building. With horns blaring, the caravan was led to the court by Bobbie Coward, Jr. and Mwenea Ajanaka who rode out front in their electric wheelchairs. As the freedom riders disem-barked from a long line of vehicles follow-ing the official Rolling Freedom bus, they looked straight ahead to see "Don't Tread on the ADA" and "Civil Rights not State's Rights" banners framed by the words carved into the stone above the Supreme Court door-" EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW." Speakers included: Justin Dart, Chair of the DC Statewide Independent Living Council Don Galloway, Jorge Pineda of Capitol Area ADAPT, Kyle Glozier of PA ADAPT; American Association of Persons with Disabilities' Director Andy Imparato, and Jacquida Patrick, the 2000 Ms. Washington, D.C. Senior Division. Coward concluded "the disability civil rights movement is my watch, and though threats may occur I am committed to our hard won rights not being lost-not on my watch!" [Subheading] THANK YOU, FROM A MOM TO ADAPT I have been a nurse for over 20 years and the adoptive mother of a beautiful boy with special needs for 12 years. When I returned from the capitol security briefing on Monday and found many of the ADAPT people cuffed to the White House I stopped long enough to determine "what's wrong." One of the gentleman explained the ADAPT group and reason for being in DC. I thanked him and crossed the street, found a tree and sat down and cried. My heart is so thankful that there is an organized group of people that fight daily for my child and our life. Many times I have wanted to curse the darkness. I didn't know there was more like me. Now, my heart if full of light. Thank you. During my meetings with senators and representatives on Wednesday and Thursday I heard little musings about the "ADAPT group." My heart swelled with pride. Although I do not see myself as being an "activist," I have learned to fight for my child. I will not succumb to his demise due to systematic inconsistencies and red tape. 12 years ago I brought him home from the hospital, 8 years moved with him across state lines in foster care, 7 years ago adopted him, and broke him out of a children's home 6 years ago. I guess that is a bit of "action." Whatever I can do to help, I will and I will contact the people here in Illinois. I could get food, wipe brows, offer a cool spray or a drink of water, instead of being cuffed to the fence. If you need that help, I will help you and enlist my friends. Thanks for your work, Chrissy L. Nelson PS: My eyes still fill with tears at the thought of you being cuffed to the fence and blocking the doors. Be well my friends, I honor you with my life.
ADAPT (1294)
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This page continues the article from Image 1295. Full text available on 1295 for easier reading.