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PHOTO by Tom Olin: Close up of Mike Auberger with mouth open chanting. Around his neck is a kryptonite lock locked to a second lock, which is locked to a revolving door. He wears and ADAPT bandanna around his head and long braids. Caption reads: ADAPT member Mike Auberger puts his neck on the line. DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES TURN UP THE HEAT IN CAPITOL In more ways than one, the heat was turned up in Washington, D.C. during the week of March 11 to March 17, 1990. Weather records were shattered as the mercury climbed to 89 degrees on Monday and remained hot all week; the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin bloomed three weeks early. There was another heat wave going on as people with disabilities from all over the country converged on the Capitol to push for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which passed the Senate last September and is now stalled in the House. On Monday, March l2, we gathered in front of the White House at noon. Over 1000 strong, most in wheelchairs but including people who are deaf and blind, we marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, the 17 blocks to the U.S. Capitol. We carried signs and chanted “ADA Now!" At the Capitol, Justin Dart, chairman of the President's Committee, said that partial equality is not equality: “We want an end to discrimination against the disabled, the nation's most impoverished, isolated and segregated minority." King Jordan, president of Gallaudet University, warned “If we don’t get what we want, we will be back to stay." Mike Auberger, from ADAPT, closed with a stirring speech. “We are Americans," he said, “and we want the same rights as everyone else." After the speeches, many abandoned their wheelchairs and climbed the 83 steps on the west front of the Capitol, as a symbolic gesture dramatizing the barriers that the disabled still face. On Tuesday, many assembled in the huge rotunda inside the U.S. Capitol and heard speeches by Speaker Thomas Foley, Congressman Robert Michel and Congressman Stenny Hoyer of Maryland, who is coordinating the House legislative effort on ADA. Hearing that no promises could be given as to the date of a House vote, many started chanting “ADA Now!" Many were arrested for illegal entry, carried in police vans to a police facility and then to court for paper work. Many did not get back to the hotel until midnight. It was a matter of individual conscience whether anyone was arrested; many chose not to, believing that the legislative process has been working well so far. On Wednesday. about 60 were arrested at the Rayburn Building in and near the office of Congressman Bud Shuster of Pennsylvania, who had supported some weakening amendments to ADA. On Thursday, a small group (their numbers reduced because so many were in court) assembled at housing and urban development and asked to see secretary Jack Kemp; he was out of town but Undersecretary Alfred Dellabovi came down. There was a productive talk concerning the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988. Some weakening amendments to the Housing Act, relating to access standards, had been proposed; the disability groups strongly opposed. On Friday, some members of ADAPT protested at the Greyhound terminal. Some of the strongest opposition to ADA has come from Greyhound and other private bus companies, who fear that the cost of wheelchair lifts will be excessive. But the disability groups claim as much a right to be on a bus as anyone else. After a glorious week, the participants began the long journey home by train, bus, airplane or dust-covered van. Though many other disability groups were involved, much credit goes to Wade Blank, Mike Auberger, Bob Kafka, and Mark Johnson, all of ADAPT. It‘s too early to tell whether our goals have been reached, but there was a feeling of solidarity. and of a successful crusade on behalf of equal rights for disabled people in employment, in transportation, in housing, in places of public accommodation, in every aspect of American life. That, indeed, is the purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act. —Richard B. Treanor At the bottom of the page is a Callahan cartoon: Three women in a row. First woman is in a wheelchair and below her it says "M.S." Second woman is standing with a walker and below her it says "M.D." Third woman is very overweight and below her it says "M&Ms".
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Denver Post 3/13/90 Handicapped stage crawl-in protest up steps of Capitol Slow pace of access legislation attacked By the Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON — Crawling up the Capitol steps to dramatize the barriers confronting them, scores of disabled persons rallied yesterday to protest delays in congressional action on a Senate-passed bill to expand their access to jobs, transportation and public services. The legislation, endorsed by President Bush, has broad bipartisan backing but has been moving at glacial speed through four House committees since it was approved overwhelmingly by the Senate last September. When dozens left their wheelchairs to crawl to the Capitol entrance, spectators’ attention focused on 8-year-old Jennifer Keelan of Denver, who propelled herself to the top of the steep stone steps using only her knees and elbows. The demonstration at the West Front of the Capitol had some of the fervor of a civil rights rally of the 1960s as the demonstrators chanted slogans and sang songs to underscore their message to Congress. Rep. Pat Schroeder, D-Colo., told the crowd: “What we did for civil rights in the 1960s we forgot to do for people with disabilities." Justin Dart, chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. told the rally, “Two centuries is long enough for people with disabilities to wait before the constitutional promise of justice is kept.” “If we have to come back, perhaps we’ll simply stay until they pass (the bill),” said I. King Jordan, first deaf president of Gallaudet College for the deaf located nearby, hinting at a disabled camp-in on Capitol Hill. Organizers of the rally said disabled persons from 30 states, including many in wheelchairs, came to demand immediate action on the bill without any weakening amendments. Despite grumbling from rally goers that the Bush Administration and Democratic leaders were relaxing their efforts on behalf of the measure, key advocates predicted the House logjam will be broken in the next few weeks. Chairman Evan Kemp of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission denied any lack of enthusiasm by the White House. PHOTO (Associated Press): A young woman (Julie Farrar) bumps up the Capitol steps and watches as a young girl crawls (Jennifer Keelan) up the steps on her hands and knees beside her. They are about a half dozen steps from the top. A cameraman walks up the steps beside Jennifer and another camera person at the top of steps films as well. A half dozen people sit and stand watching the climb. In the background against the sky is the dome of the Capitol. Caption reads: UPHILL BATTLE: Jennifer Keelan, 8, of Denver, left, leads protesters on a crawl up the West Front of the U.S. Capitol.
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Different TIMES THE NEWSPAPER DEDICATED TO THE PROPOSITION THAT ALL PERSONS ARE CREATED DIFFERENT, BUT EQUAL $125 Vol. IV, No.4 April, 1990 Protesters disable capitol Photo (World Wide Photos): Three protesters in wheelchairs sit in front of the Capitiol building beside the crowd. One sits, back to the camera, Walter Hart faces the camera with a bandanna and dark glasses, and Joe Carle sits sideways. Behind them in the far distance is the dome of the Capitol and directly behind them between the dome and the group is the ADAPT flag (an American flag with the stars arranged in the access symbol.) Caption reads: About 1500 persons of disability rallied for protest outside capitol in Washington, D.C. last month. STORY 1: by Vonne Worth Protest marches last month may influence passage of a strong Americans with Disabilities Act soon. 1500 join in Washington, DC demonstrations to pass ADA in House On March 12, Americans with Disabilities for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT) marched from the White House to the Capitol Building, said Mike Auberger, an organizer with ADAPT. About 1500 people from all over the country with many different disabilities took part, he said. At the White House, a spokesperson "reaffirmed President Bush's position that he wanted to see the Senate version of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed intact," Auberger said. The ADA is a civil rights act for persons of disability which prohibits discrimination in employment, transportation, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications. It has passed the Senate and is now in the House of Representatives, where some business interests are lobbying heavily against it. ADAPT was demonstrating to work for passage of the ADA, according to Auberger. After the march to the capitol, several speakers talked to the crowd. They included Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.); Rep. Major Owens (D-N.Y.), one of the sponsors of the ADA; Justin Dart, of the Congressional Task Force on Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities; Jim Brady, former President Reagan's press secretary; Auberger, and others. Then there was a crawl up the steps of the capitol. "The reason for the crawl was to let everybody in the House know that we're not going to let any obstacle stop us from having the ADA passed," Auberger said. “It wasn't to gain sympathy or to gain votes." ADAPT protesters marched to the rotunda the following day, March 13, and took over the rotunda. 104 of them were arrested. March l4, ADAPT demonstrators went to the Sam Rayburn Building. “We took over [Rep.] Bud Schuster's (R-Pa.) office who's the minority chairman of the Transportation Committee," Auberger said. “He's been the one within the Transportation Committee who's tried to add amendments like ‘Cities under 200,000 would not have to lift-equip their vehicles." “Also he was going after inclement weather—if you had too much snow, like we have here in Denver, you wouldn't have to have lift-equipped vehicles even though we already do. We have an average of 60 inches of snow a year," Auberger related. “Most of those amendments were defeated," Auberger added. “At the same time, we met with Hamilton Fish, (R-NY) who is the minority chairman of the Judiciary Committee," Auberger said. The ADA is undergoing constant attempts to weaken the remedy section; however, Fish didn't seem aware of this, according to Auberger. But Fish sat down in his office with about 30 disabled people and "talked with us probably for about a half hour and made a commitment that he would do everything within his position as minority leader of that Committee to see that there isn't any weakening and we were also at the Judiciary Committee Offices and we were working on setting up a meeting with Attorney General Thornburgh because he was the one who had been raising the issue of weakening the remedies section," Auberger said. “They were working on that and they tried to stall so at about seven o'clock, they were closing the capitol, we all refused to leave from Bud Schuster's office and from the Judiciary Committee and there were 60 people arrested in those offices and we got out about one o'clock that night," Auberger related. He said the demonstrations seemed to work. “lt clearly had this real effect on the hill when you went up there." PHOTO (by Tom Olin): Looking from over the shoulders and head of a woman (Cassie James) on the floor sitting between the back of a power wheelchair and a desk, she is holding onto the desk with her left arm and is scrunched in. Over her head on the other side of the room 3 other people people with disabilities out of their wheelchairs (Eric von Schmeterling, Carol Marfisi and Kent Killam) are sitting on the floor. Behind them is a desk and the wall with photos on it, Congressional meomentos. Caption reads: Demonstrators sit in Rep. Bud Schuster’s (R-Pa.) office to protest his sponsorship of amendments that would have substantially weakened ADA sections dealing with transportation. All of a sudden, these representatives knew the ADA was an issue and that disabled people were here and they [the congresspersons] had that look of ‘Are you one of them that are raising all the hell?’ They had a whole different understanding of disability—that you need to see a different side of disabled people, not the side that you want to think of as poor and helpless. They clearly were educated very fast over those two days,” Auberger commented. “Now as a result of that demonstration and one in Philadelphia, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has rewritten the final regs to require all mainline systems to be lift-equipped into the future and to provide paratransit for those people who cannot get to the bus stop. These are new regs that have 90-day comment periods—the transit industry is not going" to oppose them,” he explained. Also, ADA should come to the House for a vote soon. It will be brought the the floor within 60 days and there is a lot of support for the bill, said Charles Siegal, from Speaker Foley’s press secretary’s office. ADA went through the Energy Committee without any amendments and no changes from the Senate version, Auberger indicated. “That happened while we were there and I'm sure that's why it happened that way," he said. STORY 2: by Vonne Worth A protest in Washington, D.C. by a disability group has resulted in the filing of a half-million-dollarlawsuit against the District of Columbia Court System. Americans with Disabilities for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT), many in wheelchairs, crawled up the stairs to the nation ’s capitol and took over the rotunda on March 13. They demanded to talk to Speaker of the House Tom Foley (D-Wash.) and Minority Leader of the House Robert Michel (R-Ill.) about passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “He [Foley] was not happy to come to meet with us" said Mike Auberger, organizer with ADAPT. "He didn't seem to have met with a lot of disability groups, he didn't quite know how to respond to that many disabled people and he talked about him pushing and speeding up the process and he tried to explain ‘we don’t understand the legislative process,’ and we said, ‘of course, we do, we're not totally stupid, just disabled.” “And Michel pretty much came out with the same sentiment and we let him know that he and other Republicans could be targets of the demonstration later in the week simply because they put more and more and more weakening amendments into the ADA,” Auberger added. The talk seemed to break down and the Capitol Police were called. “They were continuing to speak, we heard enough and so we were pretty much just chanting at that point ‘ADA now, now less,"' Auberger said. “At the point where we decided people could get arrested, all went to the center of the rotunda and circled there and several of us chained ourselves together with kryptonite locks," Auberger related. Within 15 minutes, 104 people, most of them in wheelchairs, were arrested, Auberger indicated. Then the police couldn’t cut through the locks. “They tried bolt cutters, they tried two different types of bolt cutters, they didn't work, so they had to bring in a hydraulic bolt cutter and it finally did work on the first one, but it broke on the second one, so they finally tried the bolt cutters again and they went through this whole process of getting these 104 people who were chanting in the middle of the rotunda ‘ADA now’ out," Auberger said. “It took about two and a half hours to get everybody out of the building since they only used one elevator which could take only one person at a time," Auberger explained. “At 1:28 Eastern time, they had to close the capitol to the public so that they could ‘get rid of all those rowdy disabled people." “They didn't have lift-equipped vehicles, so they had to lift everybody into vans and it took four or five officers to lift each chair into a van and they drive off with two chairs to a van to the police station, and then it took four or five more officers" to get them off, Auberger said. “They took everybody to police headquarters where they booked everybody and released them the next moming about one o'clock," Auberger related. It took 12 hours for the police to book 104 people. “This was a major process, them getting everybody out there," Auberger said, “lt was just a nightmare for them." The next afternoon, they went to the Sam Rayburn Building and took over offices of the congressmen on the Transportation and Judiciary Committees. About 60 people were arrested that day. The next two days were spent in court, Auberger said. “The majority of people ended up paying $10 in court costs and suspended sentences and that was pretty much it,” Auberger said. “There were five people who were given probation in their own cities from six months to a year just for being, I would suspect, ringleaders," he said. The judge in the case was disabled. “He had an arm that he couldn’t use at all,” Auberger said. Auberger said he felt the judge wasn’t sympathetic to the case. “His position was ‘You write your congressman if you want to change things,”’ Auberger said. “We all did that, clearly. It didn’t do a damn bit of good, but he wasn’t going to hear that. He pretty much gave out fines, four of them were for $100 and ten day suspended sentences and mine was $500 and a 20 day suspended sentence plus I have the longest, a year probation in-my city.” Auberger said it was rare for courts to send probation orders back to one’s home city. “Ironically, what was so incredible was the next day, when we went to file our probation papers, the building we were supposed to file our probation papers in was inaccessible,” Auberger said. “We come back to the courthouse, we talked to our attomey; unfortunately, the judge wasn’t around.” “They [had] put us all on probation and then we couldn’t get into the building to do the probation. Well, then, they told us, ‘Do it out in the hall by the courtroom.’.No. That's unacceptable. If everybody else goes into the building, we should be able to as well.” “So we’ve now filed a half a million dollar lawsuit against the District of Columbia Court System for denying us our civil rights.” About 250 people took part in the action. Copyright 1990, Different TIMES
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Denver Post Rights bill OK’d for disabled President expected to sign landmark act By The Washington Post WASHINGTON — Amid rare displays of personal emotion, the Senate gave final approval yesterday to landmark legislation barring discrimination against an estimated 43 million Americans with physical and mental disabilities and sent the bill to President Bush, who is expected to sign it. The legislation was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate after several members spoke with deep emotion of the importance of the legislation to brothers, sisters and children in their own families. The Americans with Disabilities Act, which would give the disabled the same civil-rights protections in jobs, accommodations and services that currently apply to minorities, women and the elderly, was approved by the Senate by a vote of 91 to 6. The House, voting 377 to 28, approved it late Thursday. The way was cleared for final action on the measure when House-Senate negotiators agreed Thursday morning to a Senate proposal to drop a provision that would have let employers transfer workers with AIDS out of food-handling jobs. On the Senate floor yesterday, Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass, visibly struggled with their own emotions as they told of close relatives who were inspirations to them in spite of — or because of — their disabilities. Simultaneously ,'speaking and giving his summation in sign language in tribute to an older brother who is deaf, Harkin, the bill's sponsor, said it “sends the world a clear and unequivocal message that people with disabilities are entitled to be judged on the basis of their abilities and not on the basis of ignorance, fear and prejudice.” “American will be a better place because of the action we take today,” said Hatch, who fought back tears as he told of the inspiration he drew from a brother-in-law "who was stricken by polio and slept nights in an iron lung after working every day until his death. Kennedy told of his mentally retarded sister, Rosemary, and his son, Ted. who lost a leg to cancer. PHOTO (Associated Press): A group of people stand in a fancy Capitol room. On the left side of the picture two men in suits stand together (Rep. Hoyer and Sen. Hatch) one holding a cloth and smiling, the other wiping his eye. Facing them is a small crowd of people several of whom are clapping and smiling. A man on the far right appears to be blind. In front of the others are a woman and a man (Justin Dart) in wheelchairs. Justin, wearing his trademark cowboy hat, has his head down and is wiping his eyes. A tall man in the back is taking a picture over other people's heads. Caption reads: EMOTIONAL SHOW. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., left, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, wiping away a tear, join in celebrating passage of bill on employing people with disabilities.
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Cover of the magazine Habilitation! there is a line of only partially readable text:something Research and something Coalition The picture which fills the cover is of a crowd of people with various disabilities sitting in wheelchairs, 15 people are visable but it seems they are just a part of a much bigger crowd. Most are ADAPT members wearing various ADAPT T-shirts, one fellow has a white button down shirt and tie. Facing the camera, they are cheering and clapping . At the bottom of the picture six more people, again apparently part of a much larger group, face the rest, backs to the camera. In the center Justin Dart sits sideways to the camera. He is wearing his signature hat, black rimmed glasses, a coat and tie; in his lap are papers and he is holding something like a pen in one hand. He appears to be addressing the crowd around him. Directly behind him, her back to his back, stands a short woman who appears to be a sign language interpreter.
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Grapevine (the title is surrounded by grape leaves and clusters of grapes) Weekly Happy birthday, TJ, see Editorial, p. 2. New Thomas Pynchon novel reviewed, see p. 5. FREE! In This Issue: Editorial . . . . ............ . . . 2 Letters to the Editor ..... 2 City Board Agenda.........2 Lithuanian Story to Tell..3 Grapevine Digest............3 Sheffield Nelson's Vi......4 The Way Were.................5 Grapevine Comics...........6 KUAF Radio Guide.........6 Classifieds.........................7 Community Sportsline.....7 Dictionary of Democracy..7 Watching the Environment 8 The Movies . . . . . . ..............8 Local Live Music . . . ..........8 Volume XXI, Number 32 A Free Weekly Newspaper Fayetteville, Arkansas Friday, April 13, 1990 PHOTO (by Tom Olin): The front line of a big march, headed by an African American man (George Roberts) in a motorized wheelchair with dark glasses and a sign reading "We Shall Overcome", a woman (Stephanie Thomas) with frizzy hair and mirror sunglasses in a manual wheelchair, a sign across her legs reads "Access is A Civil Right", a Latino blind man (Frank Lozano) standing tall with his back back, bandanna-headband, and dog-guide Frazier on his left all with stern expressions on their faces. To Frank's left a young girl (Jennifer Keelan) almost stands in her wheelchair yelling a chant as her grandmother and sister Kailee push her along. Behind them a man in a white button down shirt (Evan Kemp) smiles, Justin Dart's hat is visible over Stephanie's hair and he is being pushed by a tall man (Jay Rochlin) in a suit with a button on his lapel. Between Frank and Jennifer, a short man (Michael Winter) in a wheelchair is visible. Behind them, row upon row of marchers heads, several with mouths open chanting. Breaking Down the Barriers Civil Rights for People with Disabilities by Yaél Hana Bethiem In 1983 I considered killing myself. l considered this out of a deep despair, an agony over my life. In 1983 I had been diagnosed with a progressive disease. I could no longer work, could no longer sit in chairs and could stand for shorter and shorter periods of time. In other words, I was becoming disabled. I was panicked. How could I live without my physical life, my strength, my independence? What I didn't see at the time was that I was buying into our culture's attitudes about disability. I could not value myself or value my life because the system I had to fight to get my basic needs met, did not value me; l live in a culture that believes that "out of sight, out of mind" is acceptable policy for dealing with people with disabilities. In a culture that values productivity above all else, those who cannot produce, or who need assistance to be able to produce, are considered a burden. Our culture also has a myth called the “American way," which says that if anyone "tries hard enough" he or she can “make it." When applied to people with disabilities this means that if only we “try harder" we can "overcome." We can rise above the barriers, showing superhuman strength, and then we will be more acceptable. This attitude makes people believe the barriers do not need tn be removed. Instead, they think we, the disabled, need to overcome them. In other words, the closer we cart be to “normal," the more we are accepted. Those who cannot become more normal are locked away, out of sight, out of mind. Those of us living within this oppression, for it is oppression, often internalize the culture's attitudes. We believe there is something wrong with us. Millions of people share this fate with me; we are locked away by a society that would prefer to pretend we do not exist. We are imprisoned by attitudes that do not see people with disabilities as fully human; attitudes that expect us to "overcome" (or heal ourselves); attitudes that create barriers, or do not see the barriers that do exist. There are 43 million people with disabilities in the United States. We are one of the most repressed minorities in this country. We are denied access to basic rights, transportation, jobs, and respect. For people with disabilities there are thousands of ways the oppression affects us, thousands of forms of prejudice and visible and invisible barriers. An example of the effects of this oppression is the story of David Rivlin. David was a quadriplegic who, last summer, chose to have his respirator turned off. He went to court to ask for the right to die. His story was aired on TV. I heard people around me say, “l would do that too. I wouldn't want to live like that." David lived in a nursing home. He lay in bed twenty-four hours a day tied to a stable respirator. David didn't have to live this way. He could have had a portable respirator and thus been able to use a wheelchair. He didn't know about a portable respirator and no one ever told him. The government was paying $2300 day to keep David in a nursing home, but would pay only $207 a month for an attendant so David could live independently. The day before David died, a reporter covering David's story discovered that money could have been gotten for David to live independently if someone had known how lo “work the system." David's struggle reflects the struggle of people with disabilities in this country. If David, and other people with disabilities were given their right to make choices in their lives all along, there would be no necessity of fighting for the right to die. The Americans With Disabilities Act There is a growing awareness of the need for change in policy and attitude toward people with disabilities. Last year a bill was introduced in Congress called the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA would begin to guarantee civil rights for people with disabilities. Although it has already been modified since its inception, the ADA, as it now stands, would be a beginning to removing barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating in society. Unfortunately, the ADA is facing serious compromise due to powerful lobbies against it. It is also facing changes that would remove its power as a civil rights act. Last summer, the ADA was passed almost unanimously by the Senate. It was endorsed by President Bush. It then moved into the House of Representatives, where it is now stalled. The most powerful lobbies against the bill are Greyhound and the National Federation of Independent Businesses along with the Chambers of Commerce. Greyhound is against the ADA because they will have to equip new buses with wheelchair lifts. They claim it will cost them millions of dollars, yet they are adding in costs that have nothing to do with the Americans With Disabilities Act. While using erroneous concepts for the cost figures, Greyhound is pouring money into Washington to fight the bill. The National Federation of Independent Businesses also base their antagonism to the ADA on erroneous concepts. The NFIB is saying the ADA will cause hardship for businesses. The ADA requires that public facilities constructed after the ADA becomes law be accessible. Existing facilities have to be accessible within two years of enactment if the access is "readily achievable without much difficulty or expense." In other words. businesses can decide for themselves whether they can afford to provide access. On March 10, American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT) held a march on Washington to promote awareness of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Over 1,000 people with disabilities came from all over the country. They marched from the White House to the steps of the Capitol. The rest of the week was filled with talks with key figures and demonstrations. Many people participated in planned civil disobedience aimed at calling attention to the current injustice. Because the ADA is civil rights legislation, it ties in with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. New legislation has just been introduced that would create real remedies for violations of the Civil Rights Act. Because the ADA is tied to the Civil Rights Act these remedies would also apply to violations of the ADA. Opponents of ADA want to separate the ADA from the Civil Rights Act. For people with disabilities this would be a compromise that essentially negates the purpose of the ADA. People with disabilities deserve to be treated fairly and humanely, which at this point we are not. It is time to remove the barriers, especially the barriers of mind. It is time to break down the walls that have kept people with disabilities imprisoned. The Americans With Disabilities Act is a very important step. Please write to Hon. John Paul Hammerschmidt at U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515 or 35 E. Mountain, Fayetteville, AR 72701 . Let him know you are aware of the ADA. Ask him to support it as it now stands. Only unity can save our threatened planet.On every level we have to move out of the mindset of differences and into the awareness of our shared humaneness. Now it is time also to move out of separation based on physical ability. Only then can we really share our resources. Only awareness of barriers can bring the possibility of their removal. Yael Hana Bethiemn is a free lance writer from Eureka Springs.
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PHOTO by Tom Olin: Justin Dart is in forground with a patriot wig with a pony tail on his head, under his hat. Stuck in his hatband is a gods eye, the crossed sticks with yarn wound around them in a square pattern. Dart is yelling and his mouth is open. Behind him Brian Shea is also yelling, his mouth also open. Behind Brian another person in an ADAPT shirt (possibly Fred ________ from Chicago).
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The Washington Post, Metro Section 5/6/93 [Headline] The Disabled Plan to Show Washington They're Enabled—and Entitled By Liz Spayd, Washington Post Staff Writer Michael Auberger has shackled his wheelchair to city buses in Dallas. He has barricaded hotel entrances in San Francisco, and he has thrown himself in front of federal buildings, government officials, even oncoming traffic, all to draw attention to the rights of the disabled. This weekend, Auberger and hundreds of other activists from across the country plan to converge on Washington for a three-day blitz of demonstrations and marches in what promises to be the largest protest in history for people with disabilities. “We've written the letters, made the phone calls, had the meetings, and the bottom line is we're still being treated like second-class citizens." said Auberger, co-founder of ADAPT, an activist group that is spearheading the activities. “lf those channels don't work, you take to the streets." Organizers say the immediate purpose of the demonstrations is to demand that the federal government commit more money to helping disabled people live at home, instead of in institutions. At the same time, they want to continue the larger campaign for equal rights that produced the Americans With Disabilities Act, landmark legislation that went into effect last year. A march to the White House and a memorial service for Wade Blank, who was a leader in the movement, are expected to draw the largest crowds, both on Sunday. What may draw the most attention, however, are demonstrations on Monday and Tuesday, when protesters are expected to disrupt Washington with human blockades of buildings and streets. The exact places and times for those actions aren't being disclosed, but the targets could include public buildings, such as the Capitol and the White House, and some federal agencies. “We like to preserve the element of surprise," Auberger said. ADAPT — an acronym for American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today — has been staging protests every six months for more than a decade to fight what it says is the inhumane treatment of the disabled at nursing homes and other institutions. The group said it hopes to redirect 25 percent of the $23 billion in Medicaid funds currently budgeted for nursing homes into programs that would enable those with disabilities to have attendants in their homes. Currently, each state sets policy for how much Medicaid money will go toward attendant care programs, but there is no national policy. [Subheading] Disabled Activists Plan 3-Day Protest The strike on Washington is timed to pressure the Clinton administration into focusing on people with disabilities as part of its package of health care revisions, due out soon, activists said. "Clinton has talked about change and says he wants people to be able to live at home, but what we're looking for is more than just words," said Bob Kafka, an ADAPT organizer in Texas who plans to bring a caravan of about 50 people to Washington. In the past, ADAPT activists have drawn attention to their cause by employing sometimes sensational tactics. They have done belly crawls across hotel lobbies in San Francisco, clawing at passersby. They have taken sledgehammers to street curbs in Denver to protest sidewalks that were inaccessible to wheelchair users. And they have swarmed and blockaded buildings in virtually every major U.S. city; a demonstration in Chicago last spring forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 American Medical Association workers and created disruptions in a half-dozen other downtown facilities. Though such events have attracted media attention, some individuals and `groups` sympathetic to ADAPT’s cause question how effective they are in achieving the larger goal of attaining more money for in-home care. “We're sympathetic to their concerns, but we think the tactics they use bring attention to ADAPT and not the problem," said Claudia Askew, a spokeswoman for the American Health Care Association, which represents 11,000 nursing homes and is a frequent target of ADAPT protests. Disabled people also are somewhat splintered over whether ADAPT's approach helps or hurts their cause. “There are people with disabilities that think ADAPT is a little extreme," said Patrick McCurdy, vice president of Marylanders for Adequate Attendant Care, a group that generally relies on peaceful protests and negotiations to lobby for in-home care. McCurdy did defend ADAPT's technique as a necessary part of an overall approach to force change in a society that he said has long ignored the rights of disabled people. Few spoke up for those rights until recently, but the Americans With Disabilities Act provided new protections to disabled people and helped forge a civil rights movement among the 43 million people with physical or mental impairments. “A great byproduct of the [disabilities act] is the new sense of confidence and empowerment it has instilled within the disability community," said Justin Dart, chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, a small federal agency. “It's generated an enormous infusion of dignity and pride." Gregory Dougan, a District resident, said the renewed sense of hope is one reason he will take part in Sunday's march. Dougan, who was born with cerebral palsy and uses crutches, said he is fortunate to be able to live at home. But several of his friends live in institutions because they can't get the in-home care they need. And on Sunday, Dougan said, he will be thinking of them. "I'll be tired at the end of the day," he said, "but my crutches and me are going to that march."
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Incitement [This picture contains an article and the "ADAPTed" lyrics to a song. The article text continues in ADAPT 1012, 1011, 1010 and 1009, but is included here in it's entirety for easier reading. The lyrics appear here after the complete article.] Photo: A man (Cisneros) and woman (Julian) sit with heads bowed writing on pads in their laps. At their feet a woman (Searle) sits on the floor her arm extended, speaking forcefully. Behind her Three guys in wheelchairs sit in front of a mostly obscured crowd. One other wheelchair user is visible between HUD Secretary Cisneros and Deputy Sec. Julian listen as Jean Searle tells it like it is! Norbert _______, Alfredo Juarez, Jose Lara and Sean Pevsner watch the fireworks. Photo: Holly G Gearhart [Subheading] DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS THE EYES OF TEXAS ARE UPON YOU! Five hundred strong ADAPT took on the third largest city in the United States, Houston Texas, which is home to the third largest nursing home corporation in the nation, Living Centers of America, LCA. As if anticipating ADAPT’s impact, Houston had record high temperatures of over 95 degrees each day. But ADAPT’s stalwart troops withstood the melting temperatures for one of the hottest actions yet! Action started Monday morning as wave after wave of wheelchair warriors reached the front door of Living Centers of America. Transporting these record numbers was quite a trick, especially since Houston’s traffic is known for bumper to bumper log jams on the maze of highways which crisscross its 596 square mile face. Living Centers of Americas corporate headquarters stand alone on the feeder road of IH-10. As if built for defense, this industry giant is surrounded by flat grassy fields, impossible to approach undetected. Clearly everyone could not gather before we entered the building, so speed was of the essence for the first arrivals. Unloading with efficiency learned from experience, the leadership team and first arrivals rushed through the front doors and the lobby. Building security began to realize something funny was going on. As they insisted we sign-in the guest register, we piled in the elevators and headed up to the eighth floor to find LCA corporate mogul Edward Kuntz and his cohorts. Photo by Cante Tinza Inc.: A tight shot of a crowd of ADAPT protesters in front of Living Centers of America glass building. Folks look hit and one woman is holding a poster over her head that reads: I'd rather go to jail than die in a nursing home!! Caption reads: Barbara Hines, AJ and tons of others gave Living Centers of America a does of their own medicine when their office was turned into a nursing home for the day. Last year, in Texas alone, Living Centers amassed $39.28 million in revenues after allowable expenses, according to state human services department cost reports. Nationally, LCA increased their net revenues $185 million, 26%, from 1994 to 1995. Over 50% of their revenues come from Medicaid and other public funds. And 100% came from the lives of people like you and me who do not have a fair choice to stay at home and with attendant services. Insert footnote: When reporting this to the public, ADAPT of TX used to use the term profits, but the Texas nursing home industry threatened to sue us if we used that term. FYI The American Heritage Dictionary defines profits as "the return received on a business undertaking after costs have been met." Your guess at the difference is as good as ours. [back to article] Kuntz and his top level cronies personally pulled in over $2 million in salaries and perques in 1994. This cozy financial package allows Kuntz’s family to live in a genteel little village on the outskirts of Houston. On another much less prosperous edge of Houston, over 200 kids with disabilities are kept on the second floor of the "Thomas Care Center" one of Living Centers’ nursing homes. Fenced in with barbed wire, some do not even leave the grounds to go to school. This is just one of the 209 nursing homes with over 24,000 beds which help pay for the comforts of Kuntz, his staff, board and shareholders. The second wave of ADAPT’s activists went to deliver some barbed wire to Kuntz’s home (since it was apparently good for the kids at Thomas Care Center we figured his family deserved the same protection) but found that -- learning of our plan in advance -- the family had moved down the road a ways. Helpfully, a neighbor phoned the Kuntzes with the unpleasant news of our attempted visit. [Subheading] MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE OFFICE Back at the eighth floor of corporate headquarters, the first arrivals headed into the offices to seek out Kuntz. Doors were locked in our faces and one man pulled a sofa across a hallway to block our passage. However, it was obvious our message had already penetrated the office. ADAPT’s chants rang through their halls, and downstairs van-load after van-load of ADAPTers kept pouring into the building, packing the lobby. Houston police, apparently unable to arrest people in wheelchairs, tried to negotiate, Kuntz hid for the first few hours, but as the building owner grew more and more tense, Kuntz was forced to respond. ln paternalistic frustration police arrested five people who could walk (some with disabilities that were not visible ones.) Negotiations progressed at a snail’s pace, while the police dragged hundreds of ADAPT members out of the building. In the end, Kuntz agreed to meet with representatives from each of the ADAPT `groups` that had come to Houston. The police delivered him outside, where he read a typed, prepared statement of the same old tired lines AHCA folks always use. Then he scurried back inside. << Photo by Cante Tinza, Inc.: Protesters are standing and sitting jammed in by the front of a building. Their mouths are open yelling, one person has a bullhorn and several have their arms raised in the air. Caption reads: Outside the Republican Headquarters ADAPT cheered upon hearing the party chairman had arrived and agreed to our demands. [Back to article] [Subheading] BACK TO THE BEGINNING The Houston event started Sunday with a day of workshops and a Housing Forum with HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros. The workshops were an excellent exchange of information on everything from promoting state versions of CASA (the Community Attendant Services Act, ADAPT’s draft legislation) back home, to developing real housing opportunities for people with disabilities. Justin Dart welcomed ADAPT and Cisneros to his old stomping grounds: Texas. At the forum Cisneros seemed to pick up on many housing issues and was supportive of "visitability" (adaptive or universal design offering basic access so people can visit family, friends, etc.) in addition to better alternatives and more consumer control. However, he was either unwilling or unable to see the problem with HUD sponsoring finance packages for nursing homes and other institutions. In fact he referred to nursing homes as a housing opportunity for older Americans, and seemed to think because people were older they would somehow require such "housing." Clearly, the Secretary’s understanding of disability discrimination is superficial -- at best. More education will be necessary. [Subheading] WE’RE HERE, WE’RE THERE, WE’RE EVERYWHERE Tuesday dawned with the same blistering heat as before. But ADAPT activists were as fired-up as ever to tackle the day’s targets. With over 500 people we could again divide and hit two places in one day, thereby reinforcing our message to the target, namely the leadership of the party in power, the Republican party. Speaker Gingrich and his cohorts still had not lived up to his promises to introduce CASA and include its principles in Medicaid reform proposals. Despite its adherence to the professed Republican values, the party generally has ignored the benefits of CASA: supporting family values, cost effectiveness and getting government out of people's lives. Photo by Carolyn Long: Three women in straw cowboy hats stand in a line arms around each other grinning. Caption reads: Free at last, Donna Redfern, Kathleen Sacco and Marita Heyden finally came out of jail. Bill Henning and Mike Butte were released earlier that day. [Back to article] Half of ADAPT headed for the Harris County Republican Party, and half for the district office of Tom Delay, the US House of Representatives’ Majority Whip (they guy who lines up the votes in favor of the Contract on America). [Subheading] NO ACCESS TO THE REPUBLICAN AND DOLE ELECTION HEADQUARTERS The two actions worked like a charm. ADAPT surrounded the converted gray house where the Harris County Republican Party Headquarters are located. Ironically, this inaccessible building was also the Presidential Campaign headquarters for Dole, who sells himself as the "disability candidate." After quite a wait staff finally located Gary Polland, Chairperson of the Harris County Republicans. In the meantime, ADAPT folks sang the staff numerous versus of "Deep in the Heart of Texas," ADAPT style (see below) When Polland arrived he was very receptive to our demands. He understood that our reform proposal CASA, met many of the Republicans’ goals, and that choice of services was the way to go. He faxed the letters to Dole, Gingrich, Delay and others regarding our concerns and promoting support of our CASA. He also spontaneously offered to have ADAPT representatives present our proposed Party Platform language to the Texas Republican Party Platform Committee when they met to prepare for the state Convention. [Subheading] DON’T DELAY, DELAY All of the 200 crack ADAPT troops who went to Representative Delay’s office managed to get inside the building unhindered, and most made it up to the second floor where Delay had his office. ADAPT’s negotiators were tough, at one point wadding into a ball a draft statement Delay’s staff offered and throwing it back across the table at them. After intense lengthy negotiations, Delay produced a letter committing that he would meet with ADAPT. [Subheading] FREE AT LAST Around midnight that night the last of the five arrested and jailed the first day were released to a rowdy welcoming home crowd of ADAPTers. [Subheading] DAVID AND GOLIATH On Wednesday ADAPT went all together to confront the potentially largest and most heinous enemy of long term care. This menace, lurking just on the horizon, is corporate managed care; this time in the form of one of the industry giants -- Cigna. Although police had spotted us gathering in a nearby empty parking lot, as van load after van load of activists unloaded, they could not stop us as we began to roll. Cigna is one of the biggest insurers handling managed care, a real mover and shaker in the health care arena. As both private and public health care systems move closer and closer toward the managed care model, many problems are surfacing for people with disabilities who have health care needs. Not least among these are the needs for long term care. Long term care is not considered as profitable as acute health care and therefore is less desirable to the managed care corporations. They tend to try and "cream" the most profitable services and ignore the rest. Marching in the front doors, we headed for the elevators to the 12th floor. Leaders demanded to see the CEO as ADAPTers kept filling offices after office and hall after hall. Once the 12th floor was packed, people went for the 11th and 13th floors, and still the lobby remained full of chanting protesters. We took building security and occupants by complete surprise. Working upstairs, a mother of a child with a disability heard the protest and came down to thank ADAPT for lighting for her son. "I worry about him having to go to a nursing home someday. It’s a frightening thought!" she said, and she is right. After some masterful negotiations upstairs and several rounds of ADAPT’s "Deep in the Heart of Texas" from those downstairs in the lobby, Cigna’s Houston CEO Richard Todd, came down to read their letter agreeing to meet with ADAPT to discuss our concerns. The air rang with cheers for ADAPT’s third day of victories. The building chief of security said to one of the day leaders that he was not too happy with our tactics, but the protester pointed out to him that training like this would have cost him over $1,000 a day, yet we had given it for free. The security chief looked amazed, but admitted with a grin it was true! Photo by Cante Tinza, Inc: Between two gleaming metal walls of elevators ADAPT protesters fill all the available space. Facing in all directions waiting for elevators, the group is packed together. Caption reads: ADAPT filled the lobby and several floors of Cigna. We don't want managed care to manage us out of the picture. [back to article] [Subheading] HAVE NO FEAR, ADAPT IS HERE With the largest numbers we have ever had, ADAPT was tested in our ability to work as a team. Each local group had worked hard and in almost every case was able to bring more activists than ever before. Many new faces and many new places were among us. Our people were tested in our faith in one another, and learned the strength we can harness when that faith is kept. Despite some wrinkles, we bested the tests of heat, lack of elevators and transportation. People put up with half hour long waits to get down from the hotel rooms to the staging area, inaccessible vans with make-shift ramps, long cross-city trips on Houston’s traffic-jammed highways, police targeting walking protesters, and record high temperatures and humidity. We put up with these hassles to get across a message, FREE OUR PEOPLE. Acting together ADAPT, once again, was a force to be reckoned with. ADAPT’s message was sent to as many players as possible: day one to the private corporations who seek tremendous profits from the current warped system, day two to the political forces which could effect change but don’t, and day three to those who seek to control the system as it moves to "public- private partnerships." Next stop ATLANTA! [The end of this article] Lyrics Deep in the Heart of TX (song to the tune of Deep in the Heart of Texas) We take no crap Cause we're ADAPT CHORUS: Deep in the Heart of Texas Nursing homes stink They're worse than you think Deep in the Heart of Texas Politicians lie We all know why Deep in the Heart of Texas We'll put a cowboy boot Up the ass of Newt Deep in the Heart of Texas But have no fear ADAPT is here Deep in the Heart of Texas It is my place To get in your face Deep in the Heart of Texas You will be trapped Cause we're ADAPT Deep in the Heart of Texas We want CASA new We don't care how Deep in the Heart of Texas We're making a plea To just be free Deep in the Heart of Texas Rather live in my home Not a nursing home Deep in the Heart of Texas So just be sure What we stand for Deep in the Heart of Texas We take no crap Cause we're ADAPT Deep in the heart of Texas - lyrics by Zak Zakarewsky
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Access LISA News March/April 1993, Page 25 Title: Remembrances of Wade Blank “Ironically, Wade died in the same way he lived - swimming into the face of hostile (political) undercurrents, and giving of his life to help another fight for theirs.” - Access Living ”Leadership he provided and resulting momentum have been instrumental to clearing our biggest obstacles. I don't think we would see wheelchair lifts on buses or a campaign to establish a national Personal Attendant program today if not for the work he and ADAPT have done.” - Marca Bristo "There are some people, just by looking at them, you know they have fundamental deep character. He certainly was one. He participated in the civil rights activity of the 60's from which he learned and applied to our own struggle. He was always straightforward and said what he thought. He was filled with idealism and I hate to lose him." - R. Kent Jones, founder of Chicago 's ADAPT chapter ”He basically stood up for anybody’s right no matter who they were and did so passionately.” - Mike Ervin, Chicago ADAPT member “Wade was an activist with a heart. His family included all people with disabilities. Whether Wade was chanting ‘We will ride’ or ‘Free our people‘ or ‘People united will never be defeated‘ he knew that he must continue to fight for a better America for all people, including those with significant disabilities.” - Sen. Tom Harkin ”To dwell on the tragedy of Wade Blank’s death would be a very large disservice to the future. Wade's life is the message. His existence was a towering triumph that demands to be shouted, to be heard, to be acted on. ”He was a superb organizer. He had total honesty and total follow through. You could take his promises to the bank. ”He understood that love does not smother with criticism, care and control; it encourages, emancipates and empowers. ‘Wade's leadership of love made ADAPT the family for those who had no family.” - Justin Dart Photo: In a park setting Wade stands amid a crowd of people in wheelchairs. His long blonde hair falls over his shoulders and he is looking down at his hands. On a hill top behind there is a lone of what appear to be police officers walking away. Caption reads: Wade Blank, and his family, joined fellow ADAPT members on the protest trail. This photo was taken at an ADAPT action in Baltimore, 1991.