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Home / Albums / Tag press conference 7
- ADAPT (684)
The Orlando Sentinel, Thursday October 10, 1991 the best newspaper in Florida PHOTO by Phelan M Ebenhack/Sentinel: Three people (left to right: Frank Lozano, Bunnie Andrews? and Sue Davis) are standing in front of a wall. On the wall a cross with "Nursing Homes Kill" written on it is partially visable, as is the ADAPT flag (an American Flag with the stars arranged to form the wheelchair/access logo). The three are lifting up an old fashioned folding E & J manual wheelchair to hang it on the cross. Frank, who is blind and wears a headband and T-shirt with ADAPT on them, has his hand raised. Caption reads: Frank Lozano and Bunnie Andrews, both of Colorado Springs, and Sue Davis of Louisville, Ky., chain a wheelchair to a cross marked ‘Nursing Homes Kill.‘ Title: Disabled saw their message on many faces by Sharon McBreen of the Sentinel Staff Protesters say they made their message clear this week after 250 activists in wheelchairs converged on Orlando. “It’s almost as though they never felt it before we've gotten in their faces,” Diane Coleman said. “You can feel the impact of that. You can see it in their eyes." The members of ADAPT — Americans Disabled for Attendant Programs Today — carried a message to the American Health Care Association, which attracted 3,500 delegates to a convention this week at the Peabody Hotel. ADAPT membels want an alternative to nursing home care. And they want to live at home. During the convention, which ends today, ADAPT members tried to block the Peabody’s doors with their bodies and wheelchairs. Police arrested 75 protesters on trespassing charges. The group wants a fourth of the $23 billion Medicaid spends on nursing homes and other institutions transferred to at-home care. “We need to reach the `rank`-and-file members of AHCA and the American public," Coleman of Tennessee said at a Wednesday news conference. At least one convention delegate said he wanted to hear more, she said. Nursing home association representatives have asked ADAPT members to meet with them. But what the activists really want is a national policy giving the disabled a choice, said Mark Johnson of Atlanta. Johnson said the nursing home industry doesn't want to allow the disabled to live at home, because it would lose out on the Medicaid money they receive. Wednesday night's news conference had to be moved from the front of the Orange County Convention and Civic Center to a room in the Clarion Plaza Hotel because police threatened to arrest them, one of the organizers said. Orange County sheriff's spokesman Doug Sarubbi denied that. He said an agreement reached with the judge who released the protesters from jail prohibited them from trespassing on Peabody Hotel property. Sarubbi said the Sheriff's Office was tabulating the time and money — estimated at least $100,000 —- it spent on the protest. - ADAPT (423)
[Headline] "We Will Ride" [Subheading] Disabled Protesters Clash with Transit Authorities National Group Fights for Accessible Transit Disclosure Jan-Feb, 1989 [This article continues on ADAPT 420 but the entire text is included here for easier reading.] "These protests are the continuation of an ongoing assault," says Stephanie Thomas of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT). In October, ADAPT disrupted the annual convention of the American Public Transit Authority (APTA) in Montreal with a series of protests. "We want all buses to be made accessible to disabled people," says Stephanie Thomas, who lives in Austin, Texas. "And we will continue these confrontations until that happens!" ADAPT is getting closer and closer to that goal. Last year, a task force created by APTA proposed lifts on all new buses. Nevertheless, at the Board of Directors' meeting in Montreal in October, APTA reaffirmed its current policy on transportation for disabled persons. In many cities, transportation for disabled persons means some kind of a pickup service. "It's a segregated system," says Stephanie Thomas, "and it never works out as well as it sounds. Riding public transportation is a civil right." For this civil right, ADAPT turns to civil disobedience. ADAPT has become such a force at APTA conventions that local police now prepare in advance for the group's demonstrations. In Montreal, police watched videos of ADAPT demonstrations in the U.S. and 100 police were put through a day-long training session on how to deal with the anticipated protests. But that didn't stop the ADAPT protesters, who continue to fight tenaciously for accessible transit. The four day series of actions in Montreal began on Sunday, October 1st. Despite a torrential downpour and near freezing temperatures, 120 members of ADAPT marched down Boulevard Rene Levesque to the Hotel Queen Elizabeth, APTA's 1988 convention site. ADAPT protesters were joined by representatives of their local counterpart — Le Mouvement des Consommateurs Handicapes de Quebec (MCHQ) or the Movement of Disabled Consumers of Quebec. ADAPT members swarmed across the road to enter the hotel, despite at least a one-to-one ratio of police to protesters. Even as a wall of police barricades was hastily erected, protesters climbed down from their chairs and crawled under the barriers. They were carried back by the police, but no arrests were made. That evening ADAPT took a more undercover approach. "No small feat for over 100 wheelchairs," commented Stephanie Thomas. Sneaking through back alleys and a back door, 15 people in wheelchairs were carried down a flight of stairs into one of the satellite hotels in which APTA members were staying. Meanwhile, two other `groups` converged on the front door using their wheelchairs to push aside makeshift barriers of luggage carts. Singing and chanting, ADAPT took over the lobby — blocking elevators, escalators, and stairs as APTA members looked on in shock, Finally, the police selectively arrested 28 of the demonstrators, including two who had chained themselves to the stairway. That night, a judge sentenced members of the group to a $50 fine, to be paid on the spot, or they would be faced with three days in jail, with a probation banning those arrested from entering downtown Montreal for six months. Twenty of the group refused to pay the fine and went to prison. Nevertheless, this put no damper on ADAPT's actions. Next hit: the APTA Spouses' Luncheon and Fashion Show, a favorite ADAPT target. The luncheon was held at a chalet atop Mount Royal on Mon-day, October 3. Ten more ADAPT members were arrested, as the APTA buses were stopped and the spouses were forced to walk past chanting demonstrators. On Monday night, October 3, 20 wheelchair users penetrated the Queen Elizabeth Hotel through an underground shopping area. 7 year old Jennifer Keelan, who uses a wheelchair, and her mother, were taken into custody and threatened with arrest, but were later let go. Meanwhile, in two Montreal prisons, the system was showing its inability to deal with severely disabled inmates. The ADAPT inmates were on a hunger strike. Officials decided that, due to good behavior, everyone would be out by Tuesday morning. ADAPT swung into the final phase of operation Tuesday morning. As requested by MCHQ, it was time to hit the local transit system — which is completely inaccessible to people with mobility impairments. Buses were stopped for an hour at a local bus transfer site, while a local woman crawled from her wheelchair aboard a bus and tried unsuccessfully to ride. "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but we are inconvenienced all our lives," said Wade Blank of ADAPT to the crowd. Blank is the founder of ADAPT. On Wednesday, October 5, ADAPT entered the Longueuil METRO subway station and once again tried to ride. The station had no ramps or elevators, and narrow turnstyles. 50 ADAPT members sang and chanted in the cavernous station — and cheered as 15 others crawled out of their wheelchairs, down the steps, and across the floor to the turnstyles where police blocked their passage. From the dirty platform floor, ADAPT held a press conference. We explained our simple desire to use the public transit that our taxes pay for," says Stephanie Thomas. "Lack of access is degrading for people with disabilities." The pressure on APTA is clearly mounting. APTA is now considering a resolution which strongly supports mainline transit access — ADAPT's demand from the start. In addition, Le Mouvement des Consommateurs Handicapes de Quebec has learned first hand the effectiveness of direct action techniques and has vowed to continue the pressure locally in Montreal. "In Quebec, now they are saying 'Nous serons transporte!', says Stephanie Thomas. "That means what we have been saying all along, and will continue to say: 'We will ride!" Photo by Tom Olin: On a Montreal street Mike Auberger pushing his knees through a police barricade as two officers try and hold him back. In the background another ADAPT person is also up against the barricades held by police. Caption: Mike Auberger of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) breaking through police barricade at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel where the American Public Transit Authority (APTA) was staying for its convention last October. - ADAPT (430)
[Headline] Wheelchair Protesters Unfazed by Metro stairs By PEGGY CURRAN of The Gazette It began when Ronnie Smith deliberately hurled his wheelchair down the stairs at the Longueuil Metro station. Horrified commuters stood by helplessly as the frail-looking Dallas, Tex., man tumbled in a heap at the foot of the stairs. Five Longueuil police officers rushed to pick Smith up and ease him back into his chair. "It wasn't bad," said Smith, 33. "I knew if I made it halfway down, I'd be OK. I knew I'd be shaken up a little bit." Minutes later, 10 more disabled activists had abandoned their wheelchairs, slithering or crawling down the steps to the subway level. Holding up bus tickets, they edged toward the wickets - only to be stopped by a police barricade. Another 30 disabled people remained in the rotunda upstairs, chanting "We will ride" and singing We shall overcome. Most of the protesters were Americans, members of ADAPT - American Disabled for Adapted Public Transit. For five years, the organization has taken radical action to press its demands for better public transit. Often it stages spectacular demonstrations and welcomes arrests. The group came to Montreal for four days to stage protests again at he annual convention of the American Public Transit Association. Since Sunday, some 48 protesters have been arrested during demonstrations at the Sheraton Centre, the chalet on Mount Royal and Place Ville Marie. There were no arrests during yesterday's demonstration. Longueuil police Sgt. Pierre Rheault said his officers would allow the disabled protesters to demonstrate, as long as they agreed to leave peacefully when they were done. And the 15 officers from the Longueuil and Metro police handled the situation with gentleness. Officers offered to carry many of the protesters upstairs at the end of the hour-long sit-in and news conference. And they were quick to intervene when a man, who claimed to be a trained paramedic, lunged at one of the protesters as he lay writhing on the ground. The man, who said he works as a night nurse at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, had been drinking in a tavern on the lower level of the Metro station when he heard activity in the corridor leading to the trains. He jumped on the disabled man's chest, ignoring pleas to leave the man alone. But police dragged him away, throwing him back into the brasserie and ordering him to stay there until the demonstration was over. Montrealer Francois Gagnon said disabled Quebecers may be afraid to speak out lest they lose the benefits they depend on, such as jobs, disability pensions or housing allowances. But Gagnon said he hopes this week's actions will encourage more handicapped people to step forward to fight for their right to better transit services, and wheelchair access to public washrooms, buildings and housing projects. Meanwhile, at the transit convention, Robert Zuzworsky, a New York Transit Authority driver, was awarded first prize of $1,000 U.S. in the International Bus Roadeo competition held here Tuesday. - ADAPT (283)
Letterhead: logo with two stylized wings? or ribs? or plant? National Committee for the Rosa L Parks Shrine 9311 Wildemere Detroit Michigan 48206 Tele 313-898-6776 October 3, 1986 ADAPT Atlantis Community Inc. Rev. Wade Blank Eastside Office 4536 E. Colfax Denver, Colorado 80220 Dear Rev. Blank, Mrs. Parks will not be participating in the press conference on October 5, 1986 at twelve noon for ADAPT because, of the tramatic manner in which you choose to dramatize disabled Americans lack of access to public transportation. Mrs. Parks supports active peaceful protest of human rights issues not, tactics that will embarrass the cities guest and cripple the cities present transportation system. We do not wish any American to be discriminated against in transportation or any other form that reduces their equality and dignity however, we cannot condone disruption of Detroit city services. Please excuse the sudden withdrawal from what we originally thought was a conference to present ADAPT's issues on equal rights for disabled Americans in public transportation to the City of Detroit. We wish you success in securing equal rights for all users of public transportation. Very truly yours, Elaine Steele, Assistant to Rosa L. Parks - ADAPT (254)
The Cincinnati Post, Wednesday, May 21, 1986 I-B Title: Disabled activists may defy court order in bus protest By Mary Kane, Post staff reporter Wheelchair-bound activists are prepared to defy a court order today and force a showdown with city authorities over what rights the handicapped have to public transportation. The Rev. Wade Blank, a founder of Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, said three activists ordered to get out of town will hold a news conference at noon in front of the Westin Hotel. Robert Kafka of Austin, Texas, George Cooper of Dallas and Michael Auberger of Denver risk being jailed on disorderly conduct charges if they show up at the Westin. Judge David Albanese of Hamilton County Municipal Court on Monday ordered the three to leave Cincinnati Tuesday or forfeit their $3000 bonds. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for June 26. The men were arrested Monday during a demonstration in front of the Westin, where conferees of the American Public Transportation Association are meeting. The activists have been staying at a Newport hotel, an arrangement that does not violate Albanese's order. However, once inside Cincinnati city limits they are in violation. Members of ADAPT, a national handicapped rights group, have pitted their wheelchairs against the steel frames of buses to protest what they call a lack of accessibility to public transportation for the handicapped. Mr. Blank, a Presbyterian minister, said 12 severely handicapped ADAPT members also will attend the news conference today and announce their intent to block buses in the street. That tactic is intended to challenge law enforcement authorities. Mr. Blank said police have been reluctant to arrest the most severely handicapped of the group. A member with cerebral palsy will be among today's protesters, he said. Mr. Blank said the 12 will risk arrest by the action. - ADAPT (443)
Two different articles included here Wednesday, April 12, 1989 Las Vegas Review Journal p7B [Headline] Handicapped protesters refuse food in Sparks Associated Press: SPARKS — Handicapped demonstrators who have been jailed as a result of their picketing outside a gathering of public transportation officials are now refusing to eat, Washoe County Sheriff Vince Swinney said Tuesday. Swinney said 30 people serving three-day sentences are only drinking water but won't take any meals. About 75 members of a national group calling itself The American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit have been demonstrating outside the Sparks Nugget, where the American Public Transit Association is holding its regional meeting. The protesters contend the transit association is not doing enough to make it easier for people in wheelchairs to gain access to public transportation. Swinney said he realizes the handicapped face a number of barriers, but called the demands the demonstrators are putting on the sheriffs office, on police and on the courts an “inappropriate use of the criminal justice system to educate the public to what is a public problem." He said he doesn't know how much the overtime and extra staffing is going to cost Sparks and the county. Swinney and the jail were to have been the target of a Tuesday news conference called by protest organizer Mike Auberger of Denver, who earlier said the jailed demonstrators had not received proper medical treatment. But Auberger said most of the problems at the jail were worked out in a two-hour conference with officials. Swinney said the jail has brought in an extra doctor with expertise in helping handicapped patients and has called for additional nurses who can work with the handicapped. Meanwhile, Swinney said the inmates' hunger strike is causing him concern over one of the prisoners, a woman with a history of seizures brought on by a chemical imbalance when she doesn't eat. The sheriff said most of the protesters are serving their three days in regular cells or the infirmary because the jail has only two cells for the handicapped. Forty-nine people were arrested Sunday and while most were not fined or jailed, they were told not to get arrested again. Those who were among the 25 arrested on Monday received sentences and fines of $265 to $315 in exchange for their guilty pleas. end of article 1 Reno Gazette-Journal Thursday, April 13, 1989 [Headline] Most handicapped protesters decide to remain in jail By Susan Voyles/Gazette-Journal Sparks Municipal Judge Don Gladstone late Wednesday offered to release 30 jailed handicapped protesters if they pay $100 of their fins and promise to pay the rest later. Two accepted the offer, but Mike Auberger, leader of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT), said he doubts many other members of his group will. The prisoners are entering their third day of a hunger strike in the Washoe County jail today in protest of sentences by Gladstone they claim are too harsh. The 30 protesters were arrested in demonstrations held on Sunday and Monday against the American Public Transit Association, which ended its western regional meeting at John Ascuaga‘s Nugget on Wednesday. ADAPT is picketing the transit group because many of its members operate public bus systems that do not have lifts for wheelchairs. Of the 30, 27 pleaded guilty or no contest to charges of obstructing sidewalks and fire entrances. Most of them were sentenced to three days in jail, which would end today or tomorrow, and given $580 in fines. Gladstone said he will allow them to pay $100 in fines each if they promise to pay the rest later in installments or do community service work in their home towns. Auberger said his group has only $500 to pay the $3,200 in fines needed to release the group. Those arrested would have to sit in jail for another 23 days in order to pay off their fines, which are reduced at a rate of $25 a day. "But I wouldn't be surprised if they say they'll serve the days rather than give them any money," Auberger said. Auberger and others said Sparks is the only city where the handicapped demonstrators have been jailed for such offenses as obstructing sidewalks. Pat Gilbert, a Reno attorney, was to meet with the 30 protesters Wednesday night to see what they want to do. Gladstone was prepared to hold hearings in the jail to begin releasing them. Two people already have been released for medical reasons after receiving treatment at local hospitals, and one woman, still in jail, is having up to 80 seizures a day, Auberger said. Washoe County Sheriff Vince Swinney declined to comment on the condition of the prisoners Wednesday, saying it only provides more fuel for the media to publicize their plight. However, several officers said the jail now has two doctors and ll nurses on duty, two more than were on Tuesday and nine more than the number of nurses usually assigned to the jail. In an initial court hearing, Gladstone lectured the demonstrators, saying their mass arrests have “tarnished” their cause. “I think you need new leadership" he said. After the hearing Wednesday, Auberger and a band of about 20 demonstrators peacefully protested in front of the Nugget, making a final stand against the transit association. Auberger said most of those who aren't in jail will be leaving town today, although a few will stay to help those in jail. Sparks police say it will take at least a week and half to determine the overtime and other expenses incurred because of the demonstrators. Jerry Peltier, a transit association board member from Richland, Wash., said the protest had no impact on the 500 member group. Parley Johnson, spokesman for the Nugget, said the demonstration cost the Nugget extra money for security guards. He also said business at the Nugget slowed the last few days. - ADAPT (460)
Wednesday, APRIL 12 1989 RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Photo by Tom Spitz/Gazette-Journal : A somewhat frail looking man, Randy Blatz, in a large wheelchair sits sideways looking at the camera. A sign is taped to the side of his chair; it reads "WE WILL RIDE." His legs are extended out in front of him and are covered by a blanket. Behind him another wheelchair protester looks at the camera with his arm up shading his face and his view. Behind them are other protesters in a line, pretty much filling the picture. Caption reads: BACKER: Randy Blatz of Hayward, Calif, shows support for his locked-up comrades Tuesday outside the Washoe jail. [Headline] Disabled protesters maintain hunger strike [Subheading] Jailed demonstrators getting care, sheriff says By Susan Voyles/Gazzette-Journal A hunger strike in the Washoe County jail by 22 handicapped prisoners — arrested for obstructing sidewalks while protesting a public Transit meeting in Sparks -— continued Tuesday night, although nine demonstrators broke their fast. Leaders of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) group encouraged jailed protesters to break their fast after Washoe County Sheriff Vince Swinney early Tuesday afternoon promised the inmates more nurses, if needed, and more medical supplies. But Lt. Rod Williams said the hunger strike wasn't over medical treatment. "They're protesting the fact they're here,“ he said, “not the conditions in the jail." The hunger strike began Monday night after 25 people were arrested and jailed in a demonstration against public transit officials meeting at John Ascuaga's Nugget. The meeting concludes today. Five others have been in jail since Sunday night, when ADAPT began a planned four-day protest. They're here to protest the western regional meeting of the American Public Transit Association, which is fighting ADAPT's legal efforts to require all federally funded transit systems to buy buses equipped with wheelchair lifts. Swinney said one female prisoner vowed to continue her fast even though she was warned by a doctor that she'll ultimately go into seizures. Another woman, Diane Coleman of Los Angeles, was released from Washoe Medical Center Tuesday morning after being given liquids intravenously for dehydration. She was taken to the hospital about 3 a.m. Tuesday when she began vomiting. Mike Auberger, organizer of the Denver based group, and Pat Gilbert, his Reno attorney, met with Swinney early Tuesday afternoon to discuss jailed ADAPT members complaints. "People in charge are now in the process of trying to respond to the situation, which they've never been in before," Auberger said at a news conference outside the jail. “It's a lot more positive than it was two hours ago." Swinney said the jail has put 11 nurses to work, nine more than usual. And more nurses and a doctor will be brought in if needed, he said. But he admitted the jail did not have enough medical supplies, such as catheter drainage bags, on hand and had to order more. Normally, the jail sees only about six handicapped prisoners a year. Sparks Municipal Judge Don Gladstone defended the sentences handed down to the protesters. Of the 30 in jail, the majority were sentenced to three days for obstructing sidewalks, fire entrances or a police officer, and given an average fine of $580. On Sunday, only five of 49 people arrested went to jail. Those five pleaded innocent and will have their trials Monday. Gladstone said he warned ADAPT members he'd get tougher on them. "Clearly, everyone was put on notice," he said. "We're not following their rules" Auberger, who was also arrested but paid a fine to get out of jail Monday night, was outraged so many of his people were arrested. "I have been in many cities where I have done civil disobedience and I wasn't arrested," he said. "Maybe it's the politics of Sparks that the city has to respond to what the Nugget wants. it's real clear (Gladstone) was being forced to do what he did." “They don't toss people in jail for blocking sidewalks in most cities," complained Pete Mendoza of Marin County, Calif. "They were researching ordinances to arrest us.“ Gladstone who said he supports the rights the handicapped are seeking, said he is simply doing his job and the demonstrators were amply warned. Among the 50 or so protesters outside the jail Tuesday was Beverly Furnice of Denver, with a thick, fresh bandage around one of her twisted legs. She claims her leg was broken Sunday night when a security guard tried to move her out of a doorway. She was treated at Sparks Family Hospital, but officials would not confirm that her leg was broken. She was arrested after the incident, and said she sat in Sparks Municipal Court for five hours before she was released with a verbal warning. Nugget spokesman Parley Johnson said he's not sure what happened to Furnice. "There was a lot of shoving and pushing going on," he said "If it did happen, I'm very sorry about it." Gladstone said he doubted she broke her leg. He said he and his staff held arraignments until midnight Sunday and were far more inconvenienced than Furnice or anyone else arrested.