June 1993 TASH Newsletter Page 5

[Headline] Doin’ it in D.C.
[Subheading] Memorial Rally and March to the White House

On May 9, members and supporters of the disability community met in front of the U.S. Capitol to hold a memorial celebration for Wade Blank, founder of ADAPT. Wade, along with his son Lincoln, drowned while vacationing in Mexico in February. He was a man with many dreams and visions Justin Dart, chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, afirms, paying tribute to the cause for which he stood:

- personal assistance services that will liberate all who are imprisoned in institutions and back rooms
- equal access to transportation, public facilities, communications, housing, health care, education, employment and every aspect of society for all people with disabilities
- full implementation of ADA

Speaking before the gathering of demonstrators, Dart said, “What is inappropriate is millions of human beings living with less dignity than we accord our pet dogs and cats. What is inappropriate is American citizens imprisoned without due process of law.”

Advocates from across the country marched and wheeled their way up Pennsylvania Avenue and positioned themselves along the iron fence in~front of the north lawn, where they placed white crosses on the lawn symbolizing the deaths of thousands of people from substandard and poor nursing home care. The rally also served to send a strong message to the Clinton Administration to acknowledge the rights of persons with disabilities in its upcoming health care revisions, focusing on the concept that a fourth of the $23 billion that Medicaid budgets for nursing homes could be targeted for programs that would enable them to live at home in their own communities.

Michael Auberger, co-founder of ADAPT and national organizer for the demonstration, supports the pro-active stance associated with Wade Blank’s leadership: “People with disabilities gained power by acting, by laying aside social etiquette and taking action in their self interest; they gained power by taking. To that end, ADAPT planned legal protests and civil disobedience to make their point — the demand for a national attendant services program.

Clip art picture of the White House.

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TASH Newsletter

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Tuesday 16 July 2013

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Thursday 12 September 2019

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