Note: Originally posted on https://jenrohrigdesign.com/
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was created in to prohibit discrimination against disabled people. At least the ADA was intended to prohibit discrimination – many places are still inaccessible and discrimination still exists 32 years later. Many businesses have spent the last 32 years, and money, arguing why they shouldn’t be forced to change their buildings rather than changing them. Employers still use “not a good fit” to cover a multitude of sins. Even when employment is granted accommodations are routinely denied for a number of reasons or the person ends up fired. The general public doesn’t seem aware of the issues – instead arguing “it’s illegal!” Or “Call the ADA” without realizing the burden is on the disabled person to sue the employer or business that is violating the law.
Here’s an article that details a few examples: Advocating for ‘tough issues’: ADA enforcement often falls to people with disabilities
During the pandemic many of the accommodations that disabled people had been asking for years were granted only because everyone needed them. Some examples include being able to work from home, virtual doctor visits and other events that became virtual. As soon as everything started opening up again those accommodations were taken away. People were encouraged to return to the office, and many of the virtual options were discontinued as soon as in person events could happen again. But the fact that the accommodations were granted only shows that it is possible to have that kind of access.
The ADA has always been under threat – many lawsuits have gone through the courts, some that could have led to the ADA being gutted because certain groups felt that the ADA required too much from business and employers. Because of recent actions by the Supreme Court disability rights lawyers are increasingly hesitant to file lawsuits because they fear it will give the court a reason to gut the ADA. Read the article at MSNBC.com – “How this Supreme Court is setting back disability rights — without even trying” by Eric Garcia, MSNBC Opinion Columnist
Back in July 2020, Cal Montgomery, wrote a blog post “I Will Celebrate ADA30” in which he noted additions problems with the ADA:
“But the ADA represents a hollow promise. It was never meant for all of us. It was always intended to protect some disabled more than others, and still other disabled not at all. And the independent living movement, which plays an enormous role in cross-disability agenda setting, has focused on the kind of “one and done” accessibility that is coded into the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) (and even then only some people’s “one and done” needs are addressed) rather than the ongoing work of negotiating the fluctuating and complex access needs of individuals, groups, and communities.”
The ADA may have done a lot to improve the lives of disabled people in the 90s but it never went far enough and these days it seems like it could be gutted at any time because certain groups don’t believe others should have access to anything.
Be sure to also read: A Letter to the Americans with Disabilities Act on Its 32nd Birthday by Sandy Ho posted earlier this week.
The moment that photo captured, your passage, was just the beginning. As we both know by now, the first step in every struggle for civil rights is necessary but hardly enough.