March 12, 1990. US Capitol Crawl. Disabled activists went up the steps of the US Capitol building without their mobility aids and devices in order to demonstrate the need for Congress to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. - ThreadSky

knilirabaj.bsky.social • 356 days ago

March 12, 1990.

US Capitol Crawl.

Disabled activists went up the steps of the US Capitol building without their mobility aids and devices in order to demonstrate the need for Congress to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Comments

realbowman.bsky.social•356 days ago

Organized by the still active group, ADAPT, which got started in Denver in 1978 where they protested for accomodations on public transportation:

https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/40-years-ago-denver-became-the-birthplace-of-the-disability-rights-movement/

imdmingyour.mom•356 days ago

What a vivid and powerful act of protest. We need more people who are brave enough to do this.

ebthen.bsky.social•356 days ago

After my dad passed, I did research into the campus advocacy group I remember he was a part of when I was a small child and he was a wheelchair user.

I discovered he actually founded it.

My research was the first time anyone had looked into it in over 30 years. I started the file in the archives.

ebthen.bsky.social•356 days ago

I say "I did research" but actually I contacted the archives located on the campus and someone who had gone to school with my dad and worked there pulled a lot of old campus articles for me and technically she started the file. But on my behalf.

ebthen.bsky.social•356 days ago

What really got me was realizing that this group was founded /before/ the passage of the ADA and continued operating through its implementation. It wasn't very long-lived, but that's the environment that it was operating in.

And a lot of the conversations are very familiar.

tyrotcm.bsky.social•356 days ago

Much respect.

newamauta.bsky.social•356 days ago

This is so important for a lot of Indigenous peoples especially when Indigenous activists and philosophers were disabled, like José Carlos Mariátegui who founded Peru's 1st SοсiaIist Party and advocated for collectively owned Indigenous land

jedrek.me•356 days ago

Us Europeans like to crap on the US, and often rightly so, but one area where we're obviously behind is accessibility. The ADA is not perfect, its implementation isn't perfect, but it's much better than anything the EU has.

raallen86.bsky.social•356 days ago

This was 1990? I swear I thought this was far more recent, like in the last six years or so. 😮‍💨

clondoner92.bsky.social•356 days ago

During the same year, disabled activists in wheelchairs chained themselves up with the Routemaster buses, calling on London Transport and the government to bring more accessible public transport.

Then in 1994, the first low-floor wheelchair accessible bus entered service.
https://youtu.be/t0FbW2zv6ng

knilirabaj.bsky.social•356 days ago

34 years ago. And we’re still fighting for access.

Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins has some of the most iconic photos and videos from the Capitol Crawl. She talks about being 8 years old and what it was like.

powerrr.bsky.social•356 days ago

this fuckin overpoweringly rules man. thanks for sharing.

knilirabaj.bsky.social•356 days ago

Go rewatch Crip Camp. ♿️🙏🏾

nickkerker.com•356 days ago

I bet their fued with Blood Camp, the camp for hemophiliacs, is legendary.

powerrr.bsky.social•356 days ago

word, i'll check it out

hearing-girl.bsky.social•356 days ago

(I love Crip Camp, but man, I wish Lives Worth Living were more available!)

knilirabaj.bsky.social•356 days ago

Also a good time to listen to @rebeccacokley.bsky.social talk about what it means to be part of the ADA generation.

chuckles4ever.bsky.social•356 days ago

Thank you for this

plankysmith.bsky.social•356 days ago

Fwiw, Trump hates the ADA and, as with many other things he would be disastrous for, he'd likely try to abolish it or severely weaken it (even more)

jginsburg.bsky.social•356 days ago

Who the fuck brought up trump? Did anybody? No? Then shut up and don't bring him up.

knilirabaj.bsky.social•356 days ago

A lot of people are frightened.

fendersonia.bsky.social•356 days ago

FWIW, nobody was talking about the presidential election here.

It isn’t necessary to do that shit 24/7.

Signed,
a Fucking Cripple

fendersonia.bsky.social•356 days ago

Also, FWIW, Joe Biden threw the most vulnerable under the fucking bus for capitalism and brunch and “back to normal”

knilirabaj.bsky.social•356 days ago

The ADA is a congressional piece of legislation. There aren’t currently the votes to gut it. President doesn’t really change that.

smarka.bsky.social•356 days ago

The core law would remain, but regulations and enforcement would be bad. The DOJ would probably jettison everything under way now (website accessibility comes to mind)

knilirabaj.bsky.social•356 days ago

Trump’s DOJ couldn’t abolish or weaken the ADA. Just impact it’s already ineffective and inconsistent enforcement.

plankysmith.bsky.social•356 days ago

He would still try. He would float it and get the right wing echo chamber to drum up support in the House at the very least.

knilirabaj.bsky.social•356 days ago

Wouldn’t have much luck in the House. Too many House Republicans that are actually not terrible on disability policy.

pyrholidon.bsky.social•356 days ago

They don't really need the votes to gut it anyway when the current strategy has been going after laws with bullshit lawsuits and fake plaintiffs.

knilirabaj.bsky.social•356 days ago

I’m not sure if you’re referencing ADA testers but they are super important.

vibrant.bsky.social•356 days ago

Well I don't find that very funny

verifiedvendor.bsky.social•320 days ago

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verifiedvendor.bsky.social•320 days ago

evenicholls.bsky.social•356 days ago

If that were to happen in the UK today, the activists would be arrested (and perhaps assaulted) and/or the video footage would be used to deny them disability benefits.

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