“Taking a stand while sitting down” The Disability Rights Movement is one that I hold very near and dear to my heart. This movement is the fight to secure equal opportunities and equal rights to those who have been denied equality, independence, autonomy, and full access of society due to their physical and mental disabilities. The goal of this movement is to demand accessibility and safety among transportation, equal opportunity in employment, education and housing. Gaining acceptance in the workforce and education is an ongoing battle for disability development advocates. To gain the attention of the commons, actions such as boycotts, riots, protests and marches have all been used to gain public awareness. In the 1960’s after the Civil Rights Movement of African Americans, Women and other Minorities, this was the perfect time to gain acceptance for those born with a hearing or seeing impairment, and other forms of physical and mental disabilities.
In 1970 the Disability Rights Movement demanded Congress to add a voice of civil rights for people with disabilities in the 1972 Rehabilitation Act. The act was passed by Nixon in 1973 and marked a historical shift in civil rights. This was the first time in history where the civil rights of the disabled population would be protected by law. From this act came the IDEA (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) which provided education to children with disabilities.
The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) signed in 1990 was one of the most instrumental strides in gaining equality among the disabled population. The purpose of this act was to ensure equality and end employment and education discrimination to those with disabilities. With the access to jobs that were not available before, people with disabilities were now given the right and the ability to live independently receiving personal income. Public education programs that assisted these individuals to receive the attention needed to obtain the same education as others around them was also addressed among the population. The ADA was a great outlet to increase communication and visibility to those with disabilities. With this new found voice accessibility through architecture was taken in consideration to those in wheel chairs and other assisting devices. Ramps, elevators, railings, special seating on public transportation, restrooms and cross walks are now all configured to fit the needs of the disabled population. It was now up to our nation to fully participate in the inclusion and integration of individuals with disabilities into our society.
The reason why this movement has affected me so personally is this past summer I was blessed with the opportunity to work with a youth inclusion day camp at my local recreation center. This program gave children with disabilities the opportunity to participate in activities that revolved around the concept of a healthy lifestyle through diet, exercise and athletics. In the summer day camp, these children were treated equally as if they were just like the other kids. Ranging from ages of 6 to 11 these kids were able to build relationships in early childhood development that wouldn’t make them feel excluded from the rest of the population. We shouldn’t live in a world where the uniqueness of others is ridiculed and alienated, but instead accepted and cherished.
WE ARE PEOPLE TOO.
Love that you chose to right about this because it is definitely unique from what many others picked as their topic, as well as it being an important topic to discuss. Having worked retail before, I personally know that there are hardships for those with disabilities that most of us don’t even think about, because it never crosses our minds. Like the way racks and stands are layout, they are technically supposed to be three feet apart from each other so that people in wheelchairs can get through them without getting stuck, but because many stores have limited space, but ample merchandise, they often fail to follow this simple rule. Additionally, having studied some on customer service behavior from observing interactions between sales associates and customers, many associates will focus on the person aiding the other in the wheelchair, sometimes neglecting to give any attention to the individual in the wheelchair what so ever. They don’t do it on purpose, they do it because they tend to connect naturally with someone at their eye level, but it’s still very rude, and people should take things like that into consideration when communicating with anyone.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your article, I think that it is great that people with disabilities have come a long way in regards of equality, because they are people too, and it’s not fair that they should have to struggle further with having a lack of rights or place in the work field, when they already have to overcome so much. I think it is great that you took the opportunity to work with kids with disabilities this Summer, and even greater that you came out with positive experiences.
-Heather Crosby