All posts by johnkel

Article: “Reflections on #ADA30 as a Young Lawyer with a Disability”

Article Preview: “During the summer of 2004, I was about to enter fourth grade. That summer was one of discovery and basic understanding of disability identity for me. My parents told me I was autistic in a way that I believed I had magic within me, and the Americans with Disabilities Act existed. I didn’t quite grasp what the ADA implied or what protections I exactly had under the ADA, but I figured it was an important authority to be respected.” Read the whole article by Haley Moss at The Jurist.

Article: “How the ADA Gave Birth to a Black Sexpert”

Article Preview: “I grew up in a world after the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act (504). In 1964, 1965, and 1968 the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act respectively were enacted, bringing an end to the Jim Crow system of legal racial segregation. As a black American woman with multiple disabilities, these laws had a profound impact in my life.” Continue reading this article with audio by Robin Wilson-Beattie at the Disability Visibility Project.

Community Resources from Oregon DHS

Between the overlapping crises of the Covid-19 pandemic and the wildfires across Oregon, many of our community members are under increased stress, isolation, and anxiety. Many families and individuals are feeling strain on their physical and mental health, as well as household resources. For a list of health services for youth, elders, drug users, and other community members, visit the Oregon Department of Human Services website.

Chalking for a Cause: #BeautyForAccess

On a beautiful September morning, a group of chalk artists of various ages and (dis)abilities gathered in downtown Corvallis to kick off the sidewalk chalk art campaign Beauty For Access. Beauty For Access helps mark the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act while also calling caring public attention to the ongoing inaccessibility of material environments for people with disabilities. Participants beautified material spaces (e.g. sidewalks and plazas) to imagine them as more welcoming to the bodyminds of disabled people.

Article: “Disabled Americans can’t be a Covid-19 afterthought”

Article Preview: “The Covid-19 pandemic continues to unearth some uncomfortable truths about our nation, as the inequities that too often live below the surface are bubbling up for all to see.One such failure that must be more widely addressed and immediately rectified is the neglect of people with disabilities, many of whom are among the most endangered by Covid-19, as their conditions or chronic illnesses may leave them at greater physical risk of suffering the virus’s devastating effects.” Continue reading this article by Richard E. Besser and Rebecca Cokley at CNN.

Article: “Ending Census Early Could Impact Disability Programs For Years”

Article Preview: “Plans to end the census a month ahead of schedule may mean fewer people are counted and less funding is available over the next decade for disability services, advocates warn. The U.S. Census Bureau was expected to collect responses from people across the nation through the end of October after making adjustments to its plan earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. But this month, the agency announced that it would instead halt all collection activities Sept. 30.” Continue reading this article by Michelle Diament at Disability Scoop.

Article: “The ADA has shaped physical space for 30 years. The internet hasn’t caught up”

Article Preview: “This summer, the United States is marking a momentous milestone: the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA. The act, of which Tony was the primary author, was without a doubt the single most important piece of legislation for an entire generation of Americans with disabilities…But while the ADA released a torrent of powerful change in the physical world, the digital world has yet to catch up. In fact, 30 years after the passage of the ADA, we are more reliant than ever on digital access, and still woefully far from ensuring accessibility on every digital experience.” Continue reading this article by Tony Coehlo and Heath Thompson at Fast Company.

Dorian is traveling down a sidewalk in his wheelchair on a sunny day with a small dog in his lap.

Article: “30 years after the ADA, disability justice activists are rethinking what true equity looks like”

Article Preview: “When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law 30 years ago, it was the culmination of decades of activism, sacrifice and struggle by people with disabilities to protect basic rights long denied. The New York Times called the law at the time ‘the most sweeping anti-discrimination measure since the Civil Rights Act of 1964.’ For the first time, discrimination against people with disabilities was prohibited by law. The ADA required reasonable accommodations in transportation, employment and public services. But as with many things related to civil rights, too often the reality has not lived up to the law’s promise.” Continue reading this article by Naomi Ishisaka at the Seattle Times.

Article: “5 Things Everyone Should Know About People With Disabilities”

Article Preview: “What do you really need to know about disability? If you’re not disabled yourself, and don’t have a child, spouse, brother or sister, or parent with disabilities, how knowledgeable and up to date on disability issues are you expected to be? When the Americans with Disabilities Act passed 30 years ago, expectations were lower than they are today, but not much. One of the undisputed strengths of the ADA is that it provided fairly detailed guidelines for how to accommodate a wide range of physical and mental disabilities.” Continue reading this article by Andrew Pulrang at Forbes.