WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Solidarity prevailed yesterday as several thousand
disability advocates joined with nearly 800 ADAPT activists on the U.S. Capitol grounds,
rallying in support of the "integration mandate" of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). Over 100 organizations co-sponsored the rally which was
organized by ADAPT, a national disability rights group with chapters in 39 states.
Chanting "Our homes, not nursing homes" with
Senator Tom Harkin (D--Iowa), and listening to Governor Dick Thornburgh describe the
signing of the ADA in 1990, the crowd was united in its passion to preserve the "most
integrated setting" regulation. Thirteen year old Kyle Glozier, a longtime ADAPT
activist, told the crowd, "I don't know why the Olmstead decision has
even gone to the Supreme Court".
The rally finished as disability advocates and activists took
their outrage to the steps of the Supreme Court. Marchers filed into the street to wheel
and walk the four blocks, and a magnificent wave of people, 4000 strong according to the
Supreme Court police, gathered before the Supreme Court to send a message to the justices
that will decide the fate of the ADA integration mandate.
The statement, "Integration, not Segregation", was
everywhere. It was written on t-shirts, buttons, flags, banners, signs, hats, and
stickers. The crowd became a chorus stepping up the volume, and sending a powerful message
to Congress and the Court. "Our liberty, our freedom, our right to choice, these are
fundamental rights," said national ADAPT organizer Stephanie Thomas. "If the
court can't recognize these basic human rights, we must continue the fight. Victory will
be ours."
The disability community considers the lawsuit before the Supreme
Court, formally known as Olmstead
v. L.C. & E.W. to be the "Brown v. Board of Education"
for people with disabilities. Far from being an alarmist viewpoint, the fact that the
Supreme Court even agreed to hear the oral arguments brings into question the intent of
Congress in passing the law.
Nearly ten years after its passage, the ADA is now being tested
in the highest court in the land, despite two U.S. Circuit Court decisions supporting the
right to services in the "most integrated setting". Without a strong
"integration mandate", the ADA will no longer be a civil rights law. ADAPT vows
to continue the "Don't Tread on the ADA" campaign, supporting integration, not
segregation and civil rights not state's rights.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) Please visit our website at http://www.adapt.org/
For direct inquiries regarding this press release please use the contact adaptpr@adapt.org
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Last updated May 17, 1999