ADA EVERYDAY: A collaboration between NorCal SCI and 8 Bay Area Independent Living Centers
Sunday, July 26th was the 30th anniversary of the groundbreaking Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and while it was a celebratory occasion, it was also a sobering reminder of the struggles it took to pass that disability rights legislation and an even greater struggle to not only protect its provisions from being peeled off layer by layer but also continue to push for an even greater level of rights and equality that the disability community can finally receive.
In the Bay Area, NorCal SCI led a collaboration with eight Bay Area Independent Living Centers in Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties that set to achieve three goals to honor this special day:
Request and receive proclamations from all eight counties’ Board of Supervisors recognizing the 30th anniversary of the ADA and reaffirm their commitments to creating equal access for the disability community.
Raise public awareness by writing op-ed columns in the Bay Area newspapers reminding (in print and online) the importance of the ADA and the important work that still needs to be done.
Create a video that celebrates the many accomplishments of those with a disability as well as addressing what the laws still lack.
We’re proud to announce that this coalition accomplished what it set out to do and we’d like to share the results:
All eight counties Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the proclamation commemorating ADA’s 30th anniversary.
Six newspapers picked up and published our op-ed
MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
https://www.marinij.com/2020/07/23/marin-voice-30-years-of-progress-since-americans-with-disabilities-act-was-signed/
SANTA ROSA PRESS DEMOCRAT
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/opinion/close-to-home-still-work-to-be-done-30-years-after-the-ada/
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/28/opinion-thirty-years-later-disabilities-act-still-needs-improvement/
EAST BAY TIMES
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/07/28/opinion-thirty-years-later-disabilities-act-still-needs-improvement/
SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW
https://sacramento.newsreview.com/2020/07/24/equality-for-the-disabled/
CAPITOL WEEKLY
https://capitolweekly.net/post-pandemic-life-threatens-adas-progress/
3. We produced a 5-minute video representing the many faces of the disability community speaking from the heart about their impression of what ADA has provided as well as what it still needs to. It also is a reminder that we shouldn’t celebrate ADA just once a year but that we should celebrate and fight for ADA EVERYDAY. https://youtu.be/8ShU3E_qubI
We’re grateful to our partners at the eight ILCs for this collaboration and hope to identify other projects that would help expand the opportunities our communities are entitled to.