Guest blog post: Just Not Feeling It: Happy 24th, ADA! by Anita Cameron

The following is an excerpt of a blog posted on 7/26/14:

Just Not Feeling It: Happy 24th, ADA!

Anita Cameron

I’ve been in a Grumpy Cat state of mind, of late, and today being the 24th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) hasn’t changed that one bit. In fact, if anything, it’s made me even grumpier. Why?  I just don’t feel like celebrating when we have so far to go with it.

Now folks, before you start hating on me, realize that this is coming from MY experience and My perspective. I certainly don’t want to minimize YOUR lived experience, so if, as I’ve seen from the numerous #becauseoftheADA Facebook and Twitter posts, you’ve benefitted from the ADA, that is wonderful!

Again, before you start hating, realize that I busted my butt along with other disbility rights activists for passage of the ADA, culminating in that famous crawl up the steps of the US Capitol and the arrest of 104 ADAPT members in the Capitol Rotunda. I was arrestee number 81, one of the folks in the inner ring of people who had linked arms and handcuffed and chained ourselves together on the floor.

Needless to say, I’m grateful for the existence of the ADA and happy that there is now a generation of young folks with disabilities who don’t know a world without it. Still, there is far too much work to be done to rest on our laurels. I can’t sit easy and celebrate knowing that there are thousands upon thousands of public places that are not accessible when, for little or nothing, access can be readily achieved. How can I celebrate when the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is greater than all other groups combined?

Here’s some more stuff that’s messed up about the ADA:

For the rest of the blog post:

http://www.angryblackwomyn.com/blog/just-not-feeling-it-happy-24th-ada

 

---

More on Anita Cameron: http://wefollow.com/adaptanita

Blog: http://www.angryblackwomyn.com/blog

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/anitacameron

Twitter: https://twitter.com/adaptanita

Anita’s profile at The Mobility Resource: http://www.themobilityresource.com/author/anita/

Anita’s articles at Yahoo! Voices: http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/691438/anita_cameron.html

Do you want to write a guest blog post or allow us to re-blog something you wrote for the Disability Visibility Project?

Email Alice: DisabilityVisibilityProject@gmail.com