6 GROUNDCOVER NEWS DISABILITY JUSTICE My "un"-disability I was an epileptic at birth and still have grand mal seizures frequently. However, when it comes to disability, I’m deemed as “undisabled.” My disabilities are considered a “minor inconvenience” to those determining my Social Security Disability Insurance status, by those who do not know me at all. I take medication to prevent seizures and I have many mental illness diagnoses. I’m controlled, but by whom? Society expects — nay, demands — that I cannot be disabled. Despite being able to work 15 years in Information Technology and ten years in retail and food service in the past, I am now generalized anxiety disorder and degenerative disk disease. Yet, all these controlled conditions by medication does not mean I’m JAMIE CAMERON Groundcover vendor No. 612 disabled. My disabilities include epilepsy, schizotypal personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder, social/ “cured,” it simply prevents episodes or seizures, and it does not mean that I am not disabled. At times the side effects worsen my disabilities. For example, Abilify causes tremors as a side effect. True, I am not by definition a paralyzed veteran (despite trying the major four military branches only to be denied due to epilepsy). I’m one of those who “slipped through the cracks.” In other words, because I am on medication, the government says I am okay. I am not okay. Now, when I mention schizotypal or schizoaffective, I only mean to say that occasionally I will hear male or female voices calling out my name, and see shadow beings full frontal or through peripheral vision. When I apply for a federal or professional job, there’s a list of disabilities to check off, some of which I can check. Having any one of these should qualify me to get SSDI. I take prescriptions, and I am still homeless, and have been since 2015. But, I am not determined to be eligible to get disability. OCTOBER 20, 2023 American disability rights movement: from public policy to advocacy The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is the cornerstone of the basic civil rights protection for individuals with physical and mental disabilities. The 2009 Amendment Act strengthened the non-discrimination component of the Disability Act. Some people had wondered why the Civil Rights Act of 1964 non-discrimination provisions did not include Americans with disabilities. One reason is that society for a long time took for granted the disability rights movement and their constant struggles for respect, acceptance and basic human dignity. A Brief History of the American Disability Rights Movement The disability rights movement has faced generations and centuries of struggle. They have won many court cases, they have triumphed over many obstacles and they have managed to get the support of U.S. Presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. The movement has succeeded in getting several laws passed for the benefit of disabled Americans. But there is no legislative triumph bigger than the Americans with Disabilities Act. A more detailed explanation about the ADA comes from writer Jennifer Govan of Columbia University. She noted, “The Americans with Disabilities Act is a comprehensive civil rights law that was signed into law on July 26, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. ADA covers a wide range of mental and physical medical conditions, including those that [are] not WILL SHAKESPEARE Groundcover vendor No. 258 necessarily severe or permanent in nature. ” As part of Columbia University’s celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Ms. Govan expanded the concept definition of ADA. She wrote, “It requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees, while imposing accessibility requirements in public areas, such as educational institutions, museums, stores, restaurants, governments and other service establishments. Prohibiting discrimination based on disability in a broad spectrum, the ADA was later amended, becoming the ADA Amendment Act, effective January 1, 2009.” We urge our readers who want to get more detailed information on the legislative history of the Americans with Disabilities Act to watch a video titled, “Who are the Heroes? A History of Disability Rights Movement,” presented by Barry Whaley of Burton Blatt Institute — a disability law policy center at Syracuse University Law School. The presentation was made at San Diego Law Library on Friday, July 22, 2022, to help celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the ADA. A lot of valuable information was shared with the audience, including a chronology of legislation and events that shaped the disability movement before and after the 1990 ADA. Mr. Whaley said that the first Vocational Rehabilitation Act was passed by Congress in 1917. It was designed for veterans who were returning from World War I. The Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1920 extended the benefits and privileges to civilians. Mr. Whaley noted that in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. President with an obvious disability. It was widely assumed that FDR was elected President in 1932 to help end the “Great Depression.” However, disability rights advocates said that it was ironic that the disabled President excluded people with disabilities in the largest recovery program of the 1930s, known as the “Works Progress Administration.” Congress passed the Fair Labor Standard Act of 1938. It prohibited child labor and established minimum wage laws. It also established Section 14 (c) which allows employers to pay people with disabilities minimum wages. It also provides sub-minimum wage certificates to employers who choose to pay below the minimum wage. Sadly, Section 14, which still exists today, allows low wages which continue to keep disabled people in lives of poverty. In 1940, the American Federation of the Physically Handicapped was created. The American Mental Health Federation was created in 1946. Their organizing and mobilizing efforts led to the passage of the National Mental see DISABILITY page 8
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