[Athen] Fwd: National Council on Disability Statement on the LBJ Library Civil Rights Act 50th Anniversary Event

[Laurie Vasquez]

FYI
Laurie Vasquez


---------- Forward
Date: Friday, April 4, 2014
Subject: National Council on Disability Statement on the LBJ Library Civil
Rights Act 50th Anniversary Event


To share this statement via social media, please use the following link:
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/04042014

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National Council on Disability Statement on the LBJ Library Civil Rights
Act 50th Anniversary Event

Beginning April 8, the LBJ Presidential Library will conduct a Civil Rights
Summit to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. The historic
event will include presentations by three U.S. Presidents and distinguished
panelists across the civil rights spectrum. Regrettably, the Summit does
not include representation from the disability community. The National
Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency whose 15 members
are appointed by the President, urges the LBJ Presidential Library to take
this opportunity to include the perspectives and contributions 54 million
Americans with disabilities in keeping our collective eyes on the prize for
every American still subject to discrimination.

Just as the legislative journey toward justice that resulted in passage of
the Civil Rights Act began long before the law was championed by President
Lyndon B. Johnson and passed by Congress, the Civil Rights Act remains in
many ways a work in progress as we seek to create a society where every
American is recognized, included and valued in the pursuit of life, liberty
and happiness.

In a speech on June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy called for civil
rights legislation that would give "all Americans the right to be served in
facilities which are open to the public--hotels, restaurants, theaters,
retail stores, and similar establishments", as well as "greater protection
for the right to vote."

JFK's clarion call served as a significant catalyst for the Civil Rights
Act, arguably the most transformational civil rights legislation after the
Reconstruction and a crucial step in the realization of America's promise,
sought to ensure equality for recipients of federal funds, employers,
places of public accommodation (like bus stations, restrooms and lunch
counters) by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin.

As President Johnson astutely surmised, "There are no problems we cannot
solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves."

While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was not written with Americans with
disabilities in mind, there is no doubt it paved the way for future civil
rights legislation like the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that will be
celebrating an anniversary of its own on April 5th. On that day 37 years
ago in 1977, sit-ins were organized across the nation because nearly four
years after the Rehabilitation Act was passed, no regulations had been
enacted to enforce the law. Protests at the U.S. Department of Health,
Education and Welfare (HEW) in San Francisco lasted 25 days until HEW
Secretary Joseph Califano - who will be speaking at the Civil Rights Summit
on Wednesday April 9 - signed the regulations. Later, the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the subsequent ADA amendments passed in
2008, granted additional protections that owe a great debt to the
pioneering example established by the Civil Rights Act.

The Civil Rights Act Summit organized by the LBJ Presidential Library
provides a unique and rare opportunity to look back on our shared legacies
while simultaneously allowing us in the present-day, right here, right now,
to explore, predict and create a better future for everyone, including
Americans with disabilities. Any meaningful observation of the Civil Rights
Act would be lacking if it did not also recognize its extraordinary
legislative legacy because as Dr. King noted, "the arc of history might be
long but it bends toward justice."

In reviewing the history of any marginalized group or any community, it
would be safe to say disability has, at one time or another, probably been
used in an attempt to justify unfair treatment and discrimination toward
that group and to demean, dehumanize and devalue those identified as its
members.  For example, women were once widely regarded as weak, irrational
or emotionally unstable. People of color were wantonly accused of being
dangerous or deviant. The attribution of disability across numerous
communities has been used to deny voting access, sell human beings as
chattel and to sterilize and lobotomize without consent. These are
fundamental civil rights American citizens have fought for and deserve to
exercise freely and without discrimination.

The collective past, present and future of the disability and civil rights
movements remain as inexorably linked now as they were in decades past. NCD
urges the LBJ Library to infuse the rich history, diverse perspectives and
valuable insights of the disability community throughout the upcoming Civil
Rights Summit and calls for meaningful inclusion of the disability
advocates in ongoing civil rights dialogues going forward.

"Nothing about us, without us" is more than a slogan. It is a guiding
principle of all advocacy efforts regardless of the protected civil rights
category so that everyone - especially people with disabilities - are
included in achieving our common goals, values and ideals.

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National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004
202-272-2004 Voice
202-272-2074 TTY
202-272-2022 Fax

Website:
http://www.ncd.gov
NCD's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/NCDgov
Follow NCD on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/NatCounDis
Sign up for regular email updates at:
http://www.ncd.gov/subscribe

About the National Council on Disability (NCD): NCD is an independent
federal agency of 15 Presidentially-appointed Council Members and full-time
professional staff, who advise the President, Congress and other federal
agencies on disability policy, programs, and practices.

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