Of course, disability rights are on a constant, slow-but-steady path toward progress, only after decades of legal battles and fights. But with massive social movements, and pandemics rocking the nation, disabled person’s rights have been pushed to the back burner. Those in the disabled community know that rights for the disabled community are often the lowest priority for lawmakers, and they’re quickly forgotten among media sources.
So, should disability activists wait to make their move? Should the disabled community wait to make progress? Now and in other moments of the day, week, month, or year is the time to fight for fairness and rights. The rights of the disabled don’t rule out any other right or cause. In fact, they overlap them providing an extra layer of support for the disabled people among every community. Contact our Milwaukee disability attorneys today.
Past Correlation Between Civil and Disabled Person’s Rights
Historically disabled rights movements have been few and far between. The disabled rights movement in America initially started in the 1930s, with very minor groups organizing together between the 1940s and the 1960s. In the very early 1960s, the best that the disabled community received was an organization of planning committees arranged by President Kennedy to research disability. During that time, there were some very minor acts put into play, and by and large, they seemed ineffective and to go unnoticed.
It wasn’t until 1973 when the first act went into motion to dissuade discrimination against the disabled. However, discrimination continued as businesses, colleges, and more argued that they could not accommodate the disabled person.
Even with the issue of accommodation in plain sight, it wasn’t until 1990 that the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in to place. The ADA was meant to offer protection to disabled Americans in regard to employment, education, and many other common elements of daily life.
Still, all throughout the nation and even right here in Milwaukee, it’s clear that there are ADA violations in almost every building. One particular note goes out to local Milwaukee lawmakers who wanted to direct disabled students to a single facility that had no ramps and no elevators. That plan is still in motion, and there seems to be no change to the building’s accessibility.
There is No One Else to Advocate
Unlike other social movements that send out a rallying cry for everyone to come and support something and a grand majority of people offer their support, the disabled community has no one advocating for them. Examples of disability rights activists are almost exclusively disabled persons and people who went from being fully able to being disabled.
Top examples include Ed Roberts, a polio survivor who was denied support at Berkeley College because they could not accommodate his disability. The lack of support meant that he could not attend Berkley college although they did not outright deny his admission, UCLA eventually accepted him and Roberts led the independent living movement.
It Is Often Disabled People Sacrificing and Chasing Legal Change
A favorite example among the disabled community is Justin Dart Jr. He attended the University of Houston and was ultimately denied a teaching certificate because of his disability. He went on to organize activism groups against Segregation come out racism, and I’m just action against disabled people. Through legal change, Justin dart junior became known as the godfather to the ADA because of his heavy hand in the finalization and drafting of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
As disabled rights are often on the bottom of the list not only for lawmakers but for the majority of most communities, they are often left to the disabled people most affected. While there have been updates to the Americans with Disabilities Act and changes to various building code requirements, there is little done to uphold these requirements.
Get Help With Your Disability Application with a Milwaukee SSDI Lawyer
Many people go through a great extent of their life, not realizing exactly how challenging it can be to go through the Social Security system for disability. That is only one challenge of living with a disability. There are challenges every day, and they are ever-present. These challenges are one of the reasons why the disabled community has so many strong and determined individuals.
If your disability is new or from an injury sustained recently, then The experience of going from a fully-abled to disabled is probably jarring. Get help with a Social Security disability application or your Social Security application with a Milwaukee lawyer at Tabak Law.