Robert Chelsea was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA where he lived and was educated as average black person, but became a Burn survivor, Amputee and Face Transplant Recipient. Hear his passion for advocacy in Transplant Technology and what caused him to advocate for the disabled diaspora.
Psst, readers, please read my quote and let it sink in before we start this narrative:
“One of the most difficult challenges in having a disability, or being of a certain age, race, gender, religion, etc., is that too often people see it and not you!”
Admit it or not, we all hold unconscious biases, including yours truly. We’re hard-wired that way. However, among the perspective altering vicissitudes in life are those instances that unearth our unhidden biases sometimes – correction, most of the time – to our discomfort.
Continue reading Stay in the race! – by Leslie Nelson and Terry Howard
There has been a surge in federal civil rights lawsuits regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) over the past decade. Lawsuits involving website accessibility under the ADA are also on the rise, growing 14% year-over-year in 2021. The major complication in all of this is that the ADA, passed by Congress in 1990, predates the earliest websites. Because the law does not explicitly discuss web accessibility, over the past three decades a legal landscape has developed that is both unpredictable and divisive.
For one, rules and regulations for web accessibility are beginning to vary from state to state. Members of Congress are penning letters to the Department of Justice (DOJ) urging them to establish clear accessibility rules for state and local websites. And there are a growing number of inconsistent rulings among that nation’s federal court districts on the subject. This article will explore the urgency of revamping the ADA to account for existing and emerging technology, and how uncertainty continues to grow on how and where the ADA applies.
Continue reading Overhauling the Americans with Disabilities Act – by Lionel Wolberger
Though she died six weeks ago, Marilyn Golden is with me in her wheelchair at the start of the ADA Accessible Trail in the Nags Head Woods Preserve. An eye-catching sign points the way into the forest. This is her doing. The New York Times described her, in its obituary, as a “lynchpin” in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Marilyn and I grew up together in San Antonio. Our birthdays were a month apart. We went to the same synagogue and sometimes sat in our beloved Mrs. Durham’s high school English classes together. We skipped out of other classes to meet friends and expound on the meaning of life, social justice and Grateful Dead lyrics. Marilyn was brilliant. Funny. Tenacious. She dug deeply into any argument and every detail, and never gave up.
Continue reading What It Means to Make a Mark – by Jody Alyn
In case you missed it, the 30th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was not long ago. All employers need to remember that workforce diversity includes people with disabilities.
All savvy employers should know by now that providing equal opportunities to people with disabilities simply makes good business sense. This is especially true in an interconnected, global economy. Unfortunately, not every company has gotten the message.
As the ADA turned 30, there was good and bad news regarding people with disabilities (PWDs). The good news: The disability community can be found in virtually all aspects of modern society.
Continue reading Why Disability Employment is Good Business – By David B. Grinberg
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). The observance, which dates back to 1945, is sponsored annually by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy.
Did you know? The employment population ratio for people without disabilities (65.7%) was more than triple that of people with disabilities (18.7%) in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Continue reading Disability Employment Awareness: Five Questions for EEOC – by David B. Grinberg
Overcoming obstacles to the integration of disabled people in the C-Suite should be at the top of every board agenda. Often, I hear about diversity, but diversity efforts alone do not deal with the challenges facing disabled senior executives or aspiring leaders. These challenges can be addressed, and leaders have a responsibility to turn around the stigma surrounding disability in the C-suite.
Continue reading Breaking Down the Walls to Disability in the C-suite – by Louise Duffield
Boy, although I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read the following story, even now I tear up.
You see, at a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a breathtaking speech:
All savvy employers should know by now that providing equal opportunities to people with disabilities simply makes good business sense in the 21st century global economy. This is especially true in a competitive U.S. labor market.
Unfortunately, not every company has gotten the message.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990. This sweeping statute has opened the doors of inclusion and gainful employment to millions of citizens with disabilities nationwide, which has helped to boost business productivity.
“The biggest problem with having a disability is that far too often
people see it before they see you!”
I met little David at a local Starbucks a few years ago.
You see, I was hunched over my laptop searching the internet for a new twist for a piece on people with disabilities given that October is National Disability Employment Month. Over a third cup of coffee, I was focused, oblivious to the comings and goings of folks entering and leaving. But in truth, I was in my zone and preferred to keep it that way.
But little David – his Downs Syndrome and all – had other plans for me. And others.
At the top of his lungs, David called out “Hey brother” as he approached a surprised me at my table in the corner. A high five and a hug later, David was off greeting and hugging others in the place. And like me, all were startled and clearly smitten by little David. It was written all over their faces, our faces. Their silence spoke volumes.
“David, David, get back over here. Leave these people alone!” demanded his mom; words she’d no doubt uttered many times before – words obviously to no avail. But that was before she realized how deeply David touched all of us that day.
Three minutes later, and with little David in tow, mom headed to the door and, David being David, waved and bellowed to us, “good bye my friends.” And we all, in unison, in different words, with moisten eyes – patrons and Starbucks employees alike – stood up and returned, “See ya David!”
And for a few seconds we all stood there, in complete silence, absolute strangers no longer, knowing somehow and full well that we’d just been touched – and connected in our humanity – by an angel.
Now I’ve returned to that Starbucks a number of times since then, feeling cheated by the brevity of that meeting with David, wishing and hoping my little buddy would be there.
But no such luck so far. But I’ll keep going back.
Yes, I’ll keep going back…. wishing and hoping!
