By Katherine Schneider, for the CVPost
MONDAY (July 26) was the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Sometimes these little anniversaries (the ones that don’t end in a 0 or a 5) get ignored. But I’ve got four balls in the air for this one.
- I approached a local newspaper reporter with the following: “One of the few good things to come out of the pandemic is more online meetings, church services, book clubs, etc. Pablo Center and Chippewa Valley Book Festival will have hybrid series next year as I understand it.
“Some churches will; Lake Street Methodist I know. The pastor there, Jerry Morris, is a real advocate for the advantages of hybrid, I think. More business for Door Dash/Grub Hub on a long-term basis? Possibly asking department heads within county government about what will remain online…”
He’s off and running on the story of how accommodations, once thought to be done just for the disabled, are becoming mainstream – and whether they will they last.
My additional activities. . .
- I’ve asked the county for an ADA accommodation to be able to attend County Board and committee meetings remotely after we go back to in-person meetings. It would save me about an hour per meeting of arranging rides, waiting for rides, panicking when a ride cancels at the last minute, etc.
Like an umbrella, I’d use it sometimes but not always because there are social advantages of being at meetings in person. I’m also asking so the county can develop policies and procedures for making such accommodations—someone has to go first.
- On Aug. 6 I’ll train a few people to give audio tours to blind folks so they’ll be ready when a Smithsonian exhibit on bias comes to town in February. Most of the “training” will be practicing on exhibits at the Chippewa Valley Museum.
I looked around on the Internet for a quick and dirty handout but couldn’t find anything. So, I wrote some guidelines which we’ll revise after we do the training.
- I gave the “Moment of Reflection” for the County Board at last week’s meeting and noted this 31st anniversary of the ADA. Instead of talking about specific accomplishments this year or getting the county to issue a proclamation, I quoted lines from Amanda Gorman’s poem for President Biden’s inauguration, “The Hill We Climb.” Her lines apply to disability issues as well as racial justice issues:
” Somehow we weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished.”
“For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Happy 31st anniversary of the ADA!
NOTE: the photo of Amanda Gorman was taken by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II for the Department of Defense.
To read previous installments of “The Corona Chronicles,” click here